For the uninitiated across the world, India still conjures up images of snake charmers and elephants with turbaned mahouts, yet, we undoubtedly remain the richest storehouse of culture, heritage and tradition ..
An unfortunate consequence of all this, is the deeply ingrained superstitious beliefs that have passed down from one generation to the other.
Most often these superstitions mean nothing more than blind faith in what the society believes is the norm, fear included.
Rationalists have aided a large part of the society to see through many of these superstitions and move on, yet for many this will remain to hound them for the rest of their lives..
Shreshtha Jain believes that it is human nature to fall prey to superstitions at times when they find all doors closed, or when they are unable to decide their next move in life. The best way to explain this is ‘forward messages’.
“Every day I receive forwards that vouch for good luck if forwarded to ‘n’ number of people. Knowing well that it is just plain superstition, I still forward it to people because I don’t lose anything by doing so, so why not ? Somewhere, at the back of my mind, I feel it works for me,” she adds.
A vulnerable mind and family traditions have led Manoj Pendse into following some superstitions.
“I consciously do not believe in superstitions. “I feel bad for girls who are kept away from home chores and even temples during their menstrual cycle, but on the flip side, I do halt a metre away and wait for a bike to pass when a black cat crosses my way. I know that is absurd, but this comes instinctively to me, as I have been ingrained about its consequences from childhood. Even if I do cross it, it makes me anxious and vulnerable,” he adds.
Preetisha is done with all the superstitions in the world considering it did nothing to find a perfect match for her.
In Hindu astrology, Manglik or Mangal Dosha is an astrological phenomenon that is signified by Mars or Mangal being is in the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 7th, 8th, or 12th house of the astrological ascendant chart. A person born under this characteristic is termed a Manglik.
“I have suffered all, from wearing all sorts of gem stones, to reciting all legit mantras and spending a bomb in charity. Yet, I am still unmarried and happy for sure. Some even tried fixing me up with this ‘maanglik’ guy but I needed to be sure about settling with him, right? As I imagined, few of my aunties also tried getting me to marry a banyan tree, to ward off the consequences of being a ‘Maanglik.
“Subsequently, I came back to Pune and moved on with my job and am living quite happily since then,” she adds wittily.
#The views expressed in this column are those of the individual respondents and Pune365 does not necessarily subscribe to them.
Reach her at loveleen@pune365.com or tweet @KaurKaur18
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