Today I watched Michael Jackson's Memorial. It was very well put up. Everyone paid a fitting tribute to the 'King of Pop'. The fans, celebrities, family everyone celebrated Michael's life. I have heard from some of my friends and I have seen it myself on TV when somebody passes away here in America, they of course mourn, but what I have seen is they celebrate that person's life.
The family and friends get together and talk about the dead person. They recall all the good times they had with that person. They narrate anectodes, they laugh, they cry. They feel instead of feeling bad that that person has left us, let us celebrate his life, let us remember all the good things he did and let us give him a happy farewell.
I think it is amazing how they do it. It is impossible for me to be in that situation and be so composed and talk about the good things about the deceased. Actually it will be impossible for me to even talk forget about narrating anecdotes. Michael's brother Jeremaine was giving TV interviews the other day on the Larry King show. Looking at him, it does not feel like he has lost a loved one. It is impossible for me to be like that. Today's memorial was like a concert. In India, when somebody passes away in a family you know it.
A few months ago, there was a death in our neighbor's family. We did not even know it until the evening when we saw so many cars and we asked someone standing outside what happened and he told me that the owner of the house passed away. If it was in India, we would have heard people crying from the beginning of the corner.
Don't get me wrong. I am not saying one way is better over another. I am not even comparing. There cannot be a discussion about what somebody should and shouldn't do when someone passes away. People react and deal with the loss in their own way. There can be no right or wrong way to it. I am just amazed at how two sets of people deal with the death of a loved one in two totally different ways.
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