India: a terrible place for celebrities to die in

Which is best city to live in from a quality of life perspective? Vancouver, says an Economist Intelligence Unit study .

Which is the best country to die in? Britain, says the EIU .

Which is the worst country to be in when a celebrity dies? The honours for this one must surely go to India.

The Nawab of Pataudi’s death saw ‘mourners’ trespassing on his private property at his funeral. Reports the Times of India : “The 300 policemen deployed to maintain order along the route of Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi’s funeral procession and around his estate were no match for the loud and sometimes insensitive village crowd that descended upon Pataudi Palace’s grounds for a glimpse of his star family.

Instead of commiserating with the grieving family, ‘Tiger’ Pataudi’s erstwhile ‘subjects’ overran the palace grounds for a glimpse of his actor son Saif, daughter Soha, and the actor sisters Kareena Kapoor and Karisma Kapur. The 5,000-strong local crowd comprising even women and children scaled the property’s walls while the police tried in vain to maintain order. More than once, the cops had to push away the trespassing crowd.

The presence of policemen had no effect on the gatecrashers , and journalists had to practically elbow their way to the head of the rowdy crowd to be closest to the grave.”

Be thankful that that’s all it was. No one, fortunately, injured or dead, no stampede. Just a lack of respect to the family and genuine mourners.

When Kannada superstar Dr. Rajkumar died, however. There were riots, suicides, arson and lathi-charges, bringing Bengaluru to a tense standstill. Reports The Hindu : “The police lobbed tear-gas shells and resorted to a lathicharge to disperse violent fans who indulged in stone throwing and set vehicles on fire at Sadashivanagar, Bellary Road, Magadi Road and at the Kanteerava Indoor Stadium and torched a petrol station at Hudson Circle.

At least 25 policemen, including senior officers, were injured and seven persons were said to have been stabbed.”

But nothing could match the ‘grief’ when Tamil Nadu’s filmstar-turned-politician MG Ramachandran died — of natural causes. Says Puratchithalaivar.org “His death sparked off an inexplicable frenzy of looting and rioting all over the state of Tamil Nadu. Shops, movie theaters, buses and other public and private property became the target of wanton violence let loose all over the state. The situation became so hopeless that the police had to resort issuing shoot-at-sight orders, something seldom seen or heard of in democratic India.

The violence during the funeral alone left 23 people dead and 47 police personnel badly wounded. This state of affairs continued for almost a month all over the state of Tamil Nadu, bringing normal life to a grinding halt and causing untold misery to millions.”

When Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YSR Reddy died, reports Rediff , 60 persons either committed suicide or died of shock after hearing the news.

Lack of civic sense, resorting to violence, looting and petty arson have become commonplace when it comes to the death of a celebrity in India. As rumours about MGR’s death began doing the rounds in Chennai, the city geared itself up for violence by his ‘mourners’. The anticipation of fear was not unfounded, as history tells us.

It’s getting to a point where the death of a celebrity causes the city in which the celebrity lived in or died in to brace itself for meaningless chaos (at the minimum).

There are no longer the conventional signs of mourning. There aren’t even expressions of loss on the faces of the majority at a celebrity funeral. No ‘badges’ of mourning such as pristine white clothes or crying behind the protection of sunglasses.

“For instance, I thought funerals were the last refuge of sanity. You wore white, wiped the grin off your face and mouthed the appropriate, “I am so sorry for your loss”. Not quite, it seems. Even though it’s been over three weeks since his passing, I am still scarred by the images taken at Shammi Kapoor’s funeral. Most mourners, specially the men, looked like they had rolled out of bed. Unshaven faces hidden behind dark glasses, torn denims and scuffed trainers seemed to be the norm. A few, under the mistaken belief that they were making a concession for mourning, had hastily buttoned up crumpled white shirts,” writes Nonita Kalra in The Indian Express.

Why do we mourn so badly? What is it about India that has so little respect for the celebrity who leaves us?