...to pull the plug?

Thalaikkoothal (Mercy Killing, Tamil, 2023)
Director: Jayaprakash Radhakrishnan

I grew up frequently hearing that Mr So-and-so died a 'good death'. I was often curious about what was defined as a 'good death'. In my naive eyes, all deaths were terrible, a tragedy. Everyone cried at a funeral.

In time, I realised that a good death is one in which one dies in his sleep peacefully after leading a long, satisfying life fulfilling the purposes of his existence. The problem is that no one is given the choice of death he eventually gets. We still do not know what is in store for us anyway.

This movie tells us the story of a filial son who would go to all lengths to care for his father, who is basically in a vegetative state. The doctors have told him point blank that there is nothing more the hospital can do. The father has to be given hospice care. Because the father needs so much attention, he does a less-paying job, provoking the ire of his young wife, who has to work as a miserable factory worker in a match factory. Because of that, she has to tolerate unwanted advancements by her blue-bearded supervisor. She has to stinge on niceties that she used to pamper herself. The wife is high-strung, scolding the preteen daughter and hate the sight of her husband and father-in-law. Gone were the times when husband and wife shared intimate times. The husband, who planned to seek better employment in the town, can also not do so. The thought of leaving his father, who cared for him through thick and thin, was too much for him to stomach.

Looking at how the ailing old man affected the whole family, his relatives and village elders frequently advise the son to consider performing a form of assisted suicide practice called Thalaikkotal to end their misery.

Of course, the husband vehemently opposes the suggestion. He performs a sacrificial prayer at the local temple, hoping for the Divine powers to change the course of his ailment. The father's condition hardly changed. Creditors close in to demand his house. His wife left him to return to her father's house with their child. The husband thought he could stand alone against the world. He soon came to the realisation of reality and agreed with the villagers to perform thallaikooliyal.

The ritual, a senicide, involves liberal early morning oiling of the head and body with sesame oil,  followed by forced feeding of tender coconut water infused with a cocktail of herbs that damage the kidneys.

Life improves after the father's demise, and everyone is happy. 

That is the problem with longevity. Sometimes the body stays in a much better shape than that of the mind. The body continues its bodily function, but the mind is not cognizant of what it can do or is doing. This describes someone in a coma. Just how long can or should be kept in a non-responsive comatose state? As long as finances allow or the relatives are willing to sponsor? Is it worth the effort to wait for the possible miraculous recovery to happen? The living needs to continue living, while the ones who have lived a full life need to go.

 

Sometimes the body fails terribly, but the mind faculty stays intact. This can also be a devastating experience for the sufferers as well as their caregivers as the victim projects his frustrations on people around him, fate and God. 

Should euthanasia be legalised? Are humans qualified enough to decide who should live or die? Should assisted suicide be legalised? Who decides who deserves to live or be resuscitated by all means? On what basis is this decided, productivity, past laurels, societal status, or a level playing field for all?

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.