Allure of Marriage

An elderly man was disturbed by his neighbours compalints of a married life and he often got offended when recently married couples often cracked jokes that that 'happily married' was an irony. He called a few couples one evening and he asked any lady to volunteer for a small game.

 

 

 

"Write the names of twenty five near and dear ones in your life?" he asked the lady pointing the board.

 

The lady got astonished and she looked at the man. The man insisted her to continue. She wrote the names of her husband, her child, her parents, her in-laws, her friends and few of her close relatives. In no time her list of twenty five got filled on the white board.

 

The man read the entire list and asked her to remove five names, She removed a few relatives. The man again insisted to remove five more names. She removed a couple of her friends. When asked for the third time, she removed the names of few more friends. The final list contained six names which had the names of her parents, her in - laws, her husband and child. The man now asked to remove three names, which left the lady in despair. He reminded her it was just a game. She omitted the names of her in - laws and her Dad. The only three names in the board contained the names of her husband, child and her mother. The man now asked her to remove one more name. She left the game. He insisted her and reminded her about the veritability that it was just a mere game. She stepped forward unwillingly in the saturated silence of the entire room and unwillingly rubbed her mother's name. She was left with a board full of two mere names that held her whole world. The entire room of compalining youths was now left with silent sympatheies and realizations. The man broke all went to test the extreme endurance and now asked her to omit the final name. She broke down like never before. She forgot the game and repeatedly said that it was impossible. When insisted again and again, she rubbed her child's name.

 

"Now you all know the game", the man said and he helped the girl to her seat and asked her to calm down.

 

The irony of a happily married life was now turned in to deference. The man gladly remembered his dead wife.

Secularism

I don't get it why even there is a need to declare yourself as a secular? If you are secular, you are and its perfectly normal to be one. If you aren't secular than you aren't fit enough to be a social animal. Even if you are or even if you aren't, why is there a need to declare?

 

The first known person who took me in the lap just after I was born is my Dad. Just after him, his childhood friend, who took me in his lap is a follower of Islam. My parents recall that he occasionally gifted me the 'Kufi' skull cap and even I was too fond of it. They never hesitated me wearing that. In fact, they proudly recall that a few times I even insisted on going with him to the Mosque for offering the Magrib Namaz, and that was when I barely understood what was religion.

 

I inherit a lot of religious beliefs from my Dad and my family members. The 27th day of Ramadan is considered sacred among Islam followers and for the last 37 years my father has had the oppurtunity to arrange the Iftar at our village Mosque and he wants me to continue that. He has also been doing the same for Hindu festivals like Durga Puja. He says he finds a lot of peace when he watches people celebrate. Perhaps that is the essence of religion for him.

 

My Dad has a small wooden book shelf. There stands with dignity, the three sacred religious books - The Madbhadwad Gita, The Quran and The Bible. The Bible was guifted to my Dad by one of his friends Dad who wanted my Dad to know the preachings of Jesus. The Quran was gifted to my Dad by one of his Islam following seniors. He got the Mad Bhagwatgita as a birthday gift from one of his college mates. The three books stand together, supporting as walls, not for differentiating but for upholding the dignity of human belief, preaching good deeds and inspiring great deeds.

 

I have grown in a society where people hardly try to dig in to a persons name and surname to find out their religion. It disappoints me when I see some doing that. The only time when I saw my near and dear ones digging in to a persons name was when they tried to know the persons gender and a few times they miserably failed. Some names, belong equally to both the gender. Religion is a personal thing and I don't understand why it should be bothered about. All that should matter to us is who the person is and not which religion he beliefs it.

 

My thoughts on secularism doesn't indicate that I am an atheist. I am religious and I strongly belief religions brings discipline to our lives.

Madhupur Satra

In the year 1489, when Sankardeva reached Kochbehar, the then King of Koch - Rajbangshi dynasty Maharaja Naranarayan requested him to preach and spread the teachings of the Neo-Vaishnava cult. In his honour, the king built the Satra in the 16th century. Guru Sankardeva breathed his last at this Satra in the year 1568.  The present Satra has been innaugrated by the then Cheif Minister of Assam Bimala Chandra Chaliha in the presence of the then Cheif Minister of West Bengal Prafulla C Sen. Lakshmikanta Mahanta is the present Satradhikar of the Satra.

 

We started our journey early morning from Beparipatty, Gauripur. We anticipated a huge rush and hence started early. We were excited to head towards the place with such religious sanctity. We reached Kochbehar after a journey of 3 hours and headed towards Madhupur More in a shared tempo. To our astonishment, there wasn't even a single gate showing the entrance to the Satra. After being dropped by the tempo, we enquired with several local shops if we were on the correct path or not. We never imagined a place with such religious importance without a gate. We headed towards the Satra in an electric rickshaw, locally known by the name 'Toto'.

 

The view of Madhupur More. There isn't any gate to welcome you to the Satra. Electric Rickshaws stand there to facilitate your conveyance to the Satra.

The gate just outside the Satra

There are a couple of bookstalls outside the Satra which has books of Sankardeva and his teachings. These stalls also hold several things for worship at the Satra.

Book stalls and hand carts outside the Satra.



The view of Madhupur Satra



 



The Kirtan Ghar of MadhupurSatra

Some preachings of Sankardeva inscribed on the walls of the Satra

A side view of the Satra
 

Another view of the Satra walls

The Satra also holds a lamp which has been lighting since about five hundred years

With an young priest of the Temple

 

We were disappointed to see only few devotees there. The Satradhikar and other priests of the Satra welcomed us whole heartedly and they also asked us for an overnight halt. The Satradhikar spoke to us on various religious issues and also shared various facets and memoirs associated with the Satra. We were really motivated to hear him speak. We sat beside him and listened to him; an aura of positivity soon surrounded us.

Satradhikar Lakshmikanta Mahanta speaking with devotees who visited the Satra

Satradhikar Lakshmkanta Mahanta speaking to one of the devotees

The famous Gunamala (গুণমালা) which was written by Sankardeva in one night as per the request of Koch King Naranarayana  is also preserved in this sacred place. The book contains rhyming and sonorous verses and it is considered as a handbook of Bhagwata Purana. The historical significance of the book goes back to a debate between King Naranarayana and his pandits. When the court poets asked for a condensed version of the entire ten cantos of the Bhagwata Purana overnight, all the poets refused. However Sankardeva took the challenge and accomplished it. The booklet was kept in a wooden box, painted yellow and red and elephant was drawn within the circumference of the circle. He signified that he had squeezed an elephant into a lime pot (হাতী মাৰি ভুৰুকাত ভৰোৱা). He exhibited his extraordinary skills of breivity and impressed King Naranarayana.

The last remains of Sankardeva and Madhavdeva are preserved here. There are also certain important things like the Paduka's of Sankardeva and the bronze pen used by him. These last remains are displayed twice in a year. Once in the time of Rash and the next in the anniversary of the first Satradhikar, which is two or three days before Saraswati Puja. Another important fact of this place is that the first ten Satradhikar's of this place left for heir heavenly abode on the same day.

 

Satradhikar Lakshmikanta Mahanta also spoke about the various problems the Satra was facing. He was disappointed that there were very few visitors to the Satra. He expressed that he would have been delighted if more visitors visited the place. He also said that the financial support towards a place that holds high historical importance of Assamese culture is very low and that it needs more support from  the government. The Satradhikar is suffering from kidney ailments and he also expressed his disappointment that nobody visits the Satra to enquire about his health. He was hospitalized a few days back in Guwahati Medical College and Hospital (G.M.C.H) and there were handful of visitors to visit him.

Madhupur Satra is one of those places which holds high importance, both for the followers of Hindu Dharma as well as for the Assamese culture. The place with such sanctity is now facing scarcity of recognition. This place is also important hotspot for tourism for people from Assam.

Melody of Victory

 

 

Young men, not even a beard on face,

separated by all, termed as a disgrace.

They marched ahead, with a broken heart,

they tamed mutiny, yet seeked love.

What they seeked, was a lovers cuddle,

they faced swords, and struggled in battles.

They faced cuts, groaned in pain,

they were soldiers, agreed to die virgin.

After days in battle, one fine day,

they went outnumbered, about to fall astray.

They gathered courage, went to fight back,

for death may come, yet glory shall remain.

They killed the enemies, killed to live,

they won the war, sand the melody of victory.

The empty purse

He tamed a long dream of investing in mutual fund. His little interest in the equity market made him tame this far-sighted dream. He awaited long for his first salary. Although it is not much, still that petty amount would have made his long tamed dream come true.

After a fortnight of his salary, he saw the slip out of the ATM. It was enough for him to survive for the remaining fortnight, but purely scarce to get near his dream. He had nothing but a broken heart.

His moments of disgust were interrupted by a pat on his shoulder by his father. He stared at his dad.

"Thank you Son for these wonderful gifts. It means a lot to receive them from you. Your first salary has made the home glitter again. Everyone is happy with their gifts. I am proud of you", said the old father expressing the happiness of the younger brothers and sisters and his mother.

He soon got relief from those moments of disgust. He was happy. The empty purse and his lost dream of investing in the market had restored the happiness in his family.

Written for Indispire

Illogical Sterotyping

I have a list of fatiths, beliefs and misconceptions which I would like to be eradicated from the society. Certain things have become part and parcel of the modernized society that we can't

• Anything black is related with evil and negativity. Why is black blamed to be so impure? Until and unless people stop stereotyping black to be something, we can't eradicate racism.

• The birth of a girl child is always associated with creation of fixed deposit, buying of gold and saving money for her marriage. We can't eradicate dowry from the society, until and unless we eradicate it from our mindset.

 

 

• Long hair and streetside hangouts are not a symbol of hooligans. Not all guys with long hair are drug addicts. Some prefer to keep hair long as a matter of choice and style. Having a hairdo is a matter of personal interest and any person poking his nose into others choice is not at all a gentlemen.

• A lady sitting in the pillion doesn't always mean that she's a girlfriend or a date. If not always a sister, may be also a good friend. Its actually the choice of the lady and the person riding it. Even their is no problem with any authority concerned, if the rider is riding withing traffic norms.

• Red eyes not always mean a person is drunk or high, at times it always mean that a person is tired. Any person on a cruiser bike to a long unknown dusty road will know the story behind red eyes.

• A couple on a two wheeler doesn't always mean that the boy will ride and the girl will be on pillion. Those who think it to be so has never sat behind a girl and enjoyed a good time while the lady had some moments of freedom.

• The kitchen is not always the place for ladies. If anyone has ever thought it to be so then perhaps they haven't read about women business leaders and had good food by male cooks. Its all about passion and interest.

• We have the habit of digging into history by the name of a person. While the first name indicates towards religion, the last name points towards caste. Some social judgements involves so much of these that personality plays no role in such cases. A persons trait can never be generalized with his caste or religion.

• Clothes can never define a person. People ususally judge a persons charecter based on his clothes. There can be a con in a dhoti and a gentlemen in a faded jeans. A few inches gap between her top and jeans makes it questionable but the same gap between the blouse and saree is acceptable. Clothes can never be a reason for judging someone's charecter.

• The girl should not always be younger and shorter than the guy. What matters is understanding and bondage and it is perfectly alright if we find it in a girl who is elder to us. Also, her height can never be a relationship deciding factor.
Submitted for Indispire