An elderly woman in Shanghai, the commercial city of China, has decided to bequeath all her fortunes to her pet dogs and cats instead of her three adult children. Actually she made a will earlier, according to which the three children would have inherited her $2.8 million fortunes. But now she has changed her mind in favour of leaving the bequests for the pets. Reported by the South China Morning Post, the incident has caused many to raise their eyebrows.
This is, however, not for the legal lacunae that has allowed the woman to skirt around the Chinese law that forbids direct bequeathal of fortunes to pet animals after a person's death. It is more for the broken bond within modern families. Indeed, from outside families may look to be a solid unit but many of them fall apart without the members becoming fully conscious about it. To the new generation, old values of affection, warmth of hearts, love and sacrifice are less important than careers and infatuation for acquisition of wealth. The more they earn, the greater the hankering after still more material acquisition and comfort. There is no end to this drive and desire.
Few grown-up children today stay connected to their elderly parents. When children leave their parents behind on their way to their workplace, or still further to their dreamland or El Dorado, the latter in their advanced age would never betray the silent bleeding or convulsion they undergo within their hearts. Instead, they would show an extra enthusiasm, lest their progenies' progress to the life chosen is hampered in the least. That the elderly people have to fend for themselves alone and spend time in solitude no matter if they are seriously ill or need help.
The woman from Shanghai apparently gives the impression that she was aggrieved over the failure of her now established children to visit her when she was sick. What pained and hurt her most is that the children did not even call her to know how she was. Such neglect was too much for her. What is important is connectedness – a process of human relations that can be maintained even without physical presence. Modern people have mostly lost this sense of connectedness. It is the inner urge within a person that binds souls together. Once that connectivity of deep feeling gets snapped, passion and emotion wither and human beings are no longer the possessors of resourcefulness of heart and soul.
This Chinese mother missed her children most at the time she was sick. But her pets kept constant companion with her unfailingly. She was overwhelmed by the trust and friendliness of the animals. This is exactly what has prompted her to bequeath all her fortunes to the trusted friends. She took the extra pain to circumvent her country's law by appointing a local clinic as the administrator of the inheritance after her death. This way her money will be spent for the care of her pets.
There is no report on the financial status of her children. But one thing is clear that they could not care less about the inheritance. Or, they would have shown some inclination, even if it was somewhat artificial or pretentious, to keep in touch with their mother. Material possession may not be the ultimate gauge of feelings for each other but at least it can be a catalyst in cementing the bond to some extent.
Whatever it is, the offended and irate mother has taken exception to the treatment meted out to her by her children. But not all parents can be so hard with their children even though they are not at all attentive to their parents. The generation gap is partly to blame. Immersion in the virtual world certainly has something to do with the mindlessness. Has the loss of human qualities in heart been replaced by robotic development of the head? Or, else why should a small child be more adept in handling the smart phone than the elderly!
nilratanhalder2000@yahoo.com