If you are anyone like Nergish, ( God rest her soul, poor thing) you would probably not know what Akshay Tritiya is. Actually, not many people know about this day. And in fact, a  few years ago while discussing the significance of day, Nergish the oldest resident of our building who was sometimes hard of hearing actually said: “OOOOh so TODAY is Akshay Chutiya?”

Unfortunately, the poor lady had not the foggiest about how mispronouncing the word can completely change the meaning of the day!

While we laughed it off, I can’t help recalling her remark every Akshay Tritiya.

It is a very auspicious day falling on the third day of the first fortnight in the second month of the Lunar calendar. And this year it is TODAY – 10th May 2024.

Defying the Law of Diminishing Returns

Unlike the theory propounded by neo-classical economists, the benefits of doing charity on this day or praying to the God or Goddess of Wealth on this day bring endless results. It is also an auspicious time to start a new project, make a new resolution take on a new venture

I can never forget the day when Nergish asked me what Akshay Chutiya was. Now anyone who has any idea of profanities in Indian languages would know that chutiya is not a word used in genteel society much less uttered by an 80+ year old dignified Parsi lady.

Akshay Tritiya is one of the 3 1/2 very auspicious days in the Hindu Lunar Calendar. The third day ( tritiya) of the second month  ( Vaishakh) it is the day dedicated to the worship of the god/goddess of wealth and performing charitable acts because the benefits one gets from these are ENDLESS or NEVER DIMINISHING.

It is a day when a good Hindu does not need to consult the almanac to decide on a propitious moment to start a venture, get married, perform any religious function as a thread ceremony or commence building a house, establish relationships and purchase things of great value. Hence, many people buy a bit of gold, a new car or even a new household item such as a new cooking pot or a television!

The significance of Akshay Tritiya

On this very hot day many things happened :
1) Ganesha began writing the Mahabharat. The Mahabharat is one of the epics that resonates even today. Apart from the story, it is a philosophical treatise that guides many souls through their daily life.
2) Parshuram ( from whom my community claims descent) was born. Parashurama was an anomaly among the Brahmins. He actually wielded the bow and arrow.
3) The River Ganges came down to Earth. The Ganges is India’s lifeline and is one of the holiest rivers. Every Hindu aspires to bathe at least once in the Ganga so as to wash away his sins.
4) Sudama gave his friend Lord Krishna a bowl of puffed rice when he went to visit him as King. Unfortunately, Sudama couldn’t afford anything grander than a humble bowl of puffed rice to his friend Krishna. But Krishna being his friend, accepted it with love.
5) Kubera the lord of wealth prayed to Laxmi. Even though Kubera is the richest amongst the Gods, he still prayed to Laxmi, the goddess of wealth

Akshay Tritiya and Me

Since this is a good day to start things, my father decided to plant some Bottle Gourd seeds in his kitchen garden. That year, the bottle gourds we got were obscenely large and found the creeper crawling over the wall, encroaching into the neighbour’s garden. Naturally, she wasn’t very pleased about this and complained bitterly to him about “his thing growing too large”. ( I must explain here that the neighbour didn’t know what Bottle Gourds were called in any language other than hers and hence referred to the vegetable as “thing”)

Ciao