As life gets in to a bee hive of activity especially since we have a big event coming along namely the upanayanam of Rohan, I seem to be on a frenzied fire, shopping for exotic sarees & jewellery with a loud intention of displaying these on the D day. We seem to spend lavish amount of money in an attempt to leave no stone unturned in the myriad details of the event.
Starting from the invitation card, to the gifts to be given to the guests, the gold, the finery, the food etc etc. Everything we do in relation to this seems to be with a singular objective of righteousness, show and pomp, our every action seems to be some part of a rat race… To start with, the poonal is being conducted in Bangalore in a hall. The Nandi is going to be at home. This is in our Bangalore home which is amidst exotic locales and is like a home resort!! We have purchased myraid colours of sarees to be given to sisters and sister in laws (somehow in all these functions, women only benefit!!) and dresses to cousins, nephews and neices, gold for the poonal boy, sarees and jewels for your’s truly… Whew! the amount of money spent on all these is plausible.
Then, I came across a family who had just conducted the poonal of their son in the “Samashti Upanayanam” (mass upanayanam) fashion. Different boys from different strata of soceities would be initiated in to Brahma Vidya (Poonal) together. This would be performed in the utmost simple manner yet would hold the symbolic nature of the event.
This led me musing on my own accord, ” how much of pomp and show is involved in our kind of initiation”, concept is the same, but done in different ways.! And not to mention the angst involved.. And then I consoled myself………………
A boys initiation in to Brahma Vidya is the greatest responsiblity of the parents, and if this is done with a little pomp and glory, what’s the harm? As long as we do not miss the main essence and values of our culture and the initiation. Not to mention the fact that in our otherwise mundane monotonous life we have some thing to look forward to..
I guess “If you have the money, buying happiness is not wrong”.
Well, after our grand function is over and hubby dear is recovering from the initial shock of “money which flowed like water”…. myself would have something to look back upon and savour the grand and happy moments of the function. However, glad that Iam able to muse over these and can word my thoughts.
All said and done. “who said there can’t be humility in a little pomp and show!!”
To have a thing is little, if you’re not allowed to show it, to know a thing, is nothing unless others know you know it. – Charles Neaves
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