The streets have finally fallen silent. But the tell-tale signs of the blasts are everywhere - lifeless forms of Lakshmis, Jumbos and others smaller and bigger specimens lying in heaps now indicating the amount of money that went up in smoke!!
My grandmother's death-anniversary today and my mother left for her place yesterday. She had asked me to give her some money for some ritual there and I was glad I could do something for her for once. But no. The idiot that I am, I totally forgot that she was going and ended up coming home only after she left! Felt like kicking myself, really.
Now the ritual that I mentioned is a strange one. The families where each of the children of the deceased is married to, should buy clothes for all the children. I mean, now my mother has seven siblings and each of the 8 families where their spouses come from, should buy clothes for my mother and her seven siblings because they have lost their parent!! This is on the occasion of the first anniversary only. Pappa says it is like congratulating them on successfully completing the tribulations of the first year - apart from the bereavement, they are not even supposed to celebrate any festival or any special occasion that year etc. It sounded like the 'hardship allowance' that we have!
My brother-in-law has had a second girl today and I know that everybody back home is very dejected. That is a place where dowry is only increasing by the day and unlike our places, parents of the girl cannot think of staying with the daughter unless they are rich and the daughter is staying with them with the resident son-in-law. So I've not seen even a single family with only two daughters - they will have at least four daughters and then only give up hopes on having a son. Now both my younger brothers-in-law have two daughters each and everybody is worried about the future already. Of course it's not that the kids are not taken good care of; they are the darlings of the household but in private, the elders sigh. But I do think 20 years is a long time and things will not be the same. Winds of change are already on, at least in terms of girls going out, studying and working subsequently.
My grandmother's death-anniversary today and my mother left for her place yesterday. She had asked me to give her some money for some ritual there and I was glad I could do something for her for once. But no. The idiot that I am, I totally forgot that she was going and ended up coming home only after she left! Felt like kicking myself, really.
Now the ritual that I mentioned is a strange one. The families where each of the children of the deceased is married to, should buy clothes for all the children. I mean, now my mother has seven siblings and each of the 8 families where their spouses come from, should buy clothes for my mother and her seven siblings because they have lost their parent!! This is on the occasion of the first anniversary only. Pappa says it is like congratulating them on successfully completing the tribulations of the first year - apart from the bereavement, they are not even supposed to celebrate any festival or any special occasion that year etc. It sounded like the 'hardship allowance' that we have!
My brother-in-law has had a second girl today and I know that everybody back home is very dejected. That is a place where dowry is only increasing by the day and unlike our places, parents of the girl cannot think of staying with the daughter unless they are rich and the daughter is staying with them with the resident son-in-law. So I've not seen even a single family with only two daughters - they will have at least four daughters and then only give up hopes on having a son. Now both my younger brothers-in-law have two daughters each and everybody is worried about the future already. Of course it's not that the kids are not taken good care of; they are the darlings of the household but in private, the elders sigh. But I do think 20 years is a long time and things will not be the same. Winds of change are already on, at least in terms of girls going out, studying and working subsequently.
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