NEW DELHI, Jan. 16 -- Funerals are usually dour affairs, nothing to write home about. Yet, having witnessed some interesting funerals on TV in the recent past, I did find some lessons to be learnt and thoughts to be shared.

The first one was that of Queen Elizabeth the Second (QE II) who died on 8th September 2022, aged 96. Her funeral was full of pomp and pageantry for which the British are renowned. This is faithfully followed by Indian Army regiments founded in the colonial era.

A friend, who happened to be in London at the time, confirmed the military precision and meticulous planning of the funeral. I had then observed a few things. The first was the complete lack of emotion, the proverbial British stiff upper lip! I was intrigue...