www.dakurajsingh.com
KUSHWANT SINGH
Sweet & Sour
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Our Heavenly Abode
Raja Ram Mehrotra is Professor of English at the Benares Hindu University. He specialises
in the use and misuse of English by Indians.
In the latest issue of English Today he has focussed on obituary columns appearing in Indian
newspapers. The language used is usually literal translations of Hindi.
Thus Swargvaas becomes heavenly abode unknown to the Brits who do not treat death with the
solemnity we do. They are coarse enough to make fun of it.
To wit, expressions like give up the ghost, peg out, bite the dust, pop off, kick the bucket,
cash in one’s chips etc.
:)
The word abode is archaic and no longer in use elsewhere in the English speaking world.
With us it has several variations: eternal abode, entered the portals of the Lord’s abode,
rested on the Lord’s lotus feet.
At times instead of abode our obits have eternal home.
Some Victorianisms persist in obits sent by Indian Christians. Amongst the most popular
is “Safe in the arms of Jesus”.
Often blame is cast on God for taking away one’s relation:
The cruel hands of fate snatched him away.
He was stolen away by fate for ever...
The wind of fate blew, making her lifeless.
Cruel fate grabbed him.
Destiny whisked him away.
We were robbed of our most precious possession.
Destiny took your benign presence and our breath away in an aircrash.
Nature recalled him to his fold.
God took you away from us.
God snatched my father.
God took away his precious gift from us.
He was plucked by God as he was the best flower on earth.
(:
The Hindu family of religions subscribe to the belief that with death a person merges his
or her identity with God. Jyoti Jote miley - as light mingles with light eternal:
eg. He left us all to abide for ever with the Almighty.
He attained the lotus feet of the Almighty/Lord Mahavir.
We handed God’s gift back to him.
He passed on to the eternal glory.
She attained eternity.
He became more dear to God than to us all.
My precious gift flewaway from my own lap to the Heavenly Father.
God withdrew him to light up a world elsewhere.
The greatest of the great called him.
He became one with Parmatman.
Life on earth is regarded as a temporary halt in a continuous journey:
He left his earthly sojourn.
She travelled on a voyage of no return.
He made his journey to heaven.
She took departure from this world.
He left for his ultimate journey.
He left us for that journey to the unknown.
She departed from the ethereal to the celestial.
He left for an unknown destination never to return.
He completed his earthly journey.
He crossed over....
He slipped into the other world.
He glided away in a silvery flash.
His river of life reached its final destination on this day.
He entered the realm of immortal bliss.
His soul migrated from the ephemeral world.
He left this mortal world with Hari Om Namo on his lips.
:)
Everyone who falls in battle becomes a martyr with slight variations like:
He attained martyrdom.
He laid down his life.
He embraced death for the honour of his country.
He went away to God while in uniform.
(:
Professor Mehrotra holds that: “One of the basic tenets of Indian thought is to consider
the whole world as a family (vasudhaiva kutumbakam) and hence a mourner prays not for the
peace of his relative alone but also of the others who are no longer alive:
“On this day we also bow our heads to other departed souls and pray to God to keep them in
a peace.”
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Courtesy: DECCAN HERALD, Sunday, September 16, 2001.
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