When my mother died at Madurai and was cremated at the Thathaneri burial cum Burning ghat, I was really shocked at the prevailing conditions there, which prompted me to write the following verse:
I thought I was not afraid to die,
Until I saw the Thathaneri burning ghat at Madurai,
With pigs, rabid dogs and urchins on a race,
Vying with each other for space:
Area littered with all forms of filth,
A challenge to human dignity and health.
IT WAS THEN THAT I DECIDED NEVER TO DIE!