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One thing the priest at Amma's funeral said struck a chord. He said that death mends relationships and puts a full stop to ongoing misunderstandings. I noticed this unravelling before my very eyes, first during Appa's passing and more recently during Amma's. Bonding among Appa's siblings and Amma had never been cordial since the beginning of time. Appa's death at least brought them all together, and their togetherness has lingered to date.
The Greeks understood this aeons ago. Many Greek philosophers, including Socrates, recognised that tragedy is an important emotional, moral and social tool in everyone's life. It is not merely for theatrical entertainment. It serves as a form of emotional cleansing and a mirror to our lives and the direction we are leading them. The cathartic emotional outpouring reflects the hopelessness of birth and prompts reflection on the moral and ethical decisions one must make in life. It questions whether life is fair, whether there is justice here on Earth, and whether humans have free will or if everything is preordained. We come to understand the futility of pride and ego. Tragedy humbles us and makes us responsible for our actions.
I remember Amma engrossed in a melodramatic Tamil film. In Amma's books, the more tear-jerking a film, the higher it scored. I distinctly remember Amma walking out of a cinema, all red-eyed and tearful, praising a particular Tamil film for its high 'crying index'.
The Greeks celebrate theatre as a religious festival honouring Dionysus, the ancient god of merrymaking; in a way, he is the opposite of order, as exemplified by Apollo.
As Nietzsche argued, a complete human experience requires the synthesis of both Apollonian structure and Dionysian passion. Tragedy, ecstasy and order encompass a balanced life.
Death, the fear of death and the absence of immortality in humans, make us grounded, less egoistic and compassionate towards others. We realise that we are indeed vulnerable and not invincible.
Farouk Gulsara (asokansham@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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