Celebration for Nadia

The first picture shows Nadia, the second one Eshana.

Here is an article from the Pune Mirror, February 17:

Rejoice! Nadia is no more!

Oshoites celebrate the death of their Italian associate, killed in the blast, in keeping with their master’s ideals. After all, she is free from this world and starting out in the next

By Chaitraly Deshmukh and Payal Banerjee
Posted On Wednesday, February 17, 2010 at 12:13:14 AM

Eshana (Top), a close friend of Italian Oshoite Nadia Mercerini (Above)Living upto Osho’s teaching “Celebrate life! Celebrate death!” and tradition of Osho followers, the friends and associates of Italian Oshoite Nadia Mercerini, who died in the 13/2 German Bakery bombing, came together and ‘celebrated’ her death on Sunday evening.

Strange it may sound to many, but Oshoites have a tradition of ‘celebrating’ death. There had been similar ‘celebrations’ when Osho himself passed away. And the tradition comes from Osho’s teachings. Osho had said, “Death is always close by. It is almost like your shadow.

You may be aware, you may not be aware, but it follows you from the first moment of your life to the very last moment.

Death is a process just as life is a process, and they are almost together, just like two wheels of a bullock cart. Life cannot exist without death; neither can death exist without life.”

He had also said, “And existence gives so abundantly, it is not miserly. You are just not alert enough to use the opportunity to transform yourself into something immortal, eternal, into some experience which will make you beyond the reach of death. Just fearing death is not of any help.

If you see that death is following you, it is time to start searching deeper into yourself for that point which is beyond death. We have been calling that point satchitanand: the truth of your being, the ultimate consciousness of your life and the tremendous blessing of your coming to flower.”

“Nadia was on a spiritual path and a diehard Osho follower. That is why we decided to stick to Osho’s teachings and celebrate her death,” says Eshana (50), a close associate of the deceased.

Sitting quietly on a bench outside the mortuary of the Sassoon Hospital after seeking Nadia’s body and waiting for the formalities to be completed prior to receiving the body and ncessary for sending her mortal remains to her motherland, Eshana vividly recalled how they ‘celebrated’ Nadia’s death.

Eshana remembered,“On Sunday evening, we got together at my house in Koregaon park. We were about 25 people, all close to Nadia.

We played the music she loved and danced. This ‘celebration’ went on till late evening.” Clutching a purse gifted to her by Nadia, Eshana says Nadia was a yoga instructor and frequented Pune for the last seven to eight years.

“She had returned to Pune from a Thailand tour, just three weeks ago and her first words on reaching here were “home is where home is”. I had purchased a new dress for her. I want her to return to her motherland wearing it.”

HUMMING BIRD FLEW AWAY
She remembered Nadia as a lively person. “Nadia was a humming bird. She would always hum old melodies. She loved Bollywood movies and Ai Dil Hai Mushkil Jeena Yahan was her favorite song.”

She said, “Nadia was a pure vegeterian and loved to cook. But she savoured restaurant food also. She liked Pizza from La-Pizzeria. She was an enviornment lover and used bicycle to move about whenever she went to teach yoga or to anywhere else. She could talk in Marathi and Hindi.”

Eshana recalled, “Like me she too always wore a smile. That was what attracted us to each other. Just hours before the blast, we had lunch together on Saturday.

Then we were discussing about quitting smoking. We parted ways after promising each other to meet again at a function.

After the blast, I could not contact her. I came to know about her death only when a friend from Mumbai called up the next day. I then went to the hospital and identified Nadia.”

http://www.punemirror.in/index.aspx?page=article§id=2&contentid=20100217201002170013140782725e34§xslt=

Sourced from Viha Connection magazine