Page 8 - Seniors Today December 2020

Yet another reality tells me that while it’s
Despite scientific advances, doctors still can’t give us a
“use-by date”
these favours that connects me to God.
We also carry a lot of grudges, mostly
against people who we believe have wronged
us. One by one I threw those rocks out of my
basket. They were too much of a burden to
carry. Given the fact that I am 68, why not fill
my basket with all the goodies of the earth?
A devastating loss
Recently a dear friend’s wife succumbed
to Covid-19; it was devastating. She took
ill on their 46th wedding anniversary and
died 5 days later. The last thing that she ate
was a piece of the wedding anniversary
cake that her son fed her in the car on the
way to the hospital. A husband and wife
take each other for granted like a home, the
doors, the windows, walls and the roof. Only
when the roof is blown away and the storm
comes right in does one realise the pain of
separation. The end of a relationship that
lasted 46 years. We meet on earth to part.
Time and again people say whatever God
does we should be thankful to him. I wonder
what this husband must thank God for. He
keeps seeing images of his wife walking
around the house. It was shocking that
one of us had died and it dawned on me
that I was also very vulnerable. But I was
hopeful and confident that I would be out of
Covid-19.
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important to stay alive, it’s also a good time to
plan your final moments. I hope my children
wouldn’t put me on a ventilator and allow
me to go peacefully. If unfortunately, I did
get dementia I would not want to be given
antibiotics or any life extending treatment. A
little sign on the door saying “nil by mouth”
would help shut the body down in 3-4 days.
It’s strange now that I think about it that
corona seems to have grounded everybody
into a reality that death could be imminent
and it is now a subject that requires your
immediate attention. Somehow death didn’t
seem to rattle me, I thought it would be as
easy as switching off the light and if it did
happen, so be it.
A sign outside a cemetery said, “Manzil to
meri yehi thi par umar lag gayi yahaan aate
aate.”
Changed realities
Attending a funeral was a method of
conveying support. Covid-19 has changed
the rules of how funerals are held. No more
comforting hugs that convey a supportive
emotion; even the number of attendees
is now restricted. I hope to die after the
Covid-19 and don’t want my Uthala to be
one of those sad, mournful afternoons when
someone singing “Maati kahe kumhar se
tu kya runde muye…” I would like to have
a great tea party with great eats – samosas,
sandwiches, pastries, snooty scones, and lots
of other things. Music by Abba, Boney M,
Beatles, Carpenters, whatever else the DJ can
put together, music from the 70s to the 90s
and have a happy afternoon with my cousins
and friends all there. Death was inevitable
and it has happened.
Forget about going to Mars or the moon,
Chandrayaan 2 etc, scientists must
focus on our life expectancy, to be more