On Sunday evening when light began to fade the breezes slowly picked up drying the sweat upon my face. The grasses in the lawn began swaying as did the branches on the trees And we sat there, still enjoying the slowly speeding breeze. By nightfall, the wind had picked up and the windows started rattling We knew it wasn't normal But didn't know what's really brewing. As night progressed, the winds howled and the clothes stand in the balcony danced a crazy waltz with the Cafe chair and potted plants. To the door's erratic rattling beat . As morning broke, the sun hid behind a cloak of murky grey The rain came splashing on the glass, "Let me in!" it seemed to say. The plants had fallen and looked sad But I couldn't rescue them as the wind kept pushing in. In the bathroom, a glass pane fought valiantly to stay inside its frame But by afternoon, the wind pried it loose and sent it crashing in the rain. By then, the boxes stuffed on top of the window AC Began to tumble down And crushed the plants that already were in pain. But looking out I found out that this was nothing much The wind and rain that lashed the trees brought many crashing down. A hundred years or more, many of them had stood, watching changes over the years in my genteel neighbourhood. Standing sentinel over sprawling bungalows, that turned into concrete towers, slowly, one by one. The hillside ravaged by greedy builders who claimed to develop the land was weakend weary by the constant digging deep inside. And Nature she was tortured by this pillaging and destruction of her grace and benediction So on Monday as the winds howled and the boxes fell one by one, the trees crashed onto cars, houses blew off, seas bashed the coast And reminded us that Nature is a force that needs respect and love.
-
-
Believe it or not , it is high summer and yet another wedding season.
The tradition of summer weddings lies in the fact that Akshay Tritiya, one of the three auspicious days in our Hindu calendar falls in summer.
On this day when the sun is closest to the earth or rather the earth is closest to the sun, is very popular amongst young couples seeking to get married.
This is because Akshay Tritiya is considered the day of eternal (unending) prosperity and happiness. It is the third day of the month of Vaishakh, ( hence tritiya), the second month of the Hindu lunar calendar. This year it happens to fall on 15th May.
Around thirty years ago I was attending the weddings of my friends and contemporaries. Nowadays, I am attending the weddings of their children. The torch has passed on to another generation of young people who will spend the next twenty years nurturing families of their own and thirty years on, will attend weddings of yet another generation.
That is if the tradition of getting married exists at all! Many people are doing away with traditional customs and actually living together without the formality and legality of a wedding.
The couples getting married are older and have more of a say in how they want their wedding rituals to be conducted.
Flowers have always played an important role in wedding decor but the traditional garlands of mogra and marigold have given way to orchids, lilies and sprays of flowers.
Gone too are the days of chaotic weddings organised by various members of the family. Instead now, we have choreographed rituals with the guests sitting patiently through the ceremonies.
Sequins, borders and panels with designer blouses and detailed accessorization have brought the ancient saree into the modern world , Thai curries and pastas have transformed the traditional wedding repasts into new age feasts where counters of multi cuisine have replaced the sit down meals and most grooms come to the venue in a cavalcade of cars rather than astride a horse escorted by dancing relatives.
But somethings remain unchanged : the actual rituals of marriage.
7 steps to love and fulfillment.
Not many people realise the significance of the sanctity and romance of the circumambulation of the holy fire or the seven steps . Do you know what they are?- The seven steps that are essential to a Hindu wedding are the cornerstone of the marriage. In this seemingly quaint and old fashioned ritual when the bride walks demurely behind her groom hand in hand with a shawl draped around their shoulders further binding their ties together, the couple promises each other:
- Abundant food with the first step, Physical strength with the second step, Adequate material wealth with the third step, Mutual happiness with the fourth step, Commitment to raise ideal children with the fifth step, Appreciation to face and enjoy the blessings of each season with the sixth step, Inseparable friendship with the seventh step.
Can anything be more beautiful than that?
-
I am not a Social Media addict because I grew up in a world where communication was mainly face to face. At best we wrote letters and notes if we didn’t want to have any direct communication. And as for a telephone, we didn’t have one at home till I was 21!
Despite this, I knew exactly what I should know about was happening in my friends’ lives . I also knew the gory details of what was happening in the world through newspapers and radio broadcasts which I heard just once a day . Yes we didn’t have television either.
And perhaps because of this limited form of engagement with the outside world , we were less bombarded with Fake News. Of course there was fake news . But we called it gossip or rumour mongering .
Most of us however, have been dragged into this technological age, and many people my age have also embraced social media if for nothing else, to re-connect with school friends or old acquaintances and also children who otherwise refuse to communicate directly with you.
This morning I saw this message on my school WhatsApp group
I જેToday … On the border of the United States and Canada, two suns came out, one a real sun and the other a moon.
This phenomenon is known as Moon Hunter and occurs when
The earth axis changes. The moon and the sun are born at the same time and the moon reflects the brightness of the sun with such intensity that it looks like another sun.
Share! So beautiful !!!I immediately spotted it as a fake because this very same item was shared on this very same school group a few years ago . And even at that time, it was pointed out as being fake news .
But fake news doesn’t stop. In fact, it is even more rampant when times are bad .
Like last night I got a message that was an advisory
Advisory for Flats / Homes :
With the COVID spreading like wildfire all over, some of these multi story colonies found that people were getting infected in blocks one or two stories above or below while there had been no contact at all between these people….. including usage of lifts etc.
Few doctors analysed this problem and identified the common sewage lines which run up and down in these complexes. As you are aware, the faeces ejection has a high viral load, however the problem can be mitigated to a large extent by keeping your WCs flaps closed throughout the day, and more importantly, when used, the flap MUST be closed before flushing WC.You may consider sharing this with your Colony Secy/ Family / Friends for issuing advisories to all residents.
Understand from a UK friend this has been talked about in the West too. Better to follow this protocol.
Now all along we’ve been told that the virus was airborne so it would hardly seem likely to be transmitted through sewage pipes .
Besides, if viruses are transmitted through sewage pipes, then wouldn’t all viral infections be transmitted this way?
So , I asked my friend who sent me this message, how does one dispose of fecal matter individually?
Does it mean that our traditional method of going out into the fields is the best ?
Think about it .
Every day, we have to deal with items of ‘interest’ or ‘information’ sent by well intentioned people on Twitter, Facebook, Instgram, WhatsApp, email and of course the newspapers and the internet.
To keep one’s sanity, it is imperative we don’t fall prey to either reading/listening to or broadcasting fake news.
Ciao,
Twenty- five Seven 