Obituary by A.K. Ramanujan - Poem explanation

"Obituary" is a poem written by a twentieth century Indian was an Indian poet and scholar of Indian literature and linguistics. 

In this poem, the speaker writes about his father, who recently died. He notes how his father led a very ordinary life, having no notable achievements and financial success. The poet sheds light on the lives of ordinary people who struggle all their lives, just to survive. Their identity remains same from their birth to death, despite trying to make a name for themselves. Still they like the speaker's father have nothing but debts to pass to the next generation, living in the same old "leaned" house for decades.

The speaker stoicaly mentions his father's "several spinal discs, rough, some burned to coal" after his cremation. He also insinuates that passing of not just assets, but responsibilities and customs to their sons, as the son has to take cremated ashes of the father and immerse it into the holy river.

The son, it is hinted, is not content with his father's life as the latter led a fruitless life, having no inheritance left for his sons. In fact, he left debts and daugther, which symbolised unmarried daughters, who are to be married by the sons. 

At the end, the speaker makes a snarky remark on the father, whose "two lines" published in a local newspaper and a few weeks later after his death, the newspaper being resold by a scrap dealer, shows the futile attempt of the father to do something worthwhile.

Stanza 1

The speaker talks about his deceased father, saying the latter left "dust on a table of papers", debts to pay, his daughters (symbolizing the Indian cultural supposition/tendency to treat daughters as a burden on their parents). The speaker also mentions his own infant son, who, he reveals, was named after his deceased grandfather after tossing of a coin.

Stanza 2

He describes the house as leaning against a bent coconut tree in the yard. The father, possibly a Hindu, prefered the cremation rites after death. "Being a burning type" could mean, his intense, or angry nature.

Stanza 3

As describing his father's cremation, he mentions how the tradition of putting coins on the deceased's eyes and how the coins remain the same even after whole burning thing. He could see the body's spinal discs (bones), some were in rough conditions, some were entirely burnt.

Stanza 4

It is a Hindu custom in which the son has to pick carefully the charred bones and immerse them into "where three rivers met" i.e. Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad) possibly, facing the east direction.

Stanza 5

There a temporary headstone has his name and his birth and the death years. The speaker remarks that those two dates ironically sum up his life, which the dead one has no control. He further reveals the birth and the death of his father, like he was born through caesarian surgery in a brahmin family, belonging preferably to a poor family. He died of heart-failure in a fruit market.

Stanza 6

Recently, The speaker was told that his father commented "two lines" on a column of a Madras-based newspaper. The piece of newspaper was sold in a bundle to a street hawker four weeks after his death.