Reshmi 's memoirs jotted as events- to be refreshed by the writer if required

“The hour was approaching six and up in the compound’s solitary tree, sparrows began to call. Gustad listened to their chirping every morning while reciting his Kusti prayers. There was something reassuring about it. Always, the sparrows were first, the cawing of crows came later….” Lines are (not so famous) from chapter one of Such a Long Journey by Rohinton Mistry. The purpose of quoting these lines implies the best hour of the day begins at sunrise and in a city like Mumbai (Bombay) only two kinds of birds one would hear, sparrows or crows or even pigeons if they are flocked at a nearby Khabutar Khana . Generally, pigeons are messy and  a noisy lot they are hardly romantic – the pigeons. The pigeons they say, are a peaceful lot and the only admirable part of a grey pigeon, is its multi-hued neck that keeps rising and falling, its shiny velvet neck also speaks of the marvels of nature. Birds are  interesting to watch in their flight and so are those necessary pause...

A thin line that surfaces between ‘inevitability’ and ‘death’ is sometimes bright and visible to the pragmatic or brave. But one cannot justify it by sounding logical. It does give a jerk to the senses but somehow the emotional binding keeps tugging at the conscience. Yet that fluke decision is quick and necessary. We nowadays call it ‘passive’ death that permits the body cells to die a natural death. If imposed on oneself it is called suicide –Not a brave act though. A few such cases of ‘passive ‘deaths were witnessed by me does call for a debate from both the medical side and the layman’s. Views on life differ. Life’s ‘inevitable’ connect with death is mysterious . A recent news item when parents opined, almost implored to the authorities to allow ‘passive’ death for their eight month old baby who suffers from a liver disorder almost incurable. Not so long ago the natural death of a nurse who unfortunately was brutally raped, fell into a coma for almost two decades or more ma...