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Humra Quraishi takes a peek at Khushwant Singh’s recently released Death at my Doorstep
The Preface carries Khushwant’s obituary which he wrote in 1943, when he was still in his twenties and which later appeared in a collection of short stories by him. Titled Posthumous, it says: "I am in bed with fever .It is not serious…. In fact, it is not serious at all, as I have been left alone to look after myself. I wonder what would happen if the temperature suddenly shot up. Perhaps, I would die. That would be really hard on my friends.... "Perhaps, The Tribune would mention it in its front page with a small photograph. The headline would read ‘Sardar Khushwant Singh dead’ — and then in somewhat smaller print: ‘We regret to announce the sudden death of Sardar Khushwant Singh at 6 pm last evening. He leaves behind a young widow, two infant children and a large number of friends and admirers to mourn his loss.... Amongst those who called at the late sardar’s residence were the PA to the Chief Justice, several ministers and Judges of the High Court’." Tryst with destiny Khushwant’s views on death are as clear-cut and forthright as his views on just about any other aspect of day-to-day living. He states, "We do not talk of death lightly — it is regarded as tasteless, ill mannered and depressing. This is the wrong way to look upon an essential fact of life which makes no exceptions… I’m now over 90 years old and am aware that the hour of my tryst with destiny is drawing near…. Being a rationalist, I do not accept irrational, unproven theories of life-death-rebirth in different forms as an unending process till our beings mingle with God and we attain nirvana…. As far I’m concerned I accept the finality of death; we do not know what happens to us we die …" Maligning the dead Dwelling on the criticism that he faces — that he does not spare the dead in his hard-hitting obits, Khushwant writes, "I have never subscribed to the belief that nothing bad should be said about the dead. If people were evil in their lifetimes, death does not convert them into saints. Such falsehoods may be condoned when inscribed on tombstones but not in obituaries which should be without bias, but truthful. I have written lots of obituaries about people I have admired and loved; I have also written about people I detested and loathed. I did my best to be as even handed as I could about all of them." Khushwant writes how one ought to be prepared for one’s death: "We must always bear in mind that death is inevitable…. Without brooding over it, be prepared for it. Poet Asadullah Khan Ghalib put it beautifully — rau mein hai raksh-e - umar kahaan deykheeye thammey ? / Nai haath baag par hai nah pa hai rakaab mein (age travels at a galloping pace / who knows where it will stop / we do not have the reins in our hands / we do not have our feet in the stirrups ). Own epitaph The author has also written his epitaph in the book, which reads as: "Here lies one who spared neither man or God/ Waste not your tears on him, he was a sod/ Writing nasty things he regarded as great fun/ Thank the Lord he is dead, this son of a gun. One marvels how the 90-plus Khushwant is still going strong. He writes two weekly columns and is in the midst of writing another book and translating Urdu poetry. His zest for life continues: at 7 pm as usual it is whisky time and then for one hour he meets friends and admirers. Probably, determination, focus and grit have kept him going. To quote an incident from this book, "In my third year as editor of The Hindustan Times, when my contract was due for renewal, my anndaataa (provider) KK Birla asked me ‘sardar sahib aap ka retire honey kaa vichaar naheen (aren’t you thinking of retiring)?’ I was then 69. I replied, ‘Birlaji, retire to main Nigambodh Ghaat mein honga (I will retire when I’m taken to the cremation ground).’ Others’ views Particularly interesting in the book are views about death and after death that Khushwant has obtained in the course of interviews and meetings with personalities like the Dalai Lama, Rajneesh and VP Singh. This book is more readable than any fast-paced, sex-stuffed fiction. Khushwant deserves credit for making death seem natural. He makes it appear as a part of our lives that should be looked forward to and discussed. |
The
latest book from Khushwant Singh has obituaries of many a who’s who,
including his own. Highlighting death and his views on death, the
chapters focus on well-known figures like Z.A. Bhutto, Sanjay Gandhi,
Tikka Khan, Mounbatten, MO Mathai, Rajni Patel, Gurcharan Singh Tohra,
Dhiren Bhagat, Mulk Raj Anand, Balwant Gargi, Nirad Babu, Protima Bedi,
Chetan Anand, Nargis, Amrita Shergil, P.C. Lal, Dharma Kumar, Yogi
Bhajan, Manzur Qadir and GS Fraser.