Rest in Peace

I came across a corpse yesterday.

You may be wondering what is so unusual about seeing a dead body these days. People die and there is nothing new about it…

 Well, why I mention this incident specifically is because this was not any ordinary dead body that was laid to rest in a satin lined, wooden, decorated coffin. Neither was this a body which was swathed in white and respectfully surrounded by mourning friends and relatives,  awaiting its last rites so that the soul could peacefully pass on to the netherworld. No flowers… no tears… this was just a corpse on the street.

The pathetic death of the unknown man must have occurred at an unknown time. It was lying adjacent to a filthy ditch on the side of a busy road. At first glance, I mistook it for that of a drunk lying totally sozzled, without a care in the world. (There is a bar which caters to the ‘common’ man nearby and such sights are frequent). But the presence of a small crowd of curious people around the body as well three policemen with totally uninterested faces, trying to act unduly important rather confirmed my suspicion and I knew for certain that I had come across a corpse.

You know, I strongly believe that however refined we are, there is this base nature within each one of us which is attracted towards the grotesque. I was reminded of a childhood incident during a long ago summer vacation when a rich old lady was found murdered in our village. Those were the days when murder was very uncommon. We (I and my cousin) were totally excited about it and seeing the neighboring children rush off to the spot which was some distance off, we begged our elders for permission to go and see the body. But small children from decent families are absolutely forbidden to have any such adventure and as expected, our request was turned down accompanied with quite a bit of harsh words. It was another thing that they spoke about the murder in hushed tones among themselves, which made it all the more unbearable for  my cousin who managed to  give them the slip and make off to visit the spot of the murder. I still remember my excitement mingled with fear at the vivid description he gave me (in secret) about the corpse…

Well… to come back to my present story, that base instinct which overpowered my senses at that particular moment, compelled me to take a quick peek at the lifeless body lying on the roadside. For a moment, it was as though I was looking at a weary, sick, sleeping man with the word ‘alcoholic’ stamped all over him. He would have been in his late 40’s, had a heavily suntanned, bony structure, and his weary face sported an unkempt beard. Dressed in a cheap, pink polyester shirt and a dhothi that had seen better days, he looked like one of those umpteen people whom you pass by on the road with utterly defeated looks on their faces…

After the preliminary enquiry conducted by a dozen policemen for about an hour, during which the whole road got blocked with curious onlookers, impatient vehicles , three police jeeps and an old, derelict ambulance, the corpse was unceremoniously taken away to the Govt. hospital morgue to await relatives who would perhaps be traced out by the police…

It seems the owner of the nearby bar confirmed the fact that he was a ‘regular’ in their premises and was also suffering from TB. I guess that is a deadly combination. Back home, as I narrated the incident to my family, I must confess that I really was not surprised by their matter-of-fact reaction (non-reaction, rather). I guess death has definitely lost its charm for the living…