Right from when I was a kid, I always had a strange
perspective to look at ‘Death’. All I knew was that Death meant the end of life
and that, that person will cease to exist after that. What started off as a
fear, and some sort of a horrible feeling that made me cry every time I lost
someone to it, Death turned out to be an ally I never set out to forge, but
came together anyway. While the whole of humanity definitely agrees on the fact
that Death means the end of this life, there’s more to it than what meets the
eye. While Death is the biggest source of Inspiration for me, it means a whole
lot of different things for different people! Over the years, the concept of
Death has taken a beating, but yes! Like several other archaic concepts, this
one’s magically survived the test of time. While on one side of the spectrum,
people are trying sick stunts to defy death, on the other end, people are
spilling big bucks to defeat it. So, I thought, Like Always, Let’s shake things
up a bit! And see what exactly death means now.
In an effort to better understand the various commentaries
and views about death, I set out by asking people what their first thought was,
once they heard the word ‘Death’. And as far as they understood the word,
Death, they termed it to be- Silence, Oblivion, Freedom, A reminder of
Mortality, The end of a cycle and the birth of another, First Step on the path
to heaven, a balance, An Unfair and Unjust thing and so on. Well it doesn’t
stop there. Many writers and poets, in the past, have personified Death to be a
humanoid figure, and go on to express their versions of Death as a person. While I am neither that qualified or
acclaimed, I’ll try to turn it over and try and make as much sense of it as
possible while casually preaching what I feel about it. So at this point of
time, the real question is, why is everyone fascinated by Death? Why is it that
more often than not, there is always a God of Death, A toll reader who decides
where you “after” death, A Hell and A Heaven? While most of these questions
have their answers rooted in the same mould out of which we crafted our
religions out of, some extra sense can be made out of them.
Death. My most painful meeting with it was when I lost my
kitten, some 8 weeks old to street dogs and saw its corpse. I lost every sense
of feeling, went numb, tears rolled down my cheek involuntarily and my knees
lost every single ounce of energy in them. I was weak, vulnerable, and in pain.
All of this, because my kitten has died. Death has embraced him as one of his
own. When I think of it now, I only realise I stopped crying because there was
nothing more left for me to do. What could I do? I’m no god to miraculously resurrect
my dear kitten. But it brings me more than just that feeling of helplessness,
it brings me the idea that the same death, that takes our strength away, can
motivate us to work harder. It reminds me that we are all temporary. It gives
me that so called ‘Reality Check’! While billions of us are walking the earth every
day, and millions suffering from a death every day, it only makes more sense if
we tap into it. Yes. You heard me right. Death, brings about a hell lot of
changes in a lot of lives. It can shake you, It can rattle your lives up, it
can leave you stranded, and in those times remember. If there’s something you’ll
never ever lose even if you lose your all, It is death. Everyday I wake up, I
realise that is another day I have snatched out of the clutches of Death. As it
was aptly put in one of my favourite movies, I shall work my heart out, put in
every effort humanly possible, move every rock and stone, to make sure I’m on
my path to where I want to be, and If Death comes at me with its greedy claws
and hungry jaws, I’ll fight it with my hearts rage and every desire that I’ve
worked so hard to satisfy.
While that’s me being optimistic, there are many who don’t
quite take it so adventurously. Death is the ultimate unfortunate event. It the
end of this life and the beginning of another. While one life’s passing affects
the lives of many, they all look at death as something that pushes them into
the depths of oblivion. Well that’s how we humans are, aren’t we? We spend all
our life chasing material comforts and our hearts deepest desires and yet in
the end we come back to believe we’re nothing but mere mortals. Death, or near
death experiences have always proven to be an excellent but dangerous way of
realising that you are indeed alive. Your heart is actually pumping that blood.
The adrenaline junkies are an excellent example of the same. They’ll go to just
about any extent to feel alive, even if the risk is Death. Some even model a
lot of things along the word – Death. Death Star (STAR WARS!) Death Note
(YEAH!) and it still hasn’t gotten any prettier than before.
People often speak of how before dying their whole life
flashes before them, they realise that they have so many responsibilities, so
many desires, so many of many things that will no longer come true because
Death, my friend doesn’t quite give you second chances. It is somewhat like
that one video game you paid an exorbitantly high amount for and spent ages
solving it all and you realise that the game just won’t save and if you die,
there is no restart. Pissing off isn’t it? Aggravating too? Well that is
exactly what it is. A Constant reminder than we are Human. The moments we have
are temporary, These history books people are trying so hard to get into by
living the large life, they’ll wash away with time too. People will always be
after the big pie, trying to get a bite at it, but life isn’t just that. It is in
fact the one ticket to a wonderland called earth, and yes, It comes with an
expiry date, Death.
DEATH. The one real fear everyone has. The only real
inspiration I have. It is indeed the last frontier. The next great adventure.
And If there is indeed life after death, It is respawn, but with none of the
cool upgrades you bought with all that hard work. It is transformative. It is
necessary. It brings balance. Where there is life, there is death. No one loves
playing the bad guy, but it is indeed true, the Grim Reaper is more so the
keeper of the equation than the harbinger of sadness. So they tell me that a New
Year is the modern day favourite for a new start, so let’s start with this. Death,
is definitive. It is definite too. And while we are at it, let’s give it the
wild goose chase and, I might as well express my disgust and apathy towards
those who believe they can inflict death on others.
While a very dear friend of mine terms death as the last
page of the novel you absolutely fell in love with, knowing that it’s over, you
still rare for more. I can’t actually compete against that. Everything in this
world is temporary. So is the fear of death.
We’ve laughed, we’ve cried, We’ve Bled,
We’ve sung, we’ve danced, and we’ve read,
But no matter what we’ve heard and what we’ve said,
There’s life, and after it, there’s only death ahead.
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