It’s funny how a simple cotton thread can have such great significance in one’s life.

The sacred thread or janeu consists of three strands of pure cotton worn cross-body by upper-caste Hindu men.

I still remember Mrs. Subramanian asking her bare-chested IIT-ian son who was home for the holidays where his sacred thread was when he wandered into the drawing room. He nonchalantly told her that there was no room to pack it in! I could see how difficult it was for her to hold back from giving him one ‘tight slap’ for his cheeky reply.

Once upon a time, all upper-caste Hindu men were identified by the sacred thread conferred to them in a very special ceremony. While many boys still undergo this initiation, not many wear the thread, more so the educated ones, particularly the ‘men of science’ who eschew tradition.

a rite of passage

However, I feel there is something magical about a rite of passage. Every society has a special ceremony marking certain milestones in a person’s life, from birth to death. While these are mainly cultural celebrations, they have religious overtones making them more significant than a plain old party.

Over this weekend, I attended one such function that was primarily meant only for high-caste Hindu boys particularly, among the Brahmins, who were called ‘twice-born’ after they earned the right to wear the sacred thread.

The ‘janeu’ or sacred thread is given to the boy on a suitably auspicious day to mark his transition from childhood to boyhood. The three simple threads worn crossbody style from his left shoulder represent Saraswati (knowledge), Lakshmi(wealth) and Parvati(strength), the goddesses that will protect him and remove any negativity in his life. Some traditions consider the threads to represent the Hindu Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwar.

The Upanayan also signified the commencement of a boy’s formal education. He left home to study with his guru in a gurukul, much like today’s children who go off to boarding school. It also compelled him to lead a life of discipline and celibacy. Before his marriage, he would undergo another ceremony where he got another three-stranded thread which enabled him to get on with the next stage of his life.

In ancient India, even girls underwent this ceremony (also called Yagnopavit or Upanayan) but somewhere along the way, this tradition was discontinued and practised only by the boys.

Revisiting tradition

However, in the recent past, there have been instances of girls having their thread ceremonies too. Four decades ago, in Bihar, four girls were initiated into this tradition by Vishwanath Singh who set up a school for girls at a time when girls’ education was strictly a no-no. He wanted his girls to wear the thread because he felt that girls had an equal right to education.

Of, late this custom has gained more currency and a few years ago, one of the girls in our family got her own sacred thread to wear in the Yagnopavit ceremony.

Over this weekend, three little girls in our family got initiated too! It was a wonderful occasion for the whole family to meet each other with all the trappings of tradition.

After invoking the blessings of Lord Ganesh, the day before, the actual ceremony began with a special ‘Matru Bhojan’ or meal where the child sits on his/her mother’s lap for the last time to be fed by her.

Then the girls were led to the stage where the ceremonies actually began.

They were a little bewildered about what was happening as the significance of the ceremony was quite lost on them. However, they gamely sat through in their finery, behind a silk screen held up by two mamas ( maternal uncles)while the priests changed prayers and mantras essential to the ceremony.

The guests enjoyed mingling amidst the chanting, interrupting their conversation only to shower the girls with grains of rice at appropriate times. On the other side of the screen were the fathers of the girls waiting to garland the girls at the end of the ceremony when the screen was pulled away.

And then came the best part: receiving the blessings of the elders in the form of cash gifts or big presents, and the big feast that followed.

Hope your weekend was as fun!

Ciao