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Wednesday, October 29, 2008
The Last Ride.
It's farewell to the uncle at Mandai Crematorium. Woke up at 4 am to fetch my cousin who was rushing back from Brisbane as he was completing his SIA pilot flight training there. It was a real pity that he did not get the chance to see his dad for once last time as his original arrival date was this Friday. Felt really sorry for him, he's the closest cousin to me.
The funeral was a very traditional affair. As my cousin was supposed to conduct the last rites for my uncle, the family decided that all the males in his generation are to join in the rites. That actually meant that I had to wear the traditional indian cloth around my waist and join in the traditional funeral rites. It was really eye opening for me as a Catholic to be involved in the Hindu way of sending someone off. The rituals involve cleansing the body with oil and milk, as well as the religious part. As much as it was a new experience for me, there's no hiding the fact that it was really tiring. Both emotionally and physically. I kinda told myself that I didn't want to shed a single tear for the entire funeral. I really believe that my uncle would not want us to be so sad and down after his passing. I managed to hold back the tears all the way until the closing at Mandai when my cousin stepped forward to deliver an eulogy. I guess the honest words of a son, so grieved that he did not even get a chance to see his father alive one last time made everyone in the auditorium tear.
Sitting on my bed, typing this entry. As much as my uncle has departed, him leaving actually made me realise somethings that I never actually took notice of. One of them is the bond he shared with my Aunt. Despite his illness that actually saw him hospitalised for the last 3 months of so, there was never a day that my aunt wasn't by his side. She stayed by his bed day and night, only taking breaks to go home, wash up and bring a fresh set of clothes. She watched him go through operation after operation and brought him to countless other medical follow ups. She had no time for herself, and yet, I've never heard her utter a single complain. Not about her being tired, or the fact that caring for her husband meant that she had no time to do anything else. Everyone agrees that she did everything she could as a wife to support my uncle. She went about it even though she wasn't the strongest person emotionally. Seeing her breakdown infront of her lifeless husband today was really heart wrenching. It was her that brought real meaning to a phrase cliched by the many movies and television programmes.
Until Death Do Us Part...
Mumbled @ {10:33 PM}
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The Last Ride.