The geeky life to be celebrated

I have perhaps read about half dozen obituaries/profiles of Steve Jobs over the two days since his death. The one sentiment I had not read is, “It is an irreparable loss to the IT industry.” I liked that.

Steve Jobs was contributing to what was his company till the day he died; his name had become synonymous with showmanship-cum-marketing brilliance in an industry typically driven by geekiness – think Google. He was, in a sense “convergence” personified. Therefore, the sentiment “irreparable loss” would not have sounded odd, even had it been expressed. But, it was not. I liked that.

Contrast that with what happened with Mansur Ali Khan “Pataudi”. He had severed his connections with the game long ago (except for IPL, not the format in which he made his name). Why was his death, then, a great loss to the cricketing world? I had read this in the newspapers.

In his later years Einstein was far from the days of unbounded admiration from the physics community. Ensconced as an elder, he was more or less tolerated, to be uncharitable about it. M S Subbulakshmi, in her non-performing years, was admired for what she had done. Was her death a loss to Carnatic Music? M F Husain was active in his profession, but I am not aware whether people, even among the arts cognoscenti, tolerated or appreciated his later works. Yet, the death of each one of them was mourned with the sentiment “irreparable loss”, or something equivalent.

Take the case of Richard P Feynman. Just a few years before his death, he established and explained in his inimitable style why the space shuttle “Challenger” blew up. His mind was active till the very end. His death was not unexpected. I do not recall this mushy sentiment being expressed. Even had it been expressed, it would not have been out of place.

I may be sounding callous, but I cannot understand what is the loss when a life that has been well lived and has accomplished much dies? Where is the loss? The dead had contributed immensely in his or her life. It is time to celebrate.

Celebrate what? Celebrate death? That is so macabre, you may think and I will not disagree with you. But I do give below, for your unbenefit what an Irish Wake is (taken from Wikipedia).

WHAT IS AN "IRISH WAKE"?
The traditional Irish Wake was commonplace around Ireland up until about the 1970's. This was the process of Laying out the body of a departed relative in the house where they lived and /or died. All of the family and quite a few of the deceased ones neighbours and friends would gather at the house. The body was usually in a coffin in the parlour of the house or living room. There would be lots of food and plenty of drink to be consumed. People would come and socialise and remember the departed person's life. This wasn't a time for tears to say the least, it was more of a party than a funeral. It was the traditional Irish way of celebrating one's life and ensuring that they had a good send off. [My emphasis]. A proper Irish Wake is worth the time and effort required to return to the old customs. It is hard to imagine a passing being complete without one!

OK, even if there had been an Irish Wake for Steve Jobs (though as far as I can tell he was not of Irish descent), and even had I been invited, I would not have attended! But, that would have been preferable to the customary, teary-eyed yet anodyne sentiment, “an irreparable loss.”

I am glad that the geek community eschewed such plastic stuff.

Raghuram Ekambaram