Samsara

He spent a larger part of his day glued to his computer screen, working alone in the darkness at odd hours as his job demanded. He was good at it too. He made sure that he responded in time to the needs of the group he headed. Most of his friends were connected and were apprised of his life and events through his social media updates. He had over 500 friends on FaceBook and an equal number on other platforms.

He spent his last few days on his hospital bed, looking at the screen of his phone and replying to the ‘Get Well Soon’ messages on his Whatsapp account.

Almost every ‘friend’ who got the news, expressed his condolences via a status update or a message on their profiles, many observed a black image as their display profile picture, as a mark of respect.

Other than his wife, children and an estranged brother who he had not seen in 3 years, only 5 other people could make it to the funeral. 

---

She attended a yoga class every day and religiously spent an hour daily on the treadmill in the gym. She made two appointments a month to a skin and beauty clinic and never missed her two visits to the local parlor for a facial and back rub. She ate with great caution, took her multi-vitamins regularly and never let the stress of her household work get to her. Her social circle was jealous of her radiant skin and envied her beauty. Her husband professed his love to her several times a day and openly admitted to forver being smitten by her eternal beauty.

However, today, when her husband poured out the contents of a little brass urn on the ghats of Ganges, she was nothing but few handfuls of ash and brittle pieces of bones. A gust of wind, blew her ash on the husband’s white shirt.

A day later, the maid scrubbed the last remains of her, off that white shirt.

---

He was an old man with conservative values. He had retired as an assistant manager after 35 years of service at a government office. He had a son who was married and lived in a different city with his wife and a daughter. All his life, he had lived frugally, saving every penny as and when he could. He wanted to have a comfortable retired life and not be a liability on his son. He had invested in various financial plans, had a decent health insurance plan and coverage. Every time he looked at his bank account statement, he felt relieved at his financial stability and thought he had it all covered.

Two nights after his retirement dinner, his son and his family were travelling back to their home in their car when a speeding truck hit their vehicle on the highway crushing them to a near pulp, killing everyone on the spot.

He lives alone now, retired and nothing to spend his hours on. The money in his bank account no longer provides the blanket of comfort that it once did.

---