What are the norms of dealing with the possessions of dead ones (family members / relatives in particular) in different cultures?
Do people keep precious and trendy things with them and dispose of other immaterial items and things they don’t find useful through charity or whatever way.
Has the new culture of ‘I need privacy around me’, which lead to disowning your family and sending them to oldage homes, affected the way possessions of dead one used to be handled in past and now?
Re: Possessions of dead ones
What are the norms of dealing with the possessions of dead ones (family members / relatives in particular) in different cultures?
Do people keep precious and trendy things with them and dispose of other immaterial items and things they don't find useful through charity or whatever way.
Has the new culture of 'I need privacy around me', which lead to disowning your family and sending them to oldage homes, affected the way possessions of dead one used to be handled in past and now?
^This a bit of a stereotype. The majority of people who place elderly relatives in a nursing do not "disown" them or simply do it because "I need my privacy." This is usually done because the elderly relative in question requires extensive medical care, around the clock, which the family cannot provide and by medical care, I don't simply mean keeping them comfortable but actual medical procedures that must be performed by a health practitioner. When I was at uni and doing my clinical practice (similar to what doctors called "residency"), I was an intern at a nursing home and the majority of the cases were what described. Also, the families did not "disown" their elderly relatives and continued to visit them frequently.
Re: Possessions of dead ones
^This a bit of a stereotype. The majority of people who place elderly relatives in a nursing do not "disown" them or simply do it because "I need my privacy." This is usually done because the elderly relative in question requires extensive medical care, around the clock, which the family cannot provide and by medical care, I don't simply mean keeping them comfortable but actual medical procedures that must be performed by a health practitioner. When I was at uni and doing my clinical practice (similar to what doctors called "residency"), I was an intern at a nursing home and the majority of the cases were what described. Also, the families did not "disown" their elderly relatives and continued to visit them frequently.
I didn't say nursing homes, I said oldage homes. The concept of oldage home in Pakistan is not of that nursing homes but more of a 'daar ul aman', where people who don't have relatives or relatives can't accommodate them in their homes and lives are kept.
Re: Possessions of dead ones
^ Oh, I see. I misunderstood what you meant by "old age home." :D
Re: Possessions of dead ones
No problem :)
So whats your observation? What they keep and what they dispose / throw related to dead ones. In literary circles, people have a complaint that when there is a death, dead ones books are among the possession which are normally disposed of badly.
Re: Possessions of dead ones
^In my observation, people typically keep any items that were treasured and valued by the deceased and donate the rest (clothing and the like) to charity. However, I've noticed a rather odd superstition that holds that certain items you should not keep or utilise as it will bring you bad luck. Jewellery is one such item. When my dad's mum passed away, she left her jewellery to my aunt but my aunt has never worn it for this reason and keeps it in a decorative box on her dresser.
Re: Possessions of dead ones
ye teesri thread ho gae hai dead ones pe aik do hafton main. 
Re: Possessions of dead ones
jab tak aap apni rae nahin denge, ye silsila jari rahe ga 
Re: Possessions of dead ones
That was golden time when we were living in our hometown. We had an extra plot (havaili) adjacent to our house.
My grandfather used to run a small merchant shop in that plot to keep himself busy while he was moazzin of masjid. After he died, I used to visit that room where used to sit and run his shop to keep memorable moments alive like how i used to sit with him, how he loved me… 