Our Self-Written Obituaries – Pushpita Majumdar, Benares

Our Self-Written Obituaries – Pushpita Majumdar, Benares

Our Self-Written Obituaries – Pushpita Majumdar, Benares

The 247th death.

[Text and photos sent by Pushpita Majumdar]

Pushpita Majumdar, or Pui, as her beloved husband would call her often, left us all. But yes, she died happy; warm, in her bed, with her kids and grandkids sitting beside her; just like she always wanted to. At the age of 80, she was the light of her house, singing and dancing and living life to the fullest. In her final moments, she requested to listen to Ranjish hi Sahi by Mehdi Hassan.

She has left behind a set of instructions for her kids titled, ‘What to do when I am dead.’ Perfectionist, as she was, she wanted to die perfectly as well. Born a Hindu, but never really following many traditions, she didn’t want to be cremated. She wanted a white tombstone to be erected for her and a John Keats’ poem as her epitaph. She now rests in one, in her favourite white sari with her black bindi that never left her forehead while she was alive; it wouldn’t, even in death.

She has not left much for anyone; just a few books that she had collected throughout her life and some of her poems and writings. There are journals in the name of each of her grandkids; some worn-out yellow pages in which she poured her heart. The pieces of her heart thus shall live even after her old and shrivelled body has decayed under the Earth.

Our Self-Written Obituaries invites people to write their obituary in 200 words. The idea is to share with the world how you will like to be remembered after you are gone. (May you live a long life, of course!) Please mail me your self-obit at mayankaustensoofi@gmail.com.

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Our Self-Written Obituaries – Pushpita Majumdar, Benares

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Our Self-Written Obituaries – Pushpita Majumdar, Benares

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Our Self-Written Obituaries – Pushpita Majumdar, Benares