Obituary Advertisements in Deccan Chronicle

 

Obituary Advertisements in Deccan Chronicle

 It would be interesting to go through obituary advertisements as long as you are not figuring there. Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev says: “Whoever you meet, speak to them like it is the last time you may have that opportunity. It will transform your life.” Who knows when my turn would come to appear in these columns?

 I first look through all the photos to see if anyone I know is not there anymore. I might use the info to send a condolence message or inform my friends about it. I feel a sigh of relief if have no such follow up work to do.

 

I often find that photographs are of odd sizes, leaving a lot of white space around. DC offers standard size for obit Ads, while advertisers use images of odd sizes, not optimized it for the size of the column. When some popular person dies, many individuals place Ads for the same dead person forcing you peer at same photo many times. I made a suggestion to Deccan Chronicle to consolidate all such Ads into one big single Ad benefiting all concerned. This appeal for respecting the dead, has not made any headway.

 

The photographs in obituary Ads compete in quality only with photos in passport or Aadhar. The photos themselves tell a lot – just look at the spects, uniform, mush, drooping eyes, mouth etc. Some look so young that makes it mandatory to check DOB and DOD.  I cannot find any reason for this laxity, except that family members of the dead person may be hard up for time or are too confused. Most relatives might have been predicting the D-day to be far off but were caught unawares.

 

On the contents, I may comment that more Christians than others use it best. By studying the text, one may learn different practices of various communities. Anniversary and remembrance Ads are intriguing – how long should one be remembered?  Sometimes birthday Ads show up along with Obit Ads creating confusion.   

 

The number of people joining to condole the death is amazing. It is one thing to help the reader know WHO is dead but it is another thing to let us know all his relatives. In order to maximise space utilization, some people stuff the entry with so much text that even reading TOI matrimonial Classified Ad on a Sunday will be much easier.

 

I wonder what comments YOU might be having when that ‘once-in-a- lifetime-event’ in my case is advertised!

 

 

 

Announcements of Obituary

Announcements of Obituary

Recently a friend of mine commented: Why do we have obituary announcements in meetings at the beginning? Why not towards the end of meeting? That set me thinking - let me share my thoughts here.

When a member of a group / association passes away, his death is announced at the next available opportunity, say a meeting or via newsletter. In meetings it is almost always done as the first item, taking precedence over agenda. In a large group many participants don’t have any idea as to who is dead, unless reference is made with some re-callable details.  All members stand in silence in honour of the departed soul for thirty seconds to three minutes. Many do not have any clue as to who is dead. This activity is performed in a most perfunctory careless manner. If this activity is a part of annual even then it is a shear formality. If the diseased person is an important or a well known person then he gains entry into agenda proper.

                               

Sometimes, the nearest opportunity may come when the association’s periodical newsletter is released. Here, the news of departed members is given at the end of the publication or used as a filler at the bottom of some unimportant page. Usually jokes are given similar weight. Many times a photo is included so that infrequent participants may guess [which photo resembles the original?] who is dead. Many times, very scanty info is shared, as if to complete some formality.  If the association really cares about the loss of a dear member than brief details such as who, when, where and how are supplied. And explain why or how people remember him. This calls for some work, exertion and exploration.

I have seen photo of some neighborhood slum dweller printed on a piece of A4 size paper pasted to some card board and placed as a placard in street corners to announce the demise of some popular figure. DOB, DOD and Name are minimum info shared. Such placards stay for day and get washed off in rain or otherwise torn in traffic chaos.

Newspaper advertisements on obituary are paid for.  Mostly the purpose is to inform the public who cannot otherwise be reached about last rites or about tenth day events. Almost all of them give enough info to contact the bereaving family members so that we may convey our condolences in time. Sometimes Advertisements of anniversaries of dead persons get mixed up causing confusion. Again seeing some (unknown) person’s photo some half a dozen times on the same page is irksome. Can some publisher volunteer to bundle obituary notices of same person into one large advert and make more money for value addition?

Newspaper obituary advertisements or obituary notes printed by the paper as a news item are permanent and are searchable online. One lady rang up from Mumbai and said: “ I am so & so. I have lost contact with a childhood friend name so and so for several decades. All that I know is she lives in Chennai, married to one Ki Va Jaganathan’s  son.  I am going to Chennai shortly and would like to meet her. Can you help locate her?” Thanks to an obituary advertisement of Ki Va Ja I could help them meet and renew their friendship.

In Senior Citizens Forum, Secunderabad where I am a member we have a song for the forum which runs thus:

The time to be happy is now

The place to be happy is here

And the way to be happy is to make someone happy

And have a little heaven right here!

The current practice is to sing the song in unison by all members present towards the end of the meeting. Keeping the content and import of the song I suggested: “Why not we sing the Forum song in the beginning of our meetings instead of at the end”. That way we will remind ourselves to value NOW – the present moment – and as well try to make someone happy during the course of the meeting.  Well, SCF didn’t accept the suggestion. This brings us back to suggestion given in the start of this article. People are reluctant and afraid of change and are happy to stick to status quo. Mental security at stake!

The Hindu and APJ in my life

The Hindu and APJ in my life

APJ referred to in this story is Prof AP Jambulingam and not Ex-President of India popularly known as APJ. There are similarities among them, about that a little later.

Prof AP Jambulingam, nonagenarian (92), passed away on 20^th June 2013. He was the Principal of Guindy Engineering College in early sixties, then for two decades Founder Principal of Southern Regional Institute for Training Technical Teachers (later it became Technical Teachers Training Institute (TTTI), and now National Institute for Technical Teacher Training (NITTT). He served as expert in UNESCO and the UN after retirement.

Prof Jambulingam is a simple, humane, God-fearing person. Essentially a mechanical engineer, he turned out to be a leader, an institution builder, a teacher – trainer, educationist and what not? As far I am concerned he was a very considerate and compassionate boss, for I worked under him for about four years as the first librarian of TTTI during late sixties.

It was a job advertisement in “The Hindu” that brought me to him and TTTI. It was again a Hindu advertisement about a vacancy in Indian Detonators that took me away from him to Hyderabad. Again it is now The Hindu obituary advertisement that told me about his separation in a permanent way. He was a marvellous man. It was the tremendous freedom, independence and encouragement he gave (that was innate in him) that helped me set up a decent technical library at TTTI. This has grown over four decades into an enviable Resource Centre, headed presently Dr Ravichandran.

Once, to help his daughter in her school work, he asked me for some info on history of bicycles. Following conversation ensued after his reading up what I gave:

APJ: Who suggested this wonderful book? Though I am a mechanical Engineer I had not known about these things!

Me: Sir, It was Prof Cornelius who asked this book to be bought

APJ: Wonderful. She has done excellent work. Her contributions to the library will be remembered by all.

I wish to point out that Prof APJ and Prof Cornelius HOD, Education, were not getting on well due to certain personal misunderstanding. But APJ won’t mix up personal animosities while judging a person’s professional work. That was APJ.

Prof APJ and President APJ have many things in common. Both are simple. Both are loved by people. Both were leaders of a different kind. Both liked kids. Both were innovative. Both were excellent bosses wherever they happened to work. If you look up to ex-president APJ in great respect with awe I do the same to both – to the latter because of my personal association, to the former because of what I know indirectly about him.