'We bid adieu merrily': Kerala family after photo of them smiling at funeral went viral

The family photo at the funeral which had gone viral. (Image credit: @StanlySebastia5/Twitter)

A family in Kerala, whose smiling photo at the funeral of a 95-year-old matriarch went viral recently, have said that instead of lamenting, they bid farewell to the dead merrily. The family added that it was never their intention for the photo to go viral.

In the picture, about 40 family members are seen gathered around Mariyamma's casket for a "family photo", smiling. The woman had died on August 17, as per a report in Times of India. She had been bed-ridden for a year due to her age and related health problems. The photo, however, had triggered a debate in social media with some criticising the family for looking happy at a funeral while others being supportive of the gesture.

.Sad, but fact is , very old great grand ma died . 80% Christian family r NRI s ( persecution by upa mafia, commu jihade in, jnu model isis azad Kerala & forced to move out for food & job ) For them first& last chance, family get-together ,with funeral . Gracious farewell . pic.twitter.com/aqtluZH41L

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— Stanly Sebastian (@StanlySebastia5) August 22, 2022

"The people who cannot acknowledge the picture are those who have seen only tears after death. Instead of lamenting, the dead have to be bid adieu merrily. We have done the same," a family member told Mathrubhumi.

Another relative, Babu Umman, told the publication that the intention of sharing the image was not for it to go viral. He said that Mariyamma lived happily and loved all her children and grandchildren, and added that the photo was clicked to remember the moments the family spent with her.

Meanwhile, Kerala Education Minister V Sivankutty spoke out in favour of the family. "Death is painful. But it is also a farewell. What could be happier than giving a smiling farewell to those who have lived happily ever after? This photo doesn't need negative comments," he wrote on Facebook.

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