Katha Charithra # 2

Katha Charithra:: Answer # 1

Turmeric Paste.

There were no guards at Parvati's abode and she had to take bath. So Parvati created a doll of a small boy using turmeric paste and induced life into it. She asked the little boy to take guard at the doorstep and ordered not to allow anyone inside.

Shiva entered the abode but was stopped by the little boy. This outraged Shiva and out of anger, he chopped the little boy's head. Enraged by this act, Parvati asked Shiva to bring him back to life. But the head of the boy was severely damaged and could not be fixed with the body.

Shiva ordered his commander Nandi to go in the northern direction and get the head of the first living thing he comes across. Nandi returned with an elephant's head. Shiva fixed the elephant's head on the boy's torso and induced life into him again. Thus the boy got the name 'Gajanana'

Shiva made him the leader of his army named 'Ganas' and hence the boy also took the name 'Ganapati' or 'Ganesha'.


Katha Charithra:: Question # 2

After the Kurukshetra war, Pandavas go in search of Shiva to seek his blessings in order to cleanse their sins. Where do they meet the Lord?

Katha Charithra - Prologue

Katha Charithra

~ The Indian Folklore

If something has held our attention for a long time, I would bet it has to be 'STORIES'. We have always been fascinated by stories. No wonder cinemas, books, news, theatre occupy a major portion of our lives.

Indian history and mythology is an ocean consisting of interesting stories and hence there is never a dearth for drama. Every kind of character can be found in our history. All powerful Shiva, his better half in the true sense Parvati, the master strategist Krishna, Maryada Purushotam Rama, the loyal wife Sita, the varana sena, the divine and knowlegeable Rishis, the mighty Arjuna, the lawful Dharma, the woman personified Draupadi, the cunning Shakuni, all conquering Ashoka and Raja Raja Chola and the list never ends...

Having grown up listening to these stories, our mythology has always fascinated me, just like you! This is an attempt to recollect and relish a few of those stories from the vast ocean of Indian history and mythology.

To make this more interesting, let us have this in Question and Answer format.
I would be posting a question regularly. Please post your answers in the comments section. I would post the answer and the relevant story in the the next post.

I promise to be as regular as I can!

Looking forward for your support and encouragement!


Katha Charithra:: Question # 1

Going by our tradition, lets start with Ganesha! :)

What paste did Parvati use to create Ganesha?

Senseless. So... Nameless

My friend in England said that they do not celebrate International Women's day there and that it is American. Finally we do something which the English do not believe in. May be a welcome symbol of us getting out of the clutches of the 'English Syndrome' unintentionally. May be and it is just a may be.

Not that I am a hard core feminist but the optimist in me was expecting that atleast this women's day would turn out to be a day of retrospection. In the wake of the recent developments after the Nirbhaya case, this women's day would have been a perfect occasion to reflect on the society, recent degeneration of values and a path to resurrect it. I received a comment from another friend of mine saying what do we do for Independence day, Republic day, Deepavali and Pongal. Why do you expect something different only for women's day? May be it is there in our genes to just celebrate irrespective of the occasion or the need of the hour.

Nirbhaya case was the trigger point for all the woman activists and groups to agitate. Candle light marches followed. Women danced, walked and sung to mark the 'One billion rising'. Then came the international women's day. All malls were flashing colourful banners with wishes. Radio stations were competing with each other to scream their wishes to the women folk. Movies on female infanticide, wicked in-laws, suspecting husband occupied primetime in televisions. Major spas and beauty salons announcing special offers. So-called liberal men praised the mother, sister, wife, daughter and what-not in every woman. And the women folk accepting these wishes happily oblivion to the fact that she is only respected for the role she performs and seldom respected for the soul in her. Nevertheless celebrations were in full swing. Everything was bountiful but still something was conspicuous in its absence. 

Sense! 

The very essence and strength of womanhood.

Indian Culture Bigger Than V-Day

And it is Valentine's day today. Valentine's day and the opposition to celebrate it have become an annual ritual by now. The so-called protectors of Indian culture would suddenly turn into purohits and start conducting weddings at the street corners, if they found a couple.

Where do these people find the dos and donts of Indian culture is still a mystery. Remember we had something called as Ghandarva Vivah (Kalavu Manam in Tamil), which can be equated to the modern day live-in relationship. Our society was endorsing this also as a legitimate wedding previously. Indian society had 7 types of wedding, of which we follow only the "Saptapati way" now. Others types have gone into oblivion with time. But that does not mean they are not legitimate.

These people tend to get finicky about everything that comes from the west. We import everything from technology to clothes from there. If at all we need to worry about the western impact, it must be in the industrial side. What have we innovated in the last century? The answer is "nothing significant". We simply keep dwelling on the past and contribute nothing to the future.

If these groups find this day not worthwhile, the best way would be to ignore it. Let it simply pass off as yet another day, instead of giving it the negative publicity. We all tend to forget the fact that neither Valentine's day is so powerful to destroy our culture nor are we super powerful to guard our culture. Infact, it is Indian culture imbibed inside each one of us that is protecting us and not the other way round..

This culture has withstood numerous invasions because Indian culture is porous. It embraces all good things  readily with an open arm. Remember only porous soil can hold water and in turn nurture life!

Its to do with moral values, not Bharat

Any thought on the Hindu tradition or culture is considered medieval by the so-called secularist media. No wonder Shri. Bhagwat's Bharat-India comment drew much of wrath. All that he said was that a society with high moral values and dharma such as Bharat will not witness so many rapes, where as a cosmopolitan society such as India with lesser moral values will attract more rapes. It was an amazingly simple thought. What was even more amazing was how this shameless, news-craving carnivorous media could tweak such a simple comment into an urban-rural divide and run debates for hours. What followed this was nothing but only ruckus.

In olden day bharat, woman was not just treated as peer but was considered superior to man. Birth of a girl child was celebrated as arrival of Lakshmi. There were equal number of female doctors, scientist, ministers in the vedic period. Annapoorni feeds us, Kali saves us, Lakshmi showers us with wealth, Saraswati gives us knowledge. In a society that celebrated feminity with so much zeal, there ought to have been lesser violence against women. Hence I do not have a problem with Shri. Bhagwat's comment on moral values. Nevertheless, Bharat was also not very ideal either. Draupadi was disrobed in Bharat, not in modern day India. Bharat was not blemish-free, neither India is full of blemishes.

Frequent occurrence of such incidents only shows the diminishing moral values in the society. Any society with disintegrating moral values will only fall. History has witnessed this time and again. Sita was kidnapped and Lanka was brought down. Draupadi was disrobed in Kurukshetra (Today's Delhi), the entire clan of Kowravas vanished. May be the insult to this 'Damini' is setting a pretext to something large. As Krishna said, whenever adharma overtakes dharma, a battle will be fought to ascertain dharma. Good will prevail over evil. Let history repeat itself...

Being Male

In the wake of the recent shameful act and the following protests in Delhi, I have been reading and listening to a lot of views on safety of women.

A casual remark made by my mother a decade ago crossed my mind. She said that even if an apsara comes nude in front of my father or the men of my family, she cant seduce them. I did not understand the depth of this statement then, as I was just in my teens. With the recent incidents happening around me, I have been pondering on this thought for a while now.

What makes a man susceptible to commit such a crime in the first place? Is it the lack of fear of punishment? I do not buy this argument  as no murders should be taking place now for the fear of punishment. Fortunately, this land is still governed by Dharma and not IPC. So it is the lack of Dharma or lack of character in this case that propels a man to commit this ghastly crime against women.

Like Charity, Character building also begins at home. Character of a child does not get built on a single day. It is an assimilation of the moral rights and wrongs that it sees, observes and absorbs largely at home and society. A son, who grows seeing his father abusing the women of the house, will only end up eve teasing girls in the streets to begin with.

The best gift every parent can give their child is to help build a character of credibility in the kid. A feeling of confidence and respect to fellow souls (irrespective of gender) has to be inculcated in every being. Every man should feel a sense of accomplishment through his endeavors and not by simply 'being male'. In my opinion, this would be the first and firm step to build a society of harmony and peace.

Masculinity and feminity are two necessities of the equilibrium and cant exists without each other. There is masculinity in every female and feminity in every male. The real masculinity is in realising this very fact and acting accordingly. May be my father was one of those males, who realised it. I would still love to believe there are many more out there.

Vatican's latest marketing strategy

Vatican seems to have unleashed its latest marketing strategy. Pronounce Sainthood on a nun, who died 62 years ago!!! The reason seems to be more interesting. A boy seems to be cured of his deformity after praying all-night in front of her tomb. As usual, the televisions have started to scream from the top of the roof. Vatican certainly seems to be jolted by the resistance in Kandhamal.

Well, lets just have a peek at the past. The violence in Kandhamal brought to the forefront the forceful conversions happening in many parts of India and also the resistance to it. Also many Indian Chritians are not able to identify themselves with a Pope who lives elsewhere and his English culture. Vatican seems to be forced to find a comprehensive to answer many of these questions. It found an answer in Sister Alphonsa, a nun who died in 1946. Why not make an Indian saint so that Indians could worship one of their ancestors? This also helps Vatican retain the religious strings of many jolted Indian Christians, who were forcefully converted. Needless to say that the present government would not neglect the orders of Vatican, given the fact that a minister has attended the proceedings in Vatican.

Afterall, its the number game everywhere. What are you harvesting in India, Mr.Pope? Human belief? A closer look at the Indians who get converted forcefully or willfully throws a different light. They get converted to Christianity. But never live or die as Christians. Mariamman might be replaced by Virgin Mary; Ghee lamps may be replaced by candles; Swastik might be replaced by the Holy cross. But not their culture. Is carrying Paal Kudam and Kavadi to Velankani a ritual proposed by Vatican? Is worshipping Virgin Mary under a Neem tree proposed by Vatican? Why do converted Christians still wear a Thali, part of Christian custom?Well, God who is worshipped might have changed but not the belief. These people are not Christians but Hindus who worship or try to worship Jesus. All these people are still very much a part of Hindu society because Hinduism never forces you to worship a particular God.

Hinduism never forces you to believe in any God neither advocates to follow a particular scripture. The holy soul (Atma) can worshipped in any form such as Shiva, Vishnu, Skanda, Ganesha or even Jesus in Hinduism. Hinduism is not just a religion which advocates a God but a way of living. If Vatican's game is just to increase the number of Christians, well you might have won but neither will their beliefs change nor their ideology. Christians are still an integral part of the mainstream Hindu society.

Creativity drained!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Its long since I wrote(scribbled) something here. Could neither find time nor anything fruitful to write. Not that people have asked me to update it!!!!! But will be back with something fresh and new sooooooooooooooon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Freedom of speech

Alas, the court has taken a decision on the longest pending water war of the world – the Cauvery issue. Of course this would surely irrupt some violence across the two states. Tamil Nadu would get 419 TMC out of Cauvery. Larger than the number Karnataka has to get. Would this be not a bigger reason to start a violent act? Television channels would already be showing up pictures of people rejoicing in Tamil Nadu, calling it as “justice for the deprived”. Also pictures of people in Karnataka calling it a “political game” would be telecasted. I need not know the exact fact and figures for making such statements. What is a TMC? What quantity of farmland can it irrigate? I do not know. But still I can have a rational view on this issue and would comment on the same. Why do I need to keep it myself? After all how many of those people who are either agitated or rejoicing know the facts? So why should I be the only one to keep quiet?

The dictator of a nation was hung. People said it was the dawn of democracy. Some said the trial was not fair. I saw news items on televisions and newspapers carrying reports and their own views on this. Every television channel and newspaper said he was ‘hanged’. Basically, I had a doubt on whether “hanged” was a proper usage of English. I thought the past tense of ‘hang’ was ‘hung’. But who cares? Not me. Neither do I know if it was not a fair trial, nor do I know how he ruled the country, nor do I know the past tense of ‘hang’. But still, you know I had my own view on this too and made it a point that my view was also heard.

I do not know the background of any of these issues. But so what? I have a view point. Who cares if what I say is a valid justification? Why should I check the correctness of my view? When everyone are rational in their comments and do not care to verify the facts, why should I bother? Now the easiest job is to comment on an issue. I can even end up as one of the panelist if I keep blogging my views like this. Who knows? With so many channels popping up every day, may be I can fill in the dearth for experts one day, if I keep up this trend.

Hmm… wait looks like there is some other flash news. Oh, its something about Nifty. What is a Nifty? Who knows? Not me! Wait I need to comment on it!!! Catch you later…

Flavouring discriminations

We have had too many wars in the recent past, most of them initiated by the west under the guise of protecting a poor nation. It has often raised questions about the power of a stronger economy dominating the weaker one. It is civilians, who are affected most of the time. When the west talks about fundamentalism or racism, it is called “Big Brotherly treatment”.

Back in India, the so-called idealistic leaders depend on caste to fatten their vote banks. This is often a two way process. One is the minority appeasement and other is to attack the minority to attract the majority. However the public is always left discriminated under the guise of caste, creed. But mind you, all these are not acts of racism or discrimination. These are called “Minority welfare schemes”.

Accusing Pakistan or China is not termed as Undiplomatic Regionalism. But this is called Patriotism. The same holds good for any country. Just because Americans ego was hurt by 9/11, they can ruin Afghanistan. This is not arrogance or undiplomatic regionalism but sheer patriotism.

Discrimination just seems to continue. There are whites and the blacks, the west and the east, blonde people and black haired and on and on.

But none of us like to be discriminated like this on face. But we never mind if the same discriminations are put forth in the form of big brotherly treatments, minority welfare schemes, downtrodden lot, upliftment of backward classes etc. It is after all human tendencies to fall for sweet coated words and honey drenched statements.

Poor Darrell Hair did not know how to put forward his views. Any view in a naked form attracts more brick bats. Ironically, everyone loves this ‘Hair’ fall!!!!!

A mistake is a mistake

She was racing through the traffic on the road. She had to drive 20 km as soon as possible to catch up with her dying husband. She had just got a call on her mobile saying her husband was critically ill and wanted to see her for one last time. She had got such requests many a times before but has not made it. Something stopped her from visiting him.

It was not just her car which was racing; her mind too but in the reverse direction. 4 years ago, the same husband had accused her of an illicit relationship with her colleague. All her justifications fell on deaf ears. She decided enough was enough and decided to live alone. She was living all alone for the past four years. Neither had she called him up nor did she talk to him. She had not met him for the past 4 years.

Now something made her to oblige his request. She went into his room amidst sharp stares and frowns from her relatives. The tired and dying eyes of her husband became moist the moment they met his wife’s. She was asked to sit beside him. His weak hands took hers into them. She was looking at him straight into his eyes. Her face was as stern as a rock.

He apologized with all sincerity and was looking at her for an acknowledgement. But she was just gazing at him sternly. His heart stopped beating, while his hands were still holding hers and his eyes still looking at hers. The last drop of tear managed to come out of his eyes. She slowly let his hands go away and stood up. She just stared at him for one last time and moved out of the place.

She could hear all sorts of murmurs and accusations from all around, as she was moving away. Someone was saying, “Couldn’t she at least acknowledge his apology? One cannot be so arrogant to a person in death bed.” But why should one glorify a person during death? Can everything one does get justified during death? A word is a word and so is a mistake. Would he accuse her if he really trusted her or had real respect for her? Or will all the damages done be set right by an apology? Arrogant! Is she?

Lifestyles

I was hurriedly tying my watch and getting into my car. It was getting late for the wedding reception of my friend. I instructed my driver to take the nearest route to the wedding hall and asked him to avoid main roads. This was just an attempt to avoid getting stuck in traffic jams. It was already 7pm. The road I was planning to take was usually a calm road and was parallel to this crowded main road. But today it was also extensively used, thanks to the traffic jam in the main road.

If anything in the world can put me off, these vehicle horns top the list. It looked like it was going to take quite some time to clear this messed up road. That was when this old man caught my eyes. He badly needed a hair cut and a neat shave. His face was almost buried under his beard. His shirt was badly torn. It looked like he has desperately tried to mend it but in vain.

He was holding a plate in his hands and asking for food in almost every house. Some of them shooed him off, while a few offered to drop some food on his plate. When I started to observe him, his plate was almost empty. He managed to get some rice and sambar in the first house. His plate was half full. In the second house, a small kid came out to offer him some more rice along with some side dish. By the time the car started to move, his plate was brimming with a variety of cuisines and he settled down in a neat place to have his supper. The car started to move and I lost sight of this old man.

The sight of the old man’s plate was still disturbing me. How messy would it be to have everything in the same plate and have it together? I pitied him. Poor old man! He did not have an option of having a proper dinner. Then my chains of thoughts carried me over to the plight of the poor in this country and other related issues, until my driver broke the silence to declare that we had reached. I got down and entered the marriage hall.

It was already late. After all the formal wishes and excuses for coming late, I caught up with a few of my friends and we decided to dine. It was a grand buffet. The dining hall was filled up with lots of counters ranging from starters to desserts and lots of varieties in everything. After having a bowl of tomato soup, we decided to get the main course. I started picking up some Gobi, papad, vegetable rice, raitha and on an on until my plate was full. Actually I had a few other items to pick up too but my plate was full and so they would have the privilege to don my plate only in the next round.

I took out a spoon and joined my friends who had already settled in a cozy corner. I picked up the first helping but that’s when the plate of that old beggar swept my mind. I started wondering if my plate also resembled his! Well, might be my food is hotter than his. I opted for this lifestyle but he was forced into his. Looks like all lifestyles culminate at the same place as my plate; just as all roads lead to Rome. And now, do you think I would have had my dinner that evening??!!!

Decisions

“D-e-c-i-s-i-o-n”, the 8-year-old Vishal spelt out. He looked at his mom confusedly, who was teaching him the spelling of various words. He asked, “Mom, what’s a decision”. She said, ‘Decision is something a group of people take together and agree to follow it.”. Sahana could see that her son was all the more confused. She went on to explain to her kid, “We decided last week that you will not ride bicycle until you are 15. Correct? That’s called a decision!”. Vishal was not relenting. He said, “But mom, brother is only 14. Why do you allow him to ride it?”. Sahana was stumped. But she managed, “Because he is tall.”. She left the place soon fearing another round of rapid fire.

Arjun, Vishal’s 14-year-old brother, entered the room just then. After hearing his complaint, he just gave Vishal a cold stare. Vishal knew what to do next, after that cold stare. He knew he would be beaten to death, if he asked any further questions. Quite satisfied by his stare, Arjun entered into his room, slamming the door behind him with a bang. He could hear his mom shouting back for that bang. But Arjun was too engrossed in his own thoughts. He was sympathizing for Vishal not able to ride a bicycle. Vishal fell off the cycle while learning to ride and he was told not to ride it until he is 15. But Arjun was wondering are all the decisions that are taken followed.

Arjun knew smoking was not good for health. It is decided every now and then that none in the family should smoke and drink. But why does his father smoke? Does being the head of the family mean he can overrule a decision? He was as confused as Vishal now.

Meanwhile, Gurumoorthy, the father of the kids, was watching a news channel in the living room. The breaking news was that the Congress, Left and DMK were opposing the UPA government’s decision on price hike. They were demanding that the government should immediately take measures. Gurumoorthy was wondering if the Congress, Left and DMK are opposing the price hike, then who would have made the decision. Don’t they form UPA? If they are appealing to the UPA, are they appealing to themselves publicly? Now Gurumoorthy too was as confused as his kids. Suddenly Vishal asked, “Daddy, while making a decision, do they also decide on who should follow it and who is excused from it?”. This made dad think. But he could not conclude. Neither could Arjun, nor Sahana.

Vishal carried on with his word hunt. “C-o-n-f-u-s-i-o-n Now mommy, what is this?”, Vishal cried out!!!

The prayer

A 4 year-old kid was wandering along the corridors of the temple. The temple was quite busy that day and people were pouring in, as it was a special day for the deity and special prayers are being offered. This kid was looking with amusement at one of the sculptures in the pillar. The mother of the kid had walked quite a distance. The kid realized it and ran to catch up with her. Her mother asked to hold her hand to avoid getting lost in the crowd. The kid asked her mother, “Mummy, what’s a special prayer?” The mother just said, “Come in, you’ll know.” They reached the main deity of the temple. The place was already crowded. The mother and the kid somehow squeezed in to find a place to get a good view of the deity.
The crowd was very boisterous. You would have noticed even the otherwise calm temple would turn very noisy and restless on a special day and would look as though it has lost its divinity. The priest had not started the special prayers for the evening. I always wondered why we needed these special prayers. Bribing even the almighty? Everyone in the crowd was eagerly waiting to witness the special prayers offered to God that day. As the clock was ticking, the crowd started enquiring the priest on when the prayers would start. His answer was simply, “It would start.”
The crowd was getting restless on this unusual delay in the prayers and started to murmur among themselves. The priest was also looking very restless, infact he was looking a bit tensed. He kept looking at the doorstep. It appeared as though he was waiting for someone. The temple was actually cramped with people. With even no place to move around, the people felt uneasy and started perspiring a lot. The little kid not used to all these started crying. Her mother had a tough time consoling her. With quite a few kids crying, the place became very noisy and a few started asking the priest to start the prayers. He just said, “Kindly hold on.”
Suddenly there was a little commotion outside too and a well-dressed couple entered the temple. The crowd gave way and the couple went closer to the deity. They came from one of the very well-known families of the city. There was a deafening silence in the crowd for a moment. The couple had sponsored the special prayers today and the priest had no option other than to wait for them to attend the prayers. The priest started acting fast and started the prayers. He started chanting mantras and made it explicitly clear that he was doing this for the well-being of the couple’s family. He kept smiling at the couple everyone now and then, in between his prayers. This pleased the couple too and that was reflected in their smiles.
The crowd now knew the real reason for the delay. They got pissed off and started staring at the couple. Quite a few were cursing them for the delay and debating to themselves on how they could make the God wait just because they were rich. They thought no one was above God. But know one spurt this out. Some kept cursing the priest for his biased behavior and some cursed the couple. Some even tried to get introduced to the couple. All these happened when the priest was offering prayers to the God. None in the crowd seemed to fulfill the purpose was visiting a temple. None prayed whole-heartedly. A few were admiring the couple for their power and a few were cursing them. Some even sympathized themselves that they did not have similar powers as that of the couple.
The couple also felt very happy and satisfied by the kind of attention they got. After the prayers, the priest handed over a special packet to the couple with a very pleasing smile. This pleased the couple all the more.
The couple were satisfied by the kind of treatment they were given. The priest patted himself for his good job. The crowd was agitated by the kind of treatment they were given. The kid wore a confused look, as it was still trying to decipher on what a special prayer is. None of them seemed to serve the purpose of why they were at the temple. None seemed to worship the Lord with peace of mind. They were all held up with materialistic and human thoughts. I used to wonder why the deities at the temples always smile. Is it just a smile or a teasing grin? Or is the deity also trying to please someone? Who knows???!!!! With none paying attention to God, the special prayer was grandeur!!!

Meaningless??!!!

The alarm atop the ambulance was in full swing. The sight of ambulance made everyone in the street feel uneasy. The lady’s face inside the ambulance was as reaction less as possible. She was taking her unconscious husband to the hospital. She was just hoping that some miracle would happen at the hospital, which would make her husband sit upright.
As they reached the hospital, the attenders rushed to the ambulance with stretchers and oxygen to get the patient into the ICU as promptly as possible. They knew that it was not only blood that was oozing out of the patient but also the time. The patient was admitted into the hospital after the normal formalities. He was taken to the ICU. He had met with a tragic accident in the morning and was rushed into the hospital. His wife was standing outside the ICU dumbstruck. She did not know what the outcome would look like and was just standing there prepared to accept anything.
The doctor who attended her husband came out of the ICU with a grave face asking if someone else had accompanied her. When he realized that she was alone, he said that the situation was very critical and anything could be anticipated. The lady was still figuring out on how to react. Was she feeling terrible or was she feeling the pain? Well, she was not able to figure it out herself! She sat down calmly in one of the corners of the waiting room and kept reading some magazines just to kill time. People even found her writing. She encountered quite a few faces frowning at her. Most of them found it strange to see a lady smiling and scribbling something, when her husband was battling for life. Well, that was she!
She made every sincere attempt to rescue her husband from this danger. She would run from pillars to poles for all those medicines. She took extra care to keep a check on the funds and ensured that they were just flowing. Days just passed by but there seemed to be no improvement of the situation. The lady just remained the same way as she was, when her husband was admitted. Neither did she feel the pain nor did she pray for his recovery. But she knew that she was making every sincere attempt to rescue him. She just pooled in money from all corners and ensured that he got the best treatment.
Alas! One fine morning, she had to meet the truth. He was no more. All those days of happiness were gone into thin air. The doctors felt a bit uneasy to explain things to her fearing that she might breakdown. But to their surprise, she did not show any signs of breaking down nor agony. She was just there getting ready to arrange for the funeral. She spent lavishly on the funeral. She spent and spent still she was bankrupt. It was very weird to see a lady not to cry even on her husband’s funeral. Everyone tried hard to make her cry but in vein. When someone warned her on the expenditure, she replied, “For what else do you want me to spend?”. She ensured that her husband had the best last journey.
Now it is one year since her husband passed away. Someone asked her to invite all the associates for the first death anniversary ceremony. She promptly replied, “Don’t feel like wasting money on this. Let’s have only our family for the occasion. Why waste money on this?” Well, is this the same lady who did not care about the hospital or funeral expenditure a year ago? Is this the same lady who thought her husband should get the best, even though she was not sure if the funeral rituals really carried any meaning? Now inviting a few more people for the anniversary seemed waste of money for her. The rituals seemed to be so meaningless for her. Did time change her? Well, no one knows including her own soul!!!

The Dinner

It was one of those dinners that everyone was waiting for. Guru was known among his friends to host lavish dinners. It is so funny to believe that the best way to please a person is to satiate his hunger. A good food to counter one’s appetite would appease even the mightiest man’s ego. The best way to get a work done from a person is to offer him a sumptuous food and you can be assured of the rest. Good food still seems to be the most effective bribe.
Every dinner or lunch that is hosted will have a meaning associated with it. So did Guru’s. He was trying to please his client, Ric in the pretext of introducing him to the Indian culture. Guru had also called his close associates to dine along. The phrase “close associates” has a lot of inferences attached to it. If anyone can lift your face value, then he becomes your close associate. There were quite a few close associates in the dinner.
Guru was busy explaining Ric on how to eat a pani puri and advantages of using hands to dine. A sudden gush of patriotism spread all over him, when he explained these things to Ric. You must have noticed that most of us would revive our lost patriotism only when we talk to a foreigner and explain him things as though we represent the whole India.
As he was explaining this to Ric, he could sense that Ric was slowing losing concentration and was gazing at an awesomely beautiful lady. She was Sahana, Guru’s wife. She joined them to enquire if Ric liked the food. Wherever she went, she is known to leave a few curved lips behind. She was known for her elegance. There were a very few, who would find a reason not to like her. Theirs was a love marriage. A perfect couple who were admired cutting across prejudices.
Sahana married a middles-class cable operator, Gurumoorthy Subramanian. Then Gurumoorthy rose to become the CEO of a satellite TV and now Guru owns the most popular channel of India. It is worth observing that as a man’s popularity increases, his name shortens! Or is it the other way round?!
Though Guru hosted such lavish parties, he was an extreme introvert and so was Sahana. The changing trends and business demanded them to be social. Sahana was feeling totally out of place and was just gazing around to find anyone worthwhile to talk with. She could see gentlemen involved in what you would call male-talks and pretending to be intelligent. She could find a lot a ladies discussing on issues ranging from fashions, trends to stock markets. Lots of them were boozing too. She knew that not many in the crowd would be happy with people boozing around but still pretended to be comfortable. After all they have to reinstate that they are a social animal, you see! She knew that many were totally ignorant on many of the topics that were discussed but still made it a point to voice their views. They are here to display their intelligence and smartness, you know! She herself was not happy hosting parties of these kinds. She would prefer a quiet candle-lit dinner with her family to this one. So would her husband. But she needed to do this. Socializing was the ask of the day. She knew not a single person in the room were their own self. Everyone pretended to be someone else, someone smarter, someone cleverer. Everyone were wearing a mask, beneath which lay the real self. No one had the courage to throw away the mask and be their own self. The craving to be someone else had hit the peak now.
At the balcony, Vishal, her 8-year-old son, was too busy boasting to a kid how this toy gun was superior to the kid’s. She just grinned to herself on how much this attempt to socialize had impacted an 8-year-old. She suddenly noticed that she was not the only person observing Vishal. Guru was also observing him from another corner of the room. They smiled at each other realizing that the business empire they had built would grow leaps and bounds in the future in the safe hands of Vishal! With no one being their own self, the proceedings turned out to be grandeur!