3 Boulevard Edgar Quinet,
75014 Paris, France
It isn't that I have a fascination with the
dead. We were running out of places to go that didn't charge an entrance fee.
This is my failed attempt at making a Facebook cover photo.
The third largest cemetery in Paris, the
Montparnasse Cemetery houses quite a number of plots. Most of them are unlike their buildings for the living: each unique, none the same.
There is a guide at the entrance on which are the notable plots. Mainly for their contribution to society. Be it arts, science or politics.
There more familiar designs such as these. Nothing too fancy.
Unlike the Chinese graveyard that always conjures the image of people flocking over a tombstone with food and setting off firecrackers, the French graves have a solemn air to it.
Few are like a building of its own. Is it because when they are alive, they couldn't afford a fancy home so this is their next best thing?
Few were slightly ajar. I didn't want to intrude, lest I awake something.
However, curiosity got the better of me.
Not sure what purpose the space serves. Altar?
There is something peaceful and serene being here in broad daylight. I don't know if I could say the same after sunset.
Some does seem out of place. I guess it depends on when they passed on and what they contributed.
If we adopt the same practice,
Ching Ming would be a simpler affair.
No need to do tomb sweeping. Or getting rid of overgrown grass.
Instead, just revel in the beauty of one's final resting place.
Majority of the tombs are quite old. Wonder who still maintains them.
Then there are the family tombs. Does this mean that all of them are in there?
Elaborate statues adorn few of the tombs.
They had forlorn expressions which best represented the place.
Few are dedicated to those who died in the line of duty.
Génie du Sommeil Eternel statue or Angel of Eternal Sleep.
If you are into French history or anything, this is a sombre reminder of what we will all end up to be.
A rare pair of lions.
The thought of dead used to play in my head uncomfortably frequently last month or so. It wasn't death that scared me but what after that does.
Do we just stop living and everything becomes a blank? Where does our conscience go to? Do we look down upon the living?
Not exactly a selfie but yes.
Would this blog be my memorial then?
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