F. Samson*
* Assistant Professor, Udaya College of Arts & Science, Ammandivilai 629 204, Kanyakumari District.
Abstract
Death in traditional Indian family is an inauspicious event which demands number of rituals to be performed after the funeral ceremony. Githa Hariharan reveals the changing attitude of the younger generation towards death at the backdrop traditional beliefs in her short story collection, The Art Of Dying. Death of a person, to some, gives the desired opportunity for self-discovery and, to others; it is a relief from tensions of life. Death also appears to be an act of despair, the inescapable destination of every living being on their journey. In her unique style of narration the writer portrays the characters and their reaction towards death. She has unquestionable skill in showing death as a phenomenon which is inevitable. Death is with a person from the very moment he is born whether he is conscious of it or not. But it doesn’t mean that one should be fearful about it. Some deaths instill guilty conscious; while others a sense of relief based on the situation of people who live around the dead. The traditional reaction towards death is getting diluted.