Random Rantings

Ever hear of the phrase “curiosity brings the dead back to life?” No? Well that’s probably because there’s no such thing! Stating the obvious you think? Well, you might just be surprised…

I guess it would be safe to say that I, like millions of other Sri Lankans around the country probably go for an average of 50 or more funerals in their lifetime? I’ve been to so many funerals now, that people could easily start hiring me as a chief mourner! Jokes aside though, not only have I been to enough funerals now to know the ordeal the grieving family has to go through with just coming to terms with the death of their loved one, let alone the hundreds of other external issues and expenses they need to bear. Even if we were to assume that all the above mentioned issues are mostly part and parcel of an average funeral, and that most affected families tend to rely on their extended families for support, there’s still this one little hindrance that such families have to bear on their own…. Dare I share my insight with the rest of the world?

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Where there is faith, there is love;
Where there is love, there is peace;
Where there is peace, there is God;
And where there is God; there is no need.

- Leo Tolstoy

The warm rays of the late morning sun reached out and gently touched her skin. The cobwebs and dust that had gathered on the dull glass of the closed window could do little to protect their mistress. After a while, the creases of Gayani’s neck were damp with sweat. She deftly wiped herself with the edge of her covering sheet. The sheet had once boasted of a bold and colourful design, but was now faded and soft to the touch. Gayani adored all things faded and all her favourite clothes were invariably washed out.

Today was the 18th. She knew, because of her ‘Drifters Diary’, which she faithfully updated, on most nights. Among other things, it helped keep track of the days - days that seem to flow rapidly past her, without really touching her. Had she planned to do something today? Wondered Gayani. She vaguely remembered something… A special Tele drama maybe… one of those increasingly rare ones that won’t make you want to gnaw on the antenna wire or burn the Idiot Box and then bring the great dramatist, Samuel Beckett back to life, so that he would pee on it. No thought Gayani smiling to herself, it cannot be a Tele drama. Then what? She had folded her hands behind her head and staring into space, trying to figure out if there was anything special about that day, when she suddenly remembered and her body stiffened with a jolt. Her head felt woozy and her panicky heart, beat to a sickening thump. She felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. How could she have forgotten? She had promised her parents and the doctor that on the 18th she would definitely (for she had postponed it several times) start on the therapy recommended by the doctor.

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