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Till technology do us apart!

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Last week, a dear friend of mine, Peter, died in his sleep. He lived in New Jersey, was highly successful at his job, and was looking forward to coming to India before he retired next March. That was not to be. He died pretty much the way he lived, gently, quietly, unobtrusively. His daughter Judy works for one of the UN organizations. Maybe in her job she has experienced the powerful reach and impact of internet technology, so I guess it was only fitting that she organized a wake for her father on the internet.

Most of Peter’s friends – including me- live all over the world. And since his death was unexpected, none of us could travel to say our goodbyes. I know I would have been heart-broken if I did not have this closure. So Judy did a smart thing. She organized the wake on the GotoMeeting platform of Citrix Online.

GoToMeeting was developed in July 2004 by the Online Services division of Citrix in Santa Barbara, California, using the remote access and screen sharing technology so it allows web conferencing. It also has VoIP and annotation tools. According to their website, “Citrix GoToMeeting makes it simple and cost-effective to meet online with colleagues and customers. Best of all, meeting participants can share their webcams in high definition, so you can enjoy more personal interactions – without needing a complicated setup”.

I’m sure Citrix never thought their technology would be used one day to broadcast a funeral! Talk about serendipitous discovery of a market segment!

white roseSo here we were, 11 of us, logging in to the GoToMeeting platform. I’m sure every one of us logged in with trepidation combined with grief. I live in Goa where internet is very dodgy so I wasn’t sure whether I would be able to participate in the wake at all. I was also very anxious that if internet played truant and denied me the opportunity to say one last good-bye, I would feel completely short-changed. But the log in was smooth and it seemed I was the first. I chatted with Judy about all the inconsequential stuff that you pick out for a wake, as if that would somehow sanitise the seriousness of the occasion. By then all others had logged in and the ritual began.

A wake is a social ritual, literally means keeping vigil over the dead body through the night, before the last rites are performed. I think every religion practises this in its own fashion. Amongst Hindus, a few grains of rice are stuffed into the mouth, legs crossed, eyes closed, body covered in white sheet, and a lamp placed at the head burns through the night. Judy welcomed us all, and zoomed in on the coffin. Peter lay in there, calm and peaceful, not a furrow in place. Their parish priest read from the Bible and then it was time for the eulogies. Each one of us was invited to say a few words and we all felt tearful but said what we felt about Peter. Judy spoke last. Then we raised a toast to ‘the last of the good men’

The whole thing took exactly 15 minutes. It was poignant, evocative and purposeful. I logged out feeling that all of us had ensured that Peter’s soul really had crossed the Vaitarniriver (Hindus believe that the crossing of the river is the last step for the soul before it reaches heaven) and we could now move on. I also couldn’t help smiling at the paradox that Peter who was not an internet evangelist gave us his last handshake using web technology!

Thank you Citrix for making this possible. Thank you Judy for thinking of it.

Professor Nandini Vaidynathan mentors entrepreneurs, teaches Entrepreneurship in ivy league biz schools around the world, and is the author of Entrepedia, the best-selling book on how to start your own business in India.

The post Till technology do us apart! appeared first on Economy Lead.


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