I am so angry today, so frustrated, disappointed, humiliated and what not!!
The reason is so simple:
A set of hindu principles, traditions causing all this nonsense and irritating me.
Indian parents never change, they are born with these customs and they would eventually get buried/burned on the pyre with these customs and traditions and they want us to follow the same even after they are gone.
Will I be one among them, never!!!
Just read this and find out why I am so distressed.
"My little girl, can you get me a milk packet from the store at the end of our street?"
"2 mins Mommy", cried the 6 year little girl, Shweta snatching the rupee coin and a little bag for the milk packet. It is 6:15 AM on a wednesday morning. The town is still waking up.
Someone sneezed loudly on the first floor, "ahhhhhcccccccc"!!!!!!!
"Shwetaaaaa!!! stop right there, don't go, someone sneezed; its very loud so the impact is more. Be right there beta."
Nirmala came down running , shweta didn't even cross the gate of the house and she stopped as soon as her Mom shouted.
"since the sneeze came loudly and from the first floor, you should take 3 steps backward and then turn back in the clock wise direction and go into the house and sit exactly near the center of the kitchen door, i'll be right there", cried Nirmala
"whats this Mommy!! it just takes 2 mins to get the milk and you are doing all this now"
saying so, shweta did as her mother told.
Nirmala came hurriedly, sprinkled water 3 times in the air with her fingers so the water fell exactly on shweta's head. Then gave her the remaining water to drink.
All this tamasha took 4 mins and shweta finally left to the shop and got the packet.
This is one of the several nonsense pages in a typical Middle class indian family dairy.
No one writes these in his dairy as these constitute a part of their daily life. Its same as you brush your teeth daily, go to loo,take bath etc.
The other day Uncle Kodandam saw me on the road near his home and was inquiring about studies and my academics. At the same time a group of people were carrying an old man's dead body, singing "hare ram, hare krishna".
Uncle immediately went inside his home, got a glass of water with turmeric mixed and sprinkled on me and on himself. He asked me to sit down in his house for 5 mins and then allowed me to leave. I couldn't argue with him as I knew its just the way it is and you could never question.
Another instance.
This is when I was in my teens and when I applied for my engg entrance exam. I filled the application and was about to post it, my grandma stopped me, asked me to write "OM" at the center of the application, made me put it in the Pooja room before God's picture for 5 mins, gave me 3 different dates and 4 different times for that week. All this to post just a single application.
The times and dates she gave were so funny!
wednesday between 2:22 PM to 7:53 PM
thursday between 6:15 AM to 11:39 AM and 5: 09 PM to 9:11 PM
friday - 2:12 PM to 2:55 PM
Does she really want me to follow those? Never, i just posted the application when I got some time in the lunch break.
The struggle continued. My engg. entrance exam falls on 19th of that month, she quickly checked her calendar and told me its a bad day.
I literally shouted at her, "For heavens sake, do you want me not to attend the exam as its a bad day!!! what happens to my year long coaching and my career???"
She said there is a way, bad time on 19th starts from 6 AM and ends by 9:45 AM and again starts by 11 AM and ends only after 3 PM and the exam timing was from 9 AM to 12 PM.
God forgive her, I had to go to the exam center before 6 AM and waited till 9 AM, I was the first person in that exam center sitting lonely in a corner shivering the morning cold till some people gathered after 8AM.
All these things are awfully bad, they impact our careers, our day to day life. I feel these are for people who don't believe in themselves but in all those stupid rules and customs.
I often fight with my parents/grand parents and most of my relatives reg. these. They are so adamant and they don't want to mend their ways, its finally we who suffer. They don't mind, they just remind us every minute that we broke so and so rule in 1945 dec 22nd 8 PM and that's we are in this situation.
What kind of situation are you talking about? I am happy and content, what do you expect me to do?
Dear parents and grand parents, do you want me to be like you, fearing everything which has been coming from ages, which you believe is our birth right?
No, never, that'll never happen, I am now more stubborn than ever.
I believe in god and nothing else. There is nothing supreme and powerful in this universe than God. I fear god and I abide by god's rules.
I don't care if I see a cat in the morning, nor do I care if number 17 is not auspicious.
They never understand how much we suffer because of these nonsense customs and practices.
The reason why they are still rampant among us is because we let them. The time has come now and we should stop them right there.
Till I was 23/24 I used to follow that "sneeze" thing, it was very much in my blood because of my mother's insistence. When someone sneezes I just go back to the house, gulp a glass of water, sit for a couple of minutes and then move on.
One day, I asked this question to my then landlord in hyd why he wasn't following this rule, he was 68 then and this was what he answered.
"I am retired and am old now, I don't have any desires left, I don't fear anyone except god, what ever happens I am ready to take it"
Those words changed everything, I realized and changed for ever.
Its a painful battle that one should take with their own beloved ones, their own parents.
Its not so easy but we have to do and I am doing now, fighting with my own people. They just don't come down and stick to their own terms.
Its I who suffer because of this and I have to fight this moral battle all alone.
May god bring peace on this earth.
If I be given a chance to start a new human race, I'll make sure there are no practices or rules or principles ever written or recorded or practiced anywhere in the world.
The reason is so simple:
A set of hindu principles, traditions causing all this nonsense and irritating me.
Indian parents never change, they are born with these customs and they would eventually get buried/burned on the pyre with these customs and traditions and they want us to follow the same even after they are gone.
Will I be one among them, never!!!
Just read this and find out why I am so distressed.
"My little girl, can you get me a milk packet from the store at the end of our street?"
"2 mins Mommy", cried the 6 year little girl, Shweta snatching the rupee coin and a little bag for the milk packet. It is 6:15 AM on a wednesday morning. The town is still waking up.
Someone sneezed loudly on the first floor, "ahhhhhcccccccc"!!!!!!!
"Shwetaaaaa!!! stop right there, don't go, someone sneezed; its very loud so the impact is more. Be right there beta."
Nirmala came down running , shweta didn't even cross the gate of the house and she stopped as soon as her Mom shouted.
"since the sneeze came loudly and from the first floor, you should take 3 steps backward and then turn back in the clock wise direction and go into the house and sit exactly near the center of the kitchen door, i'll be right there", cried Nirmala
"whats this Mommy!! it just takes 2 mins to get the milk and you are doing all this now"
saying so, shweta did as her mother told.
Nirmala came hurriedly, sprinkled water 3 times in the air with her fingers so the water fell exactly on shweta's head. Then gave her the remaining water to drink.
All this tamasha took 4 mins and shweta finally left to the shop and got the packet.
This is one of the several nonsense pages in a typical Middle class indian family dairy.
No one writes these in his dairy as these constitute a part of their daily life. Its same as you brush your teeth daily, go to loo,take bath etc.
The other day Uncle Kodandam saw me on the road near his home and was inquiring about studies and my academics. At the same time a group of people were carrying an old man's dead body, singing "hare ram, hare krishna".
Uncle immediately went inside his home, got a glass of water with turmeric mixed and sprinkled on me and on himself. He asked me to sit down in his house for 5 mins and then allowed me to leave. I couldn't argue with him as I knew its just the way it is and you could never question.
Another instance.
This is when I was in my teens and when I applied for my engg entrance exam. I filled the application and was about to post it, my grandma stopped me, asked me to write "OM" at the center of the application, made me put it in the Pooja room before God's picture for 5 mins, gave me 3 different dates and 4 different times for that week. All this to post just a single application.
The times and dates she gave were so funny!
wednesday between 2:22 PM to 7:53 PM
thursday between 6:15 AM to 11:39 AM and 5: 09 PM to 9:11 PM
friday - 2:12 PM to 2:55 PM
Does she really want me to follow those? Never, i just posted the application when I got some time in the lunch break.
The struggle continued. My engg. entrance exam falls on 19th of that month, she quickly checked her calendar and told me its a bad day.
I literally shouted at her, "For heavens sake, do you want me not to attend the exam as its a bad day!!! what happens to my year long coaching and my career???"
She said there is a way, bad time on 19th starts from 6 AM and ends by 9:45 AM and again starts by 11 AM and ends only after 3 PM and the exam timing was from 9 AM to 12 PM.
God forgive her, I had to go to the exam center before 6 AM and waited till 9 AM, I was the first person in that exam center sitting lonely in a corner shivering the morning cold till some people gathered after 8AM.
All these things are awfully bad, they impact our careers, our day to day life. I feel these are for people who don't believe in themselves but in all those stupid rules and customs.
I often fight with my parents/grand parents and most of my relatives reg. these. They are so adamant and they don't want to mend their ways, its finally we who suffer. They don't mind, they just remind us every minute that we broke so and so rule in 1945 dec 22nd 8 PM and that's we are in this situation.
What kind of situation are you talking about? I am happy and content, what do you expect me to do?
Dear parents and grand parents, do you want me to be like you, fearing everything which has been coming from ages, which you believe is our birth right?
No, never, that'll never happen, I am now more stubborn than ever.
I believe in god and nothing else. There is nothing supreme and powerful in this universe than God. I fear god and I abide by god's rules.
I don't care if I see a cat in the morning, nor do I care if number 17 is not auspicious.
They never understand how much we suffer because of these nonsense customs and practices.
The reason why they are still rampant among us is because we let them. The time has come now and we should stop them right there.
Till I was 23/24 I used to follow that "sneeze" thing, it was very much in my blood because of my mother's insistence. When someone sneezes I just go back to the house, gulp a glass of water, sit for a couple of minutes and then move on.
One day, I asked this question to my then landlord in hyd why he wasn't following this rule, he was 68 then and this was what he answered.
"I am retired and am old now, I don't have any desires left, I don't fear anyone except god, what ever happens I am ready to take it"
Those words changed everything, I realized and changed for ever.
Its a painful battle that one should take with their own beloved ones, their own parents.
Its not so easy but we have to do and I am doing now, fighting with my own people. They just don't come down and stick to their own terms.
Its I who suffer because of this and I have to fight this moral battle all alone.
May god bring peace on this earth.
If I be given a chance to start a new human race, I'll make sure there are no practices or rules or principles ever written or recorded or practiced anywhere in the world.
