Reflections

  In the millennia before the 1700s, 1800s and early 1900s there were large families. Not only were people living in joint families, parents had 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 children and more. What that did was it these two factors, the joint family system and large immediate families, parents with large number of children built a strong interconnected family structure. The effect of this was compounded by the gotra system wherein the relationship was supposed to be maintained over the past five generations; after five generations you could intermarry because then it was considered that the blood relationship had broken. Now in this contextual background it developed a society which was deeply interconnected and it developed a family system which was deeply interconnected. People cared about each other not just real brothers and sisters but even cousins. That is why when marriages took place entire villages were involved and a lot of people came because there were a lot of interconnecti...

The Big Day is here again, at least if we are to believe some segments of our population. This day is one shining example of Marketing & of Western Culture and its pull in our society. There are some who may hold that this Big Day is only a marketing tool; then there are those who may hold that this is the perfect example of the pull of the West… maybe, just maybe, both sides are right! What is this Big Day I am talking, or rather, to read the minds of those who avidly follow it – as they will say to this post of mine, jabbering about?  Well, it so happens that I am Jabbering On About VALENTINE’S DAY … THE HISTORY Just what is this day? What does it signify? And on earth do I have to set aside this day as an expression of love? What makes it so special? Let us look at it, and try and understand. As per website History.com, Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine’s Day in the 5 th Century!  To quote infoplease website, The holiday's roots are in the anc...

Concluding part of the series "Being Indian" - previous part found here :  Being Indian - 4 : The Ultimate Triumph Of The West India is a land that, as all of like to repeat ad-nauseum, is known for its diversity as well as its unity both; in fact, Unity in Diversity is the justified by-line for our Nation, our national ethos,  that is what, essentially, India stands for, and our ethos, our culture is what we are exceedingly proud of. This unity rests on the unique Socio-Cultural fabric of our nation, which has been crafted out of several Millennia of inter-mingling, living together, interacting and even fighting together. While India the nation, the political unit, may be a relatively new construct – Hindustan, or Bharat or Hind is a concept as old as this land itself, as is borne out by the scores of period documents as well as in the writings of the visitors to this holy and blessed land. But, if you dig deeper, one can easily spot a narrative that is at ...