India Sutra Insights on India

> > A 10,000 year old lifestyle model of Purpose, Profit, Pleasure and Freedom

No! This Indian lifestyle is not about eating curry or doing yoga everyday nor is it about getting a regular Ayurvedic massage. In fact, this lifestyle is talked about as a sophisticated way of living a fulfilled  life.It is quite a time-tested lifestyle and has been around for at least 10,000 years. Though it is ancient, it is said to be relevant for any era, applies to anybody, living anywhere – be it the USA, India, the UK, Australia or New Zealand. It is essentially a model for desire management. Want to know more about this great Indian lifestyle?

When an Indian woman decorates her forehead with sindoor or bindi, she is just following a tradition that goes back atleast 5000 years. Wear a bindi or a decorative mark on your forehead and you will never go unnoticed as it is very eye-catching. It is no wonder that bindi has found its way to the international fashion world. In fact the Bindi is one of India’s best recognized symbols in the world. If you wear a bindi what does it say about you? Is it merely a decoration or is there more to it?

“White skin-u girl-u girl-u – Girl-u heart-u black-u – Eyes-u eyes-u meet-u meet-u – My future dark”. Yes!!! Kolaveri Di is immensely popular that even here downunder in Auckland we saw a Kolaveri flash mob. Why is this song so popular di? Is Kolaveri something we should be proud of di? Can this song be called an evergreen song di? What is worrying about this song di?

Do you care if a black cat crosses your road? Would you dare to step on lime and green chillies? Why is a north facing house believed to be lucky? Are these omens just mere imagination? We know that there are no real answers to these superstitions as they are irrational beliefs that defy all known logic.

Though Lord Ram lived and ruled Bharat some 10,000 years ago, his life and values are still cherished and extolled. There is hardly any King except King Ram of Ayodhya in the Indian history who is celebrated so much till today. The life of King Ram is thankfully covered through the itihaas of Ramayana and not our history books.

2011 ICC world cup is not the first cricket world cup for India. India has been world champions in the 1983 world cup and the 2007 T20 World cup. But the third world cup was a tad different. In the 2011 World cup tournament we saw a different Team India. One could see a special ‘attitude’ that was extra-ordinary and exemplary in many ways. What was this exceptional attitude that Team India showed on the field?

India has had a deity of Love ‘Kaamdev’ for millennia. The power of love has been captured for centuries in the Indian sub continent by many poets and playwrights. Love was in the air in ancient India and the whole sub-continent was ablaze with the love and its different shades.  Love in India has been made perennial through her poems, plays, characters and ancient monuments. Then came the Taj and now Valentine’s Day.

CAUTION: INDIAN cows straying

For a tourist, seeing cows on Indian streets equate to an ‘authentic’ Indian experience. People who have never been to India have a hard time to believe how Indian cows and an assortment of other animals freely roam Indian streets. Even the movie ‘Delhi-6’ has a scene on how traffic got choked because a cow was giving birth. It’s interesting to note that these humble bovines on the roads are not stray cattle. The cows seem to enjoy freedom and liberty in Indian roads without any voting rights.

In the previous article titled ‘Indian marriages – Arranged Love or lovingly arranged’, we peeped into the psyche behind traditional Indian marriages. In this concluding feature, let’s look at the wedding ceremony, particularly the traditional wedding vows.

Many of us living overseas do get asked about arranged marriages routinely, as to  how it all works etc and this column is an attempt to get some insight into this phenomenon of arranged marriages. To start off on a lighter note, let me share a wedding one liners can which I have heard many a times – ‘Every Man/Woman must marry – after all happiness is not everything in life’.