12/29/2005

Rakhi and Cupids

HINDUISM, RAKHI AND POTENCY

The determination of potency (rephrased as the power of cupidity) among the various age groups of INDIA poses a nice case. Consider the tradition (or ritual) of Rakhi, in which sisters tie a proverbial thread on the hands of their brothers (prospective), in order to ensure their protection. With the coming of westerly influences, such a ritual is becoming subject to sarcasm.

You are aged 5 boy, studying in some school, someone ties you a rakhi (a proclaimed female), you say ah wonderful.
Fast forward – 10 years
You are aged 15 adolescent (still), perhaps on the threshold of going somewhere with more freedom (that is what we used to feel), there is a rakhi on your hand, perhaps in some recess of your heart you feel why a rakhi ???

Fast forward – 3 years
In college, a beautiful dame comes forward and ties the “knot”. Your heart beats almost cringing “not me, not now, not here”.

Well some say it is a tactic, an artifice to avoid potential “propositions”. Ah there comes February 14, now your heart says “puhleese let it be me, please now, please here”.

Contrary and then interesting. Well the clue in the formative years. A child just into the world, introduced to Hindu ways of life, reveres RAKHI.
The child grows up, is exposed to other culturisms. These Hindu traditions little by little fade into the background. Human tendency, anything new is interesting.
The child / adolescent is now getting conversant with the huge ballyhoo about Feb 14, which is like an antithesis to rakhi. In the ensuing fight between a cupid like avarice and the pristine “brotherhood”, cupidity wins over.

The adolescent, now a proud college goer, fears RAKHI. Why? Who will tie the “knot”, how will she be like? If she is quite a stunner, then I have probably lost a potential candidate as my Valentine. If someone does tie the “knot”, the peers would say hey bachchaa; you know perhaps she wanted to avoid you, so she tied the “knot”.
This character is stuck between the pangs of “being single and not having a GF” and that of the potential brotherhood that entails. Eventually sarcasm and a profound fear downs the latter and a new sense of optimism gets into “him”. He feels till the next RAKHI, let me get a female companion and walk the MALL STREET.
In fact the thread of rakhi is now cast in different light. From a desire to have some one to protect “me”, to let me protect “myself” from some one(s).
Interesting !!!!!

2 comments:

TheQuark said...

hmmmmm reminds me of cultural condoms, saanskritic nirodh two good words coined by vishwa-shit pandya

Shruti Narayanan said...

Fast forward a little more.. say 15 more years.. the boy is now a married man.. have a family to look to.. have a wife with whom he can celebrate the 14 feb thruout his life!! With whom he can walk around in mall’s.. the right cupid attact... but sometimes the man don’t understand her.. there comes in lots of misunderstandings and arguments and all the man need is someone to whom he can ask what his beloved wants?? After all he didn’t hurt her purposely! What a female wants and which act of males, females don’t like.. there comes the power of rakhi.. a sister who can always explain things to u coz she herself is a female. Yeah even female friends may do that but there are equal chances that they may not..

Girls mind – many a times its not possible to talk to a person as a boy friend or a good friend. Girls are pretty emotional by nature and they value sentiments! Its always very very comfortable to talk to someone they consider their brother. I can't explain why but its true!

Yeah by ting a rakhi things become quite public but that is a charm in itself.. rakhi day… The most awaited day for sisters and brothers thruout the hindu families.. why do we celebrate friendship day?? That’s just a day to celebrate friendship same way rakhi is.. to celebrate one if the best relations in this world. And yeah it’s the best way to say no to proposals which r not interesting… well nothing can be done to that.. its pure luck!!