I remember one story, in the tamil supplementary reader (of 9th or 8th std I guess). It talks about how E.V.Ramasamy, fondly beckoned by tamilians as “PERIYAR” taught the importance of not being a scattergood to his nephew who then became one of the greatest merchants of his time.
Having done my UG at an institution bearing his name, I had chances to get exposure to some of his thoughts and ideologies which had left an indelible impression in my mind. One of them was the abovementioned trait of spending money thoughtfully (though I don’t practice it extensively!!!).
At that time, I used to think, why do people (including those at my home!!!) are extravagant in spending when it comes to marriages, temple archanais etc… If the couple gets married in humble ceremony with few friends and relatives, won’t the relationship last??? - This is flash back…
Now back to present… I was swept by a wave of happiness when my cousin informed me about her engagement. We had played together and had seen each other grow through years, no wonder I was euphoric. I came running from Chennai to Trichy for the sole reason of attending it.
Despite having had a tiring lonely journey crossing 320 km and shallow sleep, I rushed to her place happily with my siblings and mom. Her house was filled with our relatives. It was getting lively with babies’ weeping, kids’ running about, elders busy with preparations for the function, young women giggling and making fun of her etc etc. She was so gorgeous draped in a silk saree and with dazzling jewels that it was difficult for me to believe that she is the same girl with whom we played silly pranks during childhood (and omg… she blushed… for the first time!!!). Some notorious kids there made me their prey and were teasing me so much. I somehow managed to escape from them and joined my cousin’s friends to make her the prey of our teasing. All these small, small things lighted the day up making it memorable.
Rituals started with all of us on the terrace and were too boring. My grampa seemed to have been lost in thoughts and when I asked him what, he replied, “During your mom and dad’s engagement, your cousin was in her mother’s womb… Your aunt would purge often and would be confined to the bed… Now, the girl herself is getting married and the transition is making me get nostalgic…”
Now, I no longer feel that these functions are just means to squander money (though my views about archanais and rituals remain unchanged!!!). They are excuses which we give to meet relations, chill out with kids and pass on the relationship to the next generation. Younger people tend to imbibe the art of organizing through these functions while the elders get nostalgic and relive their past. To meet the relatives gives us a feeling of belonging to a clan. Compared to these, the money spent is too trivial. Nothing comes free of cost, isn’t it??? And marriages and functions related to it are the most memorable events in a person’s that life happen only once (for most people!!! :P). So no harm in inviting all whom we know and making them all the more pleasant.
I learned that life is not a mathematical problem to be too logical… After all, we are “SOCIAL” animals, aren’t we???
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