The day everyone fasts

Every year, around this time of the year, Jains all over the world fast for a day and we call it ‘Samvatsari’. The day is auspicious in many regards -  it’s the day when Lord Ganesha, the son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati was born, the 4th day of the lunar calendar in the Hindu month of Bhadra. So, the Hindus from India are celebrating this day with happiness as Ganesha is considered the God of wisdom, knowledge and all noble new beginnings.

So, you might be wondering if people don’t eat anything during the day and that’s right. The fast as per rules, starts the evening before the main day (after an early dinner that is) and breaks the day after (after sunrise), which is roughly around 36 hours or a little more. I said that I was fasting to a Chinese friend here and she told me that she has read several articles which claim that fasting a few days in a year cleanses the body.

I was running a fever for the last 4 days before this day and I sweated a lot during the course of the day and night and boom, the fever just vanished when I got up next morning. I was taking paracetamols 3 times a day before this.

I don’t claim anything but I do find some of our customs quite scientific in their own ways.

When I get up with a bad throat

Last night was cold. I could feel it on my legs. But I didn’t get up to cover them with something warmer. My bad. And what happens next morning. I get up with a fever. I get up with a bad throat. The throat aches as if there are thorns placed there. What do I do?

I sip 3 glasses of Chinese tea during the day. With each sip of warm tea reaching the throat, the thorns break. That’s how I feel. I start feeling much better.

Other than the usual black tea, green tea, oolong tea or white tea, there are the other simple kinds which are too beneficial as well. Example: a tea made of flowers – jasmine/chrysanthemum/rose or a tea made of carom seeds or a tea made of Fenugreek seeds.

I compete with myself..

.. In small little ways.

I generally have quicker baths. My recent challenge is if I can finish taking a bath before a Rahat Fateh Ali Khan song ends . And you know what, I can!!.. Hehe.

On that note, enjoy the song.

Indirectly..

.. Ignoring/Hurting others. And that’s an art.

As I grow, I realize more and more why it was worth being a kid. As a kid, I wouldn’t have understood certain things and that would have been good for my own self. Not that I can’t go back to being a kid, but it is a little more difficult. I’m more rationale now.

Suppose a six of us are sitting in a group, the group is not big enough that a person can be ignored. It’s also not small enough that one needs to constantly talk to keep the communication going (as there would be someone else doing it). And there comes a remark from one of the person, ‘We, A and B didn’t go to the movie last week’. Everyone in the group knew that 3 out of the 6 didn’t join the movie last week. Such an easy way to ignoring someone.

Using others as examples to exactly narrate someone else is an interesting technique. Recently, a colleague was describing about some acquaintance of his which seemed like he was talking about my best friend. He said how his acquaintance has never lived up to any expectations and I knew he was talking about my friend.

There are some intelligent ways in which people hurt others. I feel pity for these people because they waste so much of their time planning strategies or plots to hurt others. If they used this time learning skills and art, they could have turned out to be someone people would look up to.