The 234th death.

[Text and photo sent by Mrittika]

Mrittika, 27, was found lifeless by a lively corner of Iskcon Temple, her lively abode for the last 7 years.

Mrittika was known to have appeared at the footsteps of the temple with a few inscriptions of the English band, Porcupine Tree, on her forearm, something that a Sadhika wouldn’t normally qualify with. Citing the inscription, she claimed, it was “the start of something beautiful”. Some say that it was an excuse for her to escape reality. You see, when you are a Sadhika, no one questions your plump bottle of rum, the kush in your pockets, lice in those locks and lastly, your unbiased love for sarees. According to the residents of the temple, she seemed happier than a child for she always sported red lips with the widest smile.

She was 20 when she renounced nothing earned to go live in the temple. Among her belongings, a green pocket diary was found with a note that read-

“Into a gazillion pieces, you break my heart
Unable to heal and incapable of giving up,
My tears lie on the brink of my eyes
As I sense my emotions falling apart.

In a world of fiction, I wait for my facts to unearth
Before I decide and after I start,
I see my pain neither fade nor fall out
As they rest on what was once my world.”

True to the deceiving nature of her red lips, no one had cared enough to look up the lyrics for The Start Of Something Beautiful. The caretakers, now aware of her note, buried her and sowed rose seeds into her burial site defying the usual Hindu customs of cremation. Their excuse was that they wanted to keep the meaning of her name, soil, intact. A word was spread that she lived and left heartbroken.