In 2018, mid-day ran a heart-wrenching article in its weekend edition about Narayan and Iravati Lavate, an elderly couple from Girgaon who had ignited a nationwide conversation about the very essence of life and death. The couple, at the time, had written to then-President Ram Nath Kovind seeking permission for active euthanasia. Though Narayan and Iravati, then 87 and 78 respectively, were healthy, they explained that they had decided so since they were “of no use to society and cannot contribute anything.” Narayan, a retired state transport officer, and Iravati, a retired principal, had discussed their choice early on in their marriage, and hence had decided to not have children. In the letter, they also emphasised how one should have the freedom to die with dignity. Five years on, their story finds a voice again in Sumira Roy’s documentary, Bhangaar.

Sumira Roy