Ashed Into A Tray And Stashed On To The Bay Poem by Bashyam Narayanan

Yester night received a call
Telling us the demise of a relative

A female of almost eighty
Survived by her two sons, a daughter
Seven grand daughters, a grandson
A great grandson through her son's daughter

Lost her husband eight years back
Who sustained a disabling injury at a construction site
And practically bed ridden for six years

Lost her son eldest son
Fourteen years ago
Who underwent a bye-pass heart surgery

Lived well in full command
With style and comfort
And in well designed own-built houses

A great entertainer with her smart language
A wonderful host with her
Improvised and innovative recipes

Very quick and active
As long as she was keeping all fine

Till recently we all enjoyed
The fruits of her actions

We reached her place this morning
Saw her caged in a glass covered
Air cooled chamber

Met all others for whom she mattered
Shared our acquaintances with her

Rituals started
With fire lit and vedic quotes
She was given her final bath by her daughters-in-law
Females stayed back home
After prostrating to her mortal remains

Me and her son went to the cremation shed
With soul-free body of hers

After some rituals there
She was consigned to fire
In a gas-based cremation chamber

Ashes were given to us after forty five minutes
Of this seventy nine year old in a one-foot long tray
The burnt remains of her were transferred
Into an earthen pot and immersed in milk

In the hot sun of the summer afternoon
We reached the beach with this ash containing pot
And her son emptied the pot into the roaring sea
Bay of Bengal

Thus this near eighty year old woman was
Ashed into a tray and stashed on to the bay