Partying on Poverty

The menu was not all that appetizing, and the smell of the dishes was not all that inviting, and yet the partying lot were huddled together to make the best dishes possible out of the least that was available. The menu list did not run in to pages, but just a few in number, but that did not matter to the family which had gathered, big and small, young and old, to celebrate their togetherness. It was like a stillness dawning after a stormy night, and they were sure that every stormy weather had brought them together and strengthened their bond and fellowship, and the "party" was merely an excuse.

The family which had been struggling to get out of the poverty which had been imposed on it, could hardly take a few steps before they are drawn back to the very spot they had been languishing for years. If they begin to blame others, there would be no end. The first and the most important culprit would be God, who had imposed such a privation that they had to struggle to have even one square meal; who had taken away the breadwinner at a very young age, and the young mother had to struggle to bring up her children, educate them, and get them married, and support them even after their marriage, when the marriage did not go too well.

The best image that comes to my mind when I think of this family partying on their poverty, is the story of the "stone soup". These poor senior members of the family brought their mite, the best from their privation, but they were full of joy to contribute their best to make this party memorable one. They are not going to think about their poverty, what they do not have, but are going to capitalize on what they do possess, the comfort and strength of the company of one another, and this was their greatest asset, and they had come to feel this beneath their bones.

When families are well off, they do not feel the need to get together occasionally to strengthen their bonding; they believe that the money and comfort they enjoy were good enough to assure them of a better days to come; the bonding with other family members, relations, and friends is not so essential for them to get going. That is the tragedy of the neo-riche, and there would come a time in their lives too, when they would be forced to seek after their lost family roots and find succor in them. For the poor and have-not it is a joy and way of life to come together and share their lot, but for the rich and the haves, it may become a socio-cultural necessity.

I feel partying on poverty can be one of the greatest moments of celebration in the life of a family, who have nothing to share, but their pain and suffering. They have nothing to offer to one another, than their shoulders to lean on. They have nothing to contribute to the party, but their own share of sob stories and painful memories. This party is sure to strengthen the bonding of the family, and no storm and cyclone can ever take the little pleasures and joy they enjoy. Today I take my hats off to this family partying on their poverty, and I only hope more and more families may bring in their poverty and party on them, so that their bonding may be strengthened day after day.

Call to be a Cosmic Force

Tribal communities in India and elsewhere are often accused of indulging in superstitious 'ancestor worship', which I consider is a great injustice done to their cultural repertois; only the persons who are ignorant of their faiths and belief system can make such a derogatory remark. There is nothing as rich and noble in other religious traditions, as the tribal concept of 'ancestor worship'. Maybe it is time that the major religions look at this notion sympathetically, and borrow from them what may enrich their own belief system.

I really do not know how other tribal communities value and believe in ancestor worship, I know for sure that among the Santal tribals, it is one of the key aspects of their belief, so much so one of their festivals -Sohrae - is closely associated with them. While the harvest festival bid goodbye to the departed souls, they also bring them home, to the Manjhithan, where the ancestral spirits are to dwell permanently.

Those who die, in other words, are not lost forever, but are brought back to the very village community, and they claim their due place there. Every time a Santal offers sacrifices to the deities, the ancestral spirits have theie due share; every time a Santal drinks handipaura, the rice beer, he/she is expected to offer a few drops first before taking the first sip. These spirits also have the responsibility to safeguard the village from any natural calamity or danger. Is it not a noble concept, that all the dear departed are there in the village, hovering over the air!

During a ritual called bandan (bone-drowning ceremony), the dear departed during the liturgical year, are given a beautiful farewell. The relative who carries the collar-bone of the departed collected after the cremation, is given all the little pleasures the man/woman loved so much. The villagers offer small niceties in the name of the departed soul. When their bones are drowned in a river, they join the cosmic forces, and become one with nature, not only symbolically, but also literally.

We are part of the cosmos, and whether living or dead, we are part of the forces which operate and govern the cosmos. It is good to remember this, for there is a temptation to consider that an untimely death is a loss for the world; no, it cannot be. All are present in the cosmos, and join the eternal, undying, undiminishing power of the cosmos. The evil that men do lives after them; and their good too! They are written large on the clouds and trees, birds and beasts, air and water. And if you wish to believe, the other name for these cosmic forces is God!