Crows in Cages

Pindas are offered to crows during the funeral rites and also on death anniversaries (taddinam). If the crow comes and eats the pinda, it is believed that the atma of the person is satiated. If otherwise it means that the person's atma is unhappy and he/she has a wish to be fulfilled. It is a great source of unhappiness if crows fail to eat the pindas. But where to find a crow in metros? We tried to convince ourselves that pigeons are the city versions of the country crows. When the priests came to perform the masikam (monthy ritual), they told that even crows are for sale, specifically for these occasions, @ Rs. 1200/crow along with the cage. (I see a business oppurtunity there?) The crow is caged, made to eat the pinda and then let go off. What is the fate of that crow then?

Funeral rites and eco-concerns

The funeral rites brought me closer to nature than ever before. Most of the rites were performed in the open. We had to spend most of the time outdoors as we were to observe a sort of religious seclusion. We were not supposed to use any footwear and walked barefoot on sand and stone and had to dwell along the river bank like people in the early civilization.

The priests were quite environmentally conscious and were careful enough to separate the 'darbha' (Imperta cylindrica, a kind of grass with sharp leaf blades) and throw it on to the bank instead of allowing it to get into the river water, showing concern to aquatic life.

During the shradhha karma three rice balls (pindas) are made to impersonate the three immediate ancestors.These pindas are either fed to a cow, offered to aquatic beings in rivers/lakes or burnt. Most often they are mixed in river/lake water. In Rajamundry it was not a problem, but Hyderabad, we decided to burn the pindas, as neither cows nor a good water source was available in the neighborhood. Our priest advised us to mix them in the nearby pond as he has done the same thing last year for someone in the neighborhood. But this year most of the pond is eutrophicated and the water got dirty. With this a discussion on the water bodies in Hyderabad upsurged.

Since decades the priests had been offering pindas to aquatic creatures in water bodies located in different parts of the city but now they find these water bodies missing one by one, year after year, in the much altered topography of Hyderabad. [no] Thanks to the real estate boom in the recent past. The pindas are basically made from cooked rice. But whatever is cooked in the house that day - the ceremonial 4 curries and 4 chutneys, dal, payasam etc. are also added to the cooked rice in small quantities. But one thing which is compulsorily cooked but not added to the pindas is `vada' (made of black gram dal and deep fried in oil). Vada is supposed to harm aquatic organisms. Likewise when the pindas are fed to a cow, vada is included but payasam is excluded. Any scientific explanation?

Serving the Soul

I was all set to take charge of my aged father-in-law, reading `how to take care of aged' blogs & sites and by not accepting any new job contracts. He was to come to HYD around 20th Feb. But destiny was different. I had to travel to Rajamundry on 17th ... to be part of the elaborate rituals for his journey to heaven.

His own cute house in Rajamundry was certainly a better place for his departure with his friends - innocent looking squirrels and a variety of birds on the mango and jack fruit trees bidding farewell, and his grand children paying homage with hibiscuses from his own garden.

Articulate priests and artisanal washerman (washer couple!) took charge of the rest. I had to do several `things impossible', wear the saree in a traditional manner, take a dip in the holy waters of river Godavari, cook in an earthen pot on the river bank with firewood. To my own surprise I could do everything with ease. Thanks to our priest whose instructions were very clear and he literally provided `context sensitive help'. To me the whole exercise seemed to be like a well designed e-learning module. No wonder, we later learn't that the priest has been a faculty in Mechanical engineering. Although he entered this profession rather reluctantly, he now finds it spiritually satisfying and initiated even his sons into it. In fact I was also quite enthralled with the numerous concepts and terms and wished for a TOR to build a concept map for religion.