"Was it peaceful?" I asked.
"Well, as in she slowly drifted into a coma and then she left us."
"Coma?"
"Well. Somewhere her body had to give up. In one way or another."
My 104 year old GREATGrandMa just passed away.
I didn't go to the Hospital.
That was my mother I was speaking to.
And the only thing I wanted to know was whether she had a peaceful death.
She was 104.
Time had come.
She had to die.
The question was when.
The question was how.
My friend told me two days back after his visit from the Hospital, "She cant die unless she wants to. She has ichchamrityu (i.e., she will command the Time when Death will happen to her). She'll die on her own terms. When she wants. How she wants."
I couldn't agree more.
All I hoped was that she died peacefully.
She had survived the wars and the Time.
She needn't survive the jabs of injections and medicines.
She deserved More than that.
So when I heard from Ma, I wasn't upset.
I had long accepted her departure.
I was simply glad that it wasn't painful.
Death is inevitable.
I went to the terrace.
It was sunset.
I leaned against the wall and watched the Sun.
The Sun reminded me of her.
As mighty.
As strong.
As old.
As enigmatic.
Filling up the Universe with her aura.
As the rays pierced through the clouds, I felt a pang of loss.
Slowly, I watched the Sun go down.
I closed my eyes and heard the swallows twitter.
I heard the water running down in someone's house.
The sound of cycle bells.
I opened my eyes.
And was in time to see the Sun dip behind the clouds.
I sighed.
The Sun had indeed set.
Or maybe Not.
I looked on as I saw the expanse of clouds beneath the place where the Sun had gone down start to glow.
It was as if, She hadn't gone after all.
As if, She was still glowing in the expanse of Her Universe.
And there She was again, peeping from behind two holes in the cloud.
Bright orange - making me smile.
It was as if She reappeared for one last time to bless Her family.
And. Then She was gone.
The whole skyline was filled with a bluish-orange hue, white rays marking the skies.
The silver lining made me think of Her and how in us, She left a little part of Her.
The silver lining made me feel that She was still there - somewhere.
One Life gone.
The Sun had set.
I looked up.
Birds flying home.
Two. Four. Ten.
I looked in front.
The tree with its new leaves - soft green in color.
Blossoming at the end of her every branch and twig.
Two birds sitting close to each other on one of the branches.
One flew off.
The other followed.
I looked back.
The changing color of the sky.
It was gray now.
I looked down.
Wet patches on the terrace floor.
It was drizzling.
"Well, as in she slowly drifted into a coma and then she left us."
"Coma?"
"Well. Somewhere her body had to give up. In one way or another."
My 104 year old GREATGrandMa just passed away.
I didn't go to the Hospital.
That was my mother I was speaking to.
And the only thing I wanted to know was whether she had a peaceful death.
She was 104.
Time had come.
She had to die.
The question was when.
The question was how.
My friend told me two days back after his visit from the Hospital, "She cant die unless she wants to. She has ichchamrityu (i.e., she will command the Time when Death will happen to her). She'll die on her own terms. When she wants. How she wants."
I couldn't agree more.
All I hoped was that she died peacefully.
She had survived the wars and the Time.
She needn't survive the jabs of injections and medicines.
She deserved More than that.
So when I heard from Ma, I wasn't upset.
I had long accepted her departure.
I was simply glad that it wasn't painful.
Death is inevitable.
I went to the terrace.
It was sunset.
I leaned against the wall and watched the Sun.
The Sun reminded me of her.
As mighty.
As strong.
As old.
As enigmatic.
Filling up the Universe with her aura.
As the rays pierced through the clouds, I felt a pang of loss.
Slowly, I watched the Sun go down.
I closed my eyes and heard the swallows twitter.
I heard the water running down in someone's house.
The sound of cycle bells.
I opened my eyes.
And was in time to see the Sun dip behind the clouds.
I sighed.
The Sun had indeed set.
Or maybe Not.
I looked on as I saw the expanse of clouds beneath the place where the Sun had gone down start to glow.
It was as if, She hadn't gone after all.
As if, She was still glowing in the expanse of Her Universe.
And there She was again, peeping from behind two holes in the cloud.
Bright orange - making me smile.
It was as if She reappeared for one last time to bless Her family.
And. Then She was gone.
The whole skyline was filled with a bluish-orange hue, white rays marking the skies.
The silver lining made me think of Her and how in us, She left a little part of Her.
The silver lining made me feel that She was still there - somewhere.
One Life gone.
The Sun had set.
I looked up.
Birds flying home.
Two. Four. Ten.
I looked in front.
The tree with its new leaves - soft green in color.
Blossoming at the end of her every branch and twig.
Two birds sitting close to each other on one of the branches.
One flew off.
The other followed.
I looked back.
The changing color of the sky.
It was gray now.
I looked down.
Wet patches on the terrace floor.
It was drizzling.
