Thursday, June 02, 2011

Are you ready? by Rahal Eks

Are you ready? by Rahal Eks

"Are you ready?"

"For what?" you may counter.

Those in a freaky mood may reply: "For the psychedelic Bedouin!"

Others still need a second cup of coffee and some time to reflect.

However, I am ready and the issue is facing arrangements for your own funeral. Have you ever thought of it?

I did and I do and there is nothing morbid about it. And please relax, at this point I'm truly far removed from any suicidal ideas, au contraire, I'm in a better mood than ever - delighted with life - yet the thoughts about my future funeral arrangements crept up some time ago and I thought I'd share the updated version of my last desire with you.

In the more holistic Orient death is a well integrated part of 
life while in Occidental societies - with the exception of Spain and Latin America - death, dying and all what it implies has become a taboo. It is something to be denied vehemently and persistently, although regardless if you like it or not, you too and everyone will die one day. So, let's face it.

Being the queer misfit-me and somewhat rebellious, as well as unorthodoxy incarnated, I decided to break with Islamic custom: I want my corpse to be cremated and the reason is not a Malamati-number of sorts, but based on plain practical and poetic considerations - this way the funeral party can take place at various locations and my ashes may delight in a diversity of places as resting grounds (in life I could never say being from one place exclusively, so the same should be applied when I drop dead - besides 8 is a really nice number and I love the idea of getting 8 graves - I'm really not a greedy sucker, it is purely for diversity's sake).

I already signed a contract and chose the type of urn. To be precise 8 little urns - all indigo blue - they could be easily and discretely taken on a trip by the friend or friends to deposit them at 8 different places dear to me on this planet. Yes, my funeral will be a bit of a performance piece and a celebration where the living are required to collaborate. Not a sad party please. Therefore I shall already now record my favorite music for the occasion: as a starter the Frank Sinatra song "My Way" sang in Spanish by the Gypsy Kings in a flamenquisimo manner - "a mi manera" - followed by a classical Oum Kalthoum song in Arabic and diverse dhikr chants and Sufi music from different parts of the world, as well as some of my own music - a Qur'an recital of Surah Fatiha, Ya Sin & Al-Ikhlas - and a grand finale of Qawali from the album "Pukar/The Echo" by Nosrat Fateh Ali Khan with Sultan Khan - the tracks Ali Maula Ali Haqq & Allah Hu...

People participating are free to do sama, the whirling dance.

For those who are requested to deliver the urns I still will write detailed instructions like a little short film script.

Let's face it, facing "it" can be fun and mega-creative. And whenever it is my time I'm already looking forward to it and what comes after - there is always an after. And life goes on on the other side. Free of nasty bureaucracy and other tralila we are forced to deal with in this restricted 3D section of reality, which is only a part of the entire spectrum...

In the US there used to be a radio program entitled "The Shadow knows" (that's why I used the photo taken in Cordoba with my shadow as an illustration, an attempt for holistically integrating shadow and light, and not indulging in fragmented one-sidedness where the multiple modalities of wujud, of being, are denied.

It is a sunny day. In some parts of the world it is father's day. I'm only the father of my creative out-lets in different forms and shapes and media, nevertheless I'll celebrate by going for a ride on my bike through the park while listening to my personal funeral music playlist, lol!

Oh, and keep in mind and heart to die before dying - it will make it easier when the hour strikes!

Ya Haqq, saludos wa ma as-salama wa ishq bashad! Rahal