India, Feb. 26 -- It has just been a couple of months since the New Year and I have attended two weddings and two funerals already. Since they happened one after the other, I have put them together in my mind: love and death and how the two are connected.

An uncle passed away. At his funeral and subsequent days, I witnessed an outpouring of love and from his family, relatives, people he mentored and neighbours. They spoke of him with affection and admiration. All of them said the same few things: about his uncommon kindness, curiosity about the world, his ability to treat politicians and peons with the same respect, and his love for words, travel, and food. All of which led me to wonder about the age-old question: what will your obituary...