Death

One day you will die and will be hurriedly carried away straight to be burnt. Hours before that, you will fast degenerate from loving 'pappa' or 'mamma' into 'this' or 'that' and finally into 'it'.

Relatives and friends would have gathered at your place; some emotional ones will cry for you last time and forget you. Some will silently relish the space that you just freed up in their psyche.

At the funeral pire, it is your eldest son, who would do it. Gently but certainly giving you up  to fire. Your ghee-lotioned skin will start burning first. Just few hours before you used it and were so proud of it. Now, it is burning! It will start turning red and then to some dark color. First, all the water and moisture under your skin will start evaporating and then will be the turn of fat. Burning fat will make your skin expand with formed bubbles underneath that will ultimately burst and keep burning.

Your lips, your eyes and your nose that received so much affection and love will be up next. One giant flame will catch up with your face and start burning them together. In five minutes, it would have disfigured it so much that it will be hard to identify you. That may come as a relief to your son who can now get down to the business of finishing the whole thing, unabashedly. He will make sure you are being burnt properly.

'Burnt properly', until you are reduced to bones. Yes, just bones. Bones -- each separate from each other, broken, spread in rough shape of your body in the pile of ash. This is the destination of your body and everything associated with it. Then, what were you that lived on for 40-50-60-70-80 years? What was the meaning of your life?