The debate about paying respect to the departed and grieving on social media rages on, with legitimate arguments made on both sides. If you’re not quite sure which side you’re on, but updating the world about someone’s demise through Facebook or Twitter seems in bad taste to you, there exists a dedicated website allowing you to pay tribute to the dead without having to put up a status update on social media.
Get on to Tributes.in and, for a nominal fee, you can create tribute profiles for up to four people on the website, for a period of one to five years, depending on the package purchased. Each profile contains a photograph of the person in a virtual frame. Widgets enable visitors to post personal messages, offer a virtual candle, or light a virtual diya, even an agarbatti. The website already features profiles of plenty of public personalities, such as Mahatma Gandhi, APJ Abdul Kalam and Protima Devi. All profiles are open to the public, and one can post a message just by registering with an e-mail address, or by Facebook verification. They can be customised, with customisable background music — RK Narayan’s profile has the Malgudi Days theme playing in the back— as well as a theme in accordance to your wishes. All profiles are highlighted on the site 10 days before and after a person’s death or birth anniversary.