THACKERAY- ANOTHER LAST LAUGH

The innate Indian qualities are a source of amazement for the peoples across the globe. On display was one such quality in the multitude accompanying the cortege of the late Bal Thackeray. Hatchets were buried and people across walks of life, political spectrum and geographical locales joined to pay tribute. Even if a resolute person were attribute it to fear or to curiosity, it was brushed aside as people in a disciplined manner tracked the cortege for kilometres at end. Death they say is a great leveller but in India one's measure of life is gauged by the numbers who would pay respects to one's mortal remains. Undoubtedly being a popular figure such as a political leader or a cine star in the sub continent gives an unfair edge to such persons due to the sheer numbers and their beliefs. But all said with a full fledged live telecast and webcast in place and it being a Sunday, the only day available for the Mumbaikars to attend to their domestic affairs the cause for such a number to choose to move without any effort to rally them would astound any person who is not familiar with the ways of an Indian.

It is popularly held that for any auspicious event none shall attend without an invite and for the tragic circumstance of a demise, no invite shall be extended and the mere word of mouth shall communicate of the event to all known persons. Despite the advent of various modes such as the print media, electronic media or the mobiles and their texting facilities, the word of mouth continues to dominate the mode of communication. No wonder people were around at the residence even before the official announcement. The fact that most of the people who accompanied the cortege may not even had a glimpse of their beloved leader makes the presence of such large numbers even more intriguing.

This is where the innate Indianness creeps in. The farewell could be extended in the form of performance of certain rituals, placing floral tributes, rendering assistance or solace to the kith and kin or merely silently accompanying the person in question on his last journey. None is better than the other and each one is considered to be merely performing his duty. Therefore, the concept of duty or repaying of a debt in kind ( a very loose translation of the Indian concept of Vrun). In this context, I remember my friend's observations during his presence in London during Lady Diana's funeral. He found the westerners were scared of death and would never wish to see a body. Contrast this with the Indian psyche which appears in multitude to ensure that the departed soul does not feel lost when it can virtually feel the affection of the people around. 

In fact in the book written by Benazir's niece I think there is a reference to one of the Bhuttos actually feigning to be dead only to have a feel of the people who would actually pay tribute to him on his demise. Similarly, an aunt of my mother spends most of her time wondering whether all the rituals will be performed post her era. In fact, she is so paranoid of the "modern day youth" that she sometimes ventures to even hope that the end comes on a day when the water supply is on. Similarly, there is a tale on the email wherein a son considers his mother to be a burden while the mother defers her end since the son would not be able to take a cold water shower unless the summer has set in. The obsession with the ultimate end is so great that everyone wishes to complete certain tasks by the appointed time.Similarly there is so much truth that on giving birth and at the time of death a sense of detachment creeps in for a microbial second of our life only to be taken over by our worldly ways.

But I must admit that I was bowled over by a remark of one of my chums who is devout but worldly wise - " At the time of birth there is only breath and no name while at the end there remains only the name and no breath" . Having said this he goaded me to leave an imprint for the posterity. This was one day prior to the demise of the Shiv Sena leader. On that day, I merely chided him for turning philosophical but now I can only say it is a tall order!!!

Controversial or otherwise very few have the ability to touch the lives of several others during their lifetime much less impact them even after their lifetime. Should I ask him to reconsider his fiat to me or should I just follow my path of performing my duties and leave the rest to destiny?  

All said, the controversial leader has had another last laugh at his detractors by pulling a coup which would be hard to replicate leaving so many queries unanswered. As he said be it Hitler or Stalin or Gandhi or Nehru or Kennedy or Bhutto mass leaders need to be admired for their ability to touch a chord in millions of hearts and minds irrespective of whether they beat for their cause or against it. A red salute on that count too!!!