CONVERGENCE OF GRIEF : UNIVERSALITY OF HUMAN EMOTION IN COMMEMORATIVE PRACTICE

The Convergence of Grief: Universality of Human Emotion in Commemorative Practice

We visited the beach on Sunday, just yesterday. My son drove us from Jersey City, and in about 100 minutes we reached Funtime Beach in New Jersey. The stretch of sun, sand and water along the Atlantic felt both lively and restorative. It was crowded, yet somehow vast and orderly. The beach offers everything one needs : washrooms, chairs, sun shades, restaurants. Above the sea, motorboats pulled banners, and glided aircraft wrote messages across the sky. It was a scene of leisure, movement, and noise.

And yet, what stayed with me were the quiet benches. Lined along the tiled path to the shore, each one carried an inscription of remembrance. Names, dates, a few words of love. In the middle of all the activity, these small memorials asked us to pause.

That sight made me think of how, across the world, people deal with loss in such different ways, and yet with the same heart.

In India, we often remember through service. A water purifier, a cooler, ceiling fans, marble tiles in a temple, or trees planted in someone’s name. Grief is turned into something useful, so the person who is gone continues to give.

In the West, remembrance tends to be more contemplative. The benches at Funtime Beach are not for utility. They are places to sit, to remember, to let a name be spoken by strangers walking by. 

Different forms, but the same longing: to keep someone present, to say that love does not end with death. Cultural expression may change with place, but human feeling remains the same.

( Avtar Mota )

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