Kerala family not bothered about social media censure over smiling funeral photo

While the smiling faces of about 40 members of a family gathered around a funeral casket might have garnered contradictory reactions from the public, those in the picture were quite unapologetic about their “family photograph”.

The photograph in question - which triggered negative and positive comments on social media where it was quite popular - was of the family of Mariyamma Varghese Panavelil who live in Mallappally in Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district.

The photograph was taken during the funeral service for Mariyamma, who was the family matriarch and died at 95. It was taken on Friday when her family members and other close relatives came together for the photograph around Mariyamma’s casket. The picture was posted by someone on social media, where the family was equally flayed and appreciated for their poses.

While some ridiculed the family for “being happy” and “smiling” at someone’s death, others said it was aspirational to gather around a family member and be happy that they lived such a grand life.

Mariyamma’s son, Rev. George Oommen, however, said the family was not affected by the negative comments on social media - because they were being made without knowing the context behind the photograph.

“Our mother lived happily for nearly 95 years, and we all know how we cared for and loved her. It was our collective decision to have a last photograph with her in a happy mood, so as to ensure a good farewell to her,” he told DH.

Mariyamma and her husband, the late Rev. P O Varghese, had nine children. Even though one of them passed away, all the remaining children, their families and close relatives gathered to bid a final farewell to Mariyamma, who was bedridden for nearly a year before she passed.

According to Oommen, after all the formal funeral services were completed by night-time, the family sat around their mother to recollect their lives and experiences with her in it. Many, including him, were emotional in their recollections in between, he said.

Malayalam writer S Saradakutty, however, reacted positively to the photograph. She said that she also wished that her children and family should be able to feel happy that she led a good life.