For a Friend...

It was not a good day. One of my friends lost 5 members of his family in a tragic car-accident in India, after they were on their way back home after completing pujas (prayers) at the temple. The only solace is the miraculous escape of my friend's little daughter. If it is this painful, I can only empathize how it will be for the family. Some of what my Tamil teachers taught during school days at Carmel Garden, especially in நிலையாமை (Fleeting nature of life) and யாக்கை நிலையாமை (impermanency of bodily life) kept flashing through my mind in these three Kurals.

நெருந லுளனொருவன் இன்றில்லை என்னும்
பெருமை யுடைத்திவ் வுலகு                      (336)

And this:

நாளென ஒன்றுபோற் காட்டி உயிர்ஈரும்
வாளது உணர்வார்ப் பெறின்.                      (334)

And then this:

உறங்கு வதுபோலுஞ் சாக்காடு உறங்கி
விழிப்பது போலும் பிறப்பு.                         (339)

In June 2010, The New York Times carried a full-fledged article on increasing road-accidents in India. Just a fortnight ago, we received news that one of our friends' brother was lost to a tragic car-accident, at the outskirts of Coimbatore. Hope the insouciant powers-that-be work towards safety on the roads.

Otherwise, the Tamil Nadu State Road Transport Corporations can display these Kurals inside their buses instead of the other quotidian Kurals on display.

My prayers and thoughts are with my friend and his family.