Demise and not quite dead!

Tarsem Singh Deogan

Social media is a double edged sword. One of the worst things about social media is unreliable information or the spreading of rumors. Especially rumours about death. Former minister of Finance and corporate affairs Arun Jaitely was the recent victim of online rumors. Before his death people had started sharing the news on various social network media –including WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter, without realizing how it would affect the person still alive or his family. Mr Jaitely is now no more. May the departed soul rest in peace.

I can feel the pain of Mr Jaitely and his family, as I have gone through a similar disturbing situation. Though, news of my death was not an unfounded rumor, but a case of confusion and mistaken identity.

This is how it unfolded. I prefer to wake up late on the weekend as I write till late in the night. On February 24 (Sunday) I woke up around 8.30am. As I wanted to enjoy the privilege of a warm quilt I decided to stay in bed for a few more minutes.

Frequent ringing messages on my mobile, which I found hard to locate, grabbed my attention. After frantically searching the entire bed finally I found my bleeping phone under my pillow.

As I opened WhatsApp, I received the shock of my life. In a WhatsApp group of authors and writers to which I belong, news of my own death was flashing.  Some had begun to post obituary messages. The news made me jump out of my bed.

When I logged in to Facebook, i found friends had written obituary messages on my wall. People who I met a day before, they posted in absolute shock.  They wrote they met me few hours ago and had found me fit and fine. I received calls from some close friends and relatives after they came to know about ‘my death’- thanks to social networking sites. Everyone was traumatized.  The news spread like wildfire and it caused shock and hurt. 

I took the thing lightly till my immediate family took notice of it. After seeing my mother and wife in tears I started digging into the origin of the rumor. I found that a Dr S Tarsem, a prominent figure in Punjabi Literature did actually die of cardiac arrest. Someone shared news of his demise in a WhatsApp group with a message that writer and Author S Tarsem is no more. As I share my name with Dr S Tarsem and i also have a Punjabi book to my credit, people mistook me for the late author.

For conveying the message that I am indeed alive and in the pink of health I shared my latest photos on all my social media accounts to convince people that I was fine.

Well the grieving mourners deleted their obituary messages themselves that they posted on social networking sites ‘remembering me’. Half of the day was eaten up trying to convey news that I am alive.

Veteran Bollywood star Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachhan, Mumtaz, Hollywood actor Rowan Atkinson, (famous as Mr Bean), Megan Fox, all have suffered similar rumours. Before his death there were several rumors of Shashi Kapoor’s demise. The list is long.

Let us be more sensitive and verify such things before sharing it. We should only die once, in real life and in our virtual presence. 

Smallest matter most

In my childhood I was always fascinated by small ants roaming around the house. They keep on running about and also touch each
other with their small antennae. Sometimes I set up obstacles on their path, but they always found their way through it all.

Today as the man of the house, earning bread and butter for my family, I still remember those ants. I realise now that they are not just ants but also my mentors, I have learnt many lifelessons observing their behaviour.

Sometimes I get so frustrated by obstacles or unfavourable situations, I tend to rest my head on my desk - feeling completely helpless. The only thing that comes to mind is that I cannot do anything in this situation. Not just me, but thousands like me express their frustration in the samy way during hard times. Remember the mischief of barring the way of ants by setting up obstacles in their way? Do they stop? No way! They never give up and find their way through barriers.

As a child I was fascinated by the behaviour of ants. I found them to be very interesting and I used to see them enlarged under a magnifying glass. I found they always seemed busy, rushing here and there for food. I found crossing each other they would stop for a fraction of a second and tap each other’s head with their antennae . During my high school I learnt that ants do actually have a way of communicating by tapping their antennas. I grabbed a lesson here - no matter how busy we are in our daily routine, we must find time to communicate with our friends and those who do care for us.

Planning for the future is another lesson I have learned from the little ants. Ants keep collecting food and store it for rainy days. This is their attempt at future planning. Gives us humans a clear indication to also plan for our future. Remember the old story of the ants and the grasshopper? Remember the ants ~ smallest matter most!