Love and Death

The latest from our grand man of literature, Khushwant Singh, is Death At My Doorstep. No, this is not one of those sob stories about death...

The latest from our grand man of literature, Khushwant Singh, is Death At My Doorstep. No, this is not one of those sob stories about death and dying. He argues that death is so natural a phenomenon that each one of us should actually await its oncoming. This led him to pen not just his own detailed obit which he had written way back in 1943 but even a epitaph for himself: 8216;Here lies one who spared neither man nor God/ waste not your tears on him, he was a sod/Writing nasty things he regarded as great fun/Thank the Lord he is dead, this son of a gun8217;.

Last Sunday evening, when I sat talking to him about death, he did not in the least appear perturbed by death. He chatted on and on as if we were discussing something as innocuous as a kiss, or whatever. He made death sound not scary or dreary but almost fun. And the fact that he chose to have this book released on one of his birthdays 8212; February 2 he observes two birthdays 8212; the other falls on August 15 shows how he has come to equate death with birth, a phenomenon as auspicious as the beginning of life.

Actually, Khushwant Singh has had an intimate encounter with death fairly recently: the death of his wife. As he put it, 8220;I had to cope with the problem myself. Being an agnostic, I could not find solace in religious rituals. Being essentially a loner, I discouraged friends and relations coming to condole with me on the death of my wife. I spent the first night alone sitting in my chair in the dark. At times I broke down, but soon recovered my composure. A couple of days later, I resumed my usual routine of work from dawn to dusk. That took my mind off the stark reality of having to live alone in an empty home for the rest of my days. But friends persisted on calling and upsetting my equilibrium. So I packed myself off to Goa to be alone by myself8230;8221;

Singh has dared, not just to talk about a subject that is generally avoided or treated in euphemistic terms, but to deal with it in all its possible dimensions. 8220;As far as I am concerned, I accept the finality of death; we do not know what happens to us after we die8230;8221; He has some very sound and detailed advice too. For instance, on things one should do before that final parting takes place 8212; some advice which he hopes will 8220;help a person to go at peace with himself and the world8221;.

As he put it, 8220;Above all, when the time comes to go, go like a man without any regret or grievances against anyone. Allana Iqbal expressed it beautifully in a couplet in Persian: 8220;You ask me about the signs of a man of faith? when death comes to him, he has a smile on his lips8221;.