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| Greenpark Cremation Ground, New Delhi |
- Brian Mendonca
Your eyes are alive
You seem attentive
to the Brahmakumari
who even now
consecrates your body
with tilak on your forehead.
'सबको माफ़ करते हुए
सबसे माफ़ी माँगते हुए
उड़ जा। ठीक हें?'
Who has to seek forgiveness
from whom?
Who decides?
13 years
you struggled
for a chance at life
Your mouth half-open
struggling for words.
Your trusting eyes
don't know what's coming.
From AIIMS to Greenpark
the pyre is across the road.
MANH withdrawn
on orders compliant.
After 10 days
you gave up the struggle
when heroes die
at 31.
'मेरा बेटा
जहाँ भी जनम ले
खुश रहे।'
says your father.
For an 18-year-old
boy in blue.
Who decides?
Coda: Liam Payne Teardrops
(27 March 2026
Goa)
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Note
Harish Rana (31) died at AIIMS, New Delhi, on 24th March 2026 after being given passive euthanasia. This was the first case in India in which permission was granted by the Supreme Court - after his parents petitioned it. Harish was in coma since 2013, after sustaining brain injuries from a fall from the fourth floor of a hostel room in Panjab University, Chandigarh when he was 18. The family hails from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh in North India.
-Brahmakumaris: spiritual movement led by women to promote inner peace and meditation through yoga.
-tilak: applying tilak (sandalwood paste) is the final consecration of the dead body. It is often applied to the ajna chakra - the centre of the forehead - believed to be the place where the soul exits.
-सबको: (Hindi) Sab ko maaf karte hue. / Sabse mafi mangte hue, ud ja. Theek heh?' 'Forgiving everyone, asking for forgiveness from all, fly away, okay?' Addressing the soul to leave the cage of the broken body.
-AIIMS: All India Institute of Medical Science
-MANH: Medically Assisted Nutrition and Hydration.
-31: Jesus (33), Jim Morrison (27), Liam Payne (31), Avicii (28)
-मेरा बेटा: (Hindi) Mera beta / jahan bhi janam le / khush rahe. 'Wherever my son takes birth, may he be happy.' Referring to the Hindu philosophy of rebirth.
Updated 28/3/26.
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