Editor,
After reading the letter titled, “Disgusting, cruel and inhuman cremation” (ST Sep 15, 2017) I have to agree with the writer about the manner in which the dead bodies are being handled in some crematorium. This portrays the lack of sensitivity in the management and labourers involved since for them it is just a chore. Indeed the act needs to be condemned and those who manage the crematorium should inculcate a basic affable attitude towards their duty considering the deep emotional attachment of the family members with the deceased.
Before proceeding further I just want to make it clear to the writer of the letter that the following views are not meant to contradict his thoughts but a general overview of some acts we witness in our daily lives. The writer’s letter opens up a new window of thoughts for me, on how we value life; the dualism of our attitudes towards the dead and the living. These are some of the questions contradicting my own moral attitude. In rural areas we often witness people coming from far away distances to attend funeral rituals with no real emotional or familial bonding with the deceased. The moment they see the dead body they start crying and shed buckets of tears as if on cue. And when they are done with such rituals they appear normal and start having normal conversations. Tears are usually connected to strong emotions. We shed tears when we are overjoyed or very sad. It is not possible to release tears under normal circumstances unless one is an actor. So kudos to our ladies for performing an act that defies science.
The other ritual I witness is when a sick person is hospitalized. He/she is bombarded with visitors bringing with them loads of food items when the patient can barely swallow a morsel fo food or digest it. A more painful habit is when the patient has to strain himself/herself to converse with the visitors, especially those not very familiar to the patient. I believe a patient is hospitalized in order to heal quicker and to have mental and physical rest. In fact the best hospitals restrict visitors since the patient is the whole focus here. The sick need more of medical attention and less of putting up with visitors.
I assume with these two contradicting thoughts of mine, some might consider me as lacking in sentiments for the dead and the ailing. I welcome an open, constructive debate which will give us food for thought and help develop the spirit of inquiry. Personally for every action I take, think or follow, I focus on this word “WHY” rather than “WHAT or HOW”. WHY not provide a larger scope to understand and develop a strong foundation for our cognitive domain? When we are questioned we can clearly put our thoughts before our opponents logically. WHAT or HOW is highly unstable and in fact gives wider room for corrupting our thoughts and action, since we tend to follow randomly the established acts devoid of any reasoning or rationality.
Coming back to the point of raising the above questions, my answers to my fellow readers and friends who might be discomfited by the questions is to raise more questions. Have we spent enough time with the deceased when he/she was still alive? Have we given enough time to visit our family, friends, and relatives when they are not sick and presented them with abundant gifts? Have we shed tears together and supported the less fortunate during their bad times? Have we translated our spiritual and religious life to practical everyday experiences of developing empathy? In this tight and busy life, we might question the possibility of managing time, but the answer lies with how we prioritise our time. If we value something we can always make time and develop a hierarchy of priorities, with the one we value the most at the top. The fact is time will always be the same but priorities may change depending on our taste and affinity.
In this digital age we have gained a lot but we have lost a lot too. The quality time of being physically in touch with each other is corroded by social network, helplessly enslaving us to rely on gadgets to maintain our relationships. How can we hold to ransom our golden bonding with our close ones merely on a decade old technology?
To conclude, in this letter we can pick up two important thoughts. One it to give time to exhibit our love and respect when a person is still breathing (A breathing soul not a lifeless soul) and when they are still aware of our presence rather than thronging the rites of performing rituals with the lifeless body, when the soul can clearly sense the faux in our heart. Secondly, the importance of rationality and reasoning to strengthen our understanding and if required to question and correct the age old faulty rituals. A famous quote from Albert Einstein says, “If I had an hour to solve a problem, I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about the solutions”. His 55 minutes is well spent in solving the WHY part and the 5 minutes on HOW. The importance of WHY is to develop a rational mind which can potentially solve many bad practices in our daily lives.
Yours etc.,
Sonie Kharduit
Looting the public with exorbitant y parking fees!
Editor,
Parking fees in Shillong vary according to location and authority. On September 17, 2017 I parked my car on the roadside at Motphran near Pynursla Indica stand for roughly about 20 minutes but surprisingly the parking attendant charged me Rs.30 to which I protested. He explained that the charges are Rs 30 per hour for four wheelers. To avoid any further arguments I just paid Rs 30 but I asked for a receipt. The receipt bears the name Mylliem Syiemship. My question is why different parking lots are charging different rates in Shillong? And since when has the Mylliem Syiemship been given the right to collect parking fees? At the MUDA and Municipal parking lots one is charged Rs 10 per hour for light vehicles (private) so why is the Mylliem Syiemship charging an exorbitant rate that is three times more than MUDA and Shillong Municipal Board ? What is the actual rate per hour of the Mylliem Syiemship? Do we not have government regulated parking fees in Meghalaya? Or do we allow the attendants to charge at their own whims and fancies? Personally I don’t have any problem in paying parking fees but I should pay the right amount; not more, not less.
Will the Government authorities look into this anomaly at the earliest?
Yours etc
Manuel Carey Lymba
Shillong 08