I'd never attended a funeral of any sort before. Until yesterday that is.
My grandfather was cremated yesterday, in the Hindu crematorium in Jebel Ali.
Kazz was right...it IS hard to see the lifeless body of someone you love very much. I'm glad Jo came. She was tremendous. Not only did she just be there for me, she also helped look after my bro when we all broke down. Love ya Jo ...
He would've been 76 this August. He would've also celebrated his 50th wedding anniversary in Nov 2010.
He was a good person. Oh he was hard to live with I think; he could be exceedingly stubborn, terribly gullible, and prone to shouting at the top of his voice when he got angry (I never bore the brunt of this...I was his precious granddaughter, his first grandchild). But he was a good person. He always thought of other people's needs and wants, put them first. He never grudged anyone anything. He was the sort of person who knew everyone, right from the owner to the least paid worker of his company, and spoke to them with equal respect and camaraderie. Perhaps that's why there were so many people from his company at the crematorium yesterday. His colleagues, his superiors, the factory workers...all of them turned up. A few of them were even wearing the shirts he'd donated to them when he realized they didn't have much money to buy new clothes.
Special mention to my bro. We were all afraid of him acting up, perhaps creating a scene. He was an absolute ANGEL!!! He didn't cry, no even when we removed his shoes to go into the pooja area to pay respects to my grandfather, he placed the garland on his body like we told him to, he even stood quietly in the heat in the cremation area... all without a fuss. It was almost as if he understood that there was a seriousness in the air... love ya bro ...
And I'm off ...
My grandfather was cremated yesterday, in the Hindu crematorium in Jebel Ali.
Kazz was right...it IS hard to see the lifeless body of someone you love very much. I'm glad Jo came. She was tremendous. Not only did she just be there for me, she also helped look after my bro when we all broke down. Love ya Jo ...
He would've been 76 this August. He would've also celebrated his 50th wedding anniversary in Nov 2010.
He was a good person. Oh he was hard to live with I think; he could be exceedingly stubborn, terribly gullible, and prone to shouting at the top of his voice when he got angry (I never bore the brunt of this...I was his precious granddaughter, his first grandchild). But he was a good person. He always thought of other people's needs and wants, put them first. He never grudged anyone anything. He was the sort of person who knew everyone, right from the owner to the least paid worker of his company, and spoke to them with equal respect and camaraderie. Perhaps that's why there were so many people from his company at the crematorium yesterday. His colleagues, his superiors, the factory workers...all of them turned up. A few of them were even wearing the shirts he'd donated to them when he realized they didn't have much money to buy new clothes.
Special mention to my bro. We were all afraid of him acting up, perhaps creating a scene. He was an absolute ANGEL!!! He didn't cry, no even when we removed his shoes to go into the pooja area to pay respects to my grandfather, he placed the garland on his body like we told him to, he even stood quietly in the heat in the cremation area... all without a fuss. It was almost as if he understood that there was a seriousness in the air... love ya bro ...
And I'm off ...
I thought females werent allowed where the last rights are performed
They are.
Over here anyway. Even the pandit didn't say anything; he asked me, Mom and Grandmom to garland my grandfather, put camphor on the body before the cremation ... everything.
Looks like we're not barred out anymore.
I think this rule actually came about so as to not have wailing women at the cremation site, rather than it being a religious offence.