In a heartwarming but bizarre display of community spirit, 74-year-old retired Indian Air Force warrant officer Mohan Lal organized his last journey himself in Konchi village in Bihar’s Gaya district on October 11, 2025. Wrapped in a white shroud and flower-bedecked bier, the former soldier was paraded through the village streets amid cheers of “Ram Naam Satya Hai” and sad songs like “Chal Ud Ja Re Panchhi”, drawing hundreds of emotional villagers.

The yatra ended at the newly built Muktidham cremation ground, which Mohan Lal had financed with a sum of Rs 6 lakh from his pension to ease the problems of cremation during the rainy season. As the rituals reached their climax, Lal stood up dramatically and revealed the feat. A symbolic effigy was cremated, its ashes immersed in a nearby river, followed by a grand community feast.

“I wanted to witness my last journey and feel the love and respect that people have for me—something that a dead person cannot see,” Lal said, his eyes moist with joy at the sight of the crowd of people. Lal, a widower since the death of his wife Jeevan Jyoti 14 years ago, father of two sons and a daughter, devotes his post-retirement life to social service and commands the respect of the villagers.

Videos of the event went viral on social media, garnering millions of views and sparking debate on the fleeting bonds of life. Highlighting the legacy of Lal’s selfless actions, a villager said, “His heart was filled to see us mourn; now we celebrate his vitality.”

This adorable ritual mirrors the tragic paradox of 2024 Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan, where 25-year-old deaf-mute Rohitash Kumar wakes up on his funeral pyre after doctors declared him dead prematurely, and did not conduct the mandatory postmortem. After finding shelter at Maa Seva Sansthan after an attack of fever, he remained stuck in the mortuary for hours before the evening funeral. Moments after the ignition, he was back in the ICU of Bhagwan Das Khaitan Hospital, unconscious, breathing and moving. Unfortunately, he died the next day on his way to Jaipur, leading to the suspension of three doctors and a probe into negligence.

While Lal’s story celebrates the love of life, Rohitash’s story underlines the urgency of medical accountability. Both stories remind us: the finality of death, whether happy or sad, demands reverence.