“Murda Paraston ki Duniya” , is perhaps my father’s favourite line. Loosely translated it would mean, “this is a world where the dead are greatly appreciated.” Over the years, I have come to believe that this is in fact true. It’s amazing how an untimely death can propel you to win a posthumous Oscar or how suddenly “that woman” who stays on your street turns into “that poor soul” in case she meets the grim reaper on her way home.
But why am I talking of death today? Because Robin Williams allegedly committed suicide. I am not big on obituaries and I hate people posting RIP messages as soon as someone famous dies. And yet somehow Robin Williams strikes a chord. Like all great Hollywood actors, he fought his battle with alcohol, drugs and depression (Hollywood definitely needs new ways of dying). And then tragically resolved to allegedly end his life.
But that’s not how, I will recall Robin Williams. He will always be Mrs.Doubtfire, the Genie to my Aladdin, the guy with the best comebacks in ‘Whose line is it anyway..’ Every time, I looked at Robin Williams, in a comedy show or a movie, I thought of him as the man who absolutely loved what he was doing, and therefore maybe even was the happiest man in Hollywood? I couldn’t have been more wrong.
That brings me to my next point. People who are always cracking jokes, have a spot on sense of humor, have perfectly timed one liners and are always surrounded by laughter; are all of them inherently sad? Hiding a world of pain behind the veneer of a happy disposition? Whether this laughter makes their life more bearable, I don’t know, but it sure as hell makes the lives of those around them much easier.
Kaifi Azmi comes to mind, “Tum itna jo muskura rahe ho, kya gham hai jisko chupa rahe ho?” ( I wonder what sadness you hide, behind that effervescent smile), and I truly wonder, if we ought to pay a little more attention to those happy people around us and ask them if all is in fact good? Maybe they have bigger problems than us, but have gotten really good at hiding them. The ones who laugh the loudest, crack the funniest jokes and are usually the life of the party, may also be the ones with the most terribly broken hearts.
Lastly, we have got to pay more attention to those alive around us. We ought to appreciate and love the living more, instead of waiting until an untimely death takes them away from us. We should perhaps work towards living in a world that acknowledges the contributions of the ones living. I for one would love to be great while am alive instead of being phenomenal in my death.
Zahra Husain likes to live and think in ways she is not supposed to and she blogs at http://www.zahrasays.com