Who will cry when I die?

No - nothing to do with Robin Sharma. Considering that Mr. Sharma's book on this topic is such a bestseller (no, I have not read this book), maybe I should have seriously considered the question much earlier. But I never did. Recently, however, a friend asked me something similar: How would I want to be remembered when I die? I said, I really didn't care. Yes, I truly don't. The way I look at it is this - when I die there is no way I can ever know if someone will remember me, so what does it really matter how one would think of me? That has been my take always about death. I know I have to die one day, and that is the simple truth. I don't think of death beyond that, no fear, no apprehensions. And what happens beyond death, that never comes to mind.

Yet, this friend insisted: If I were to have an epitaph what would I want inscribed on it. I said the first thing that came to mind: A friend; when people think of me I would like them to say I was a friend. That was a very instinctive answer to her question; but when I thought about it later, I realized I couldn't be far from the truth. To me, friendship is truly the highest relationship of all. And if someone were to really think of me after I am dead, I want to be thought of as a friend. This is one relationship that is not governed by any social constraints or social obligations, which I believe become the bane of many a relationship from sibling relationships to even mother-child relationships. It is one relationship that is devoid of any pressures and one whose course is determined by the two people in question rather than anybody else. It is one relationship that encapsulates all that one craves for in life - trust, support, communication, loyalty, understanding, empathy, affection, love and intimacy; and also includes that which is lacking so much in other relationships - truth and honesty.

I do not have many friends; I am not necessarily a very social, extroverted person. But the few people I am friends with, I have been truly blessed. And the people who consider me their friend, I try my best to be one as described above. As I said before, to me that is truly the greatest relationship of all. So, if I were to drop dead today, and you were to think of me, think of me as a friend.