Count your blessings as age is just a number
A reason to look back....
It was yet another day at my son’s place abroad and I was having my usual walk with my wife. It is winter here and it is preferred to go outdoors by noon only. There will be sunshine and it is a pleasant feeling to walk through the beautifully laid pathways enjoying the sunshine. This became our new routine ever since we landed up here post retirement from service. During the walk, we use to recollect our life so far and start talking about great moments of joy, happiness, sorrow and surprises. It was quite eventful and challenging to bring up children. Today, as we look back, it is a great story and we have really cherished it.
My wife pinched me all of a sudden and then gently reminded me that two days later, it is my `Shashti Poorthi’. I was told that it is my star birthday and I shall complete 60 years of age. She also reminded that `Sashti Abda Poorthi‘ as per the Hindu traditions is conducted on the star birthday according to Lunar calendar and `Janma Nakshatram’. In the western world, 60 years also is read as `Diamond anniversary’. Thanks to Google, picked up my mobile and googled `Sashtipoorthi’ . I could make out a brief essence of this ritual as follows. (Courtesy: Wikipedia).
`Shashtipurti’ or `Shashtiabdapurti’ is a religious ceremony followed by Hindus marking the completion of sixty years of age. It also marks the completion of half the years of one's lifetime in Hindu belief, as an age of one hundred and twenty years is considered the theoretical lifespan of a human being.
I am very poor in remembering dates specifically birthdays for the simple reason that I couldn’t differentiate birthdays from any other day. Also age as a number adds to many other numbers and indices that control your life and unnecessarily adds to mental strain. It is true that many a people value birthday celebrations and look forward for receiving personal messages and wishes. Hence I too keep myself vigilant in not missing birthdays of next of kin and immediate family.
An earliest remembrance of Shashi poorthi was as a 7 year old child when myself, my brother, sister and my parents participated in the family function at `Kunnampallil’, my ancestral home to celebrate the 60th birthday of my grandmother. I was told that my grand father died quite early when i was a toddler. The functions were jointly organised with great fanfare by the children (next gen) including my mother. The occasion also marked a grand reunion of our extended family and friends. My parents were working and I don’t recollect any such celebration of my father or mother when they turned sixty. Our generation and the present generation has forgotten this function or may be they do not have the time to celebrate it. Back to `Shastipoorthi’, it was all centred around our ancestral home in Mavelikara, Alleppey district, Kerala.
`Kunnumpallil’ house, my ancestral home is a great place to remember. It had the exuberance of a palatial bungalow and also at the same time, the natural warmth and coziness of my beloved family members. I have only good memories of this dream place. Nestled amongst more than 100 odd fruit bearing trees, with its sparkling white sands and beautiful garden, every inch of this land was natural. There was this open pond, a small paddy field at the rear, the cow sheds, the sacred trees where we use to lit lamps in the evening to pray for the departed souls in the family. A separate kitchen and adjoining dining room was always our play space. I still remember my grand mother hosting all of us children by telling stories, feeding home made sweets and savouries.
On the day of the `Shashti poorthi’, the house was decorated with natural flowers and garlands. Arrangement was made for continuous chanting of kirtans by an elderly group. A megaphone relayed the same chantings to nearby locality too. In addition, I vaguely remember conduct of some pooja’s exclusively for the health and wellness of our family and my grand mother in particular like Ganapathi homam, Bhagavathi seva etc. Myself as a child could not understand the real meaning of the Kirtans, how ever it was soothing and created a divine feeling.
My maternal family is quite big and were all spread across the different parts of India. Myself and my siblings were thrilled to meet our cousins and have some good time together without studies and routines. Our ancestral home was a perfect setting for this reunion and still there are beautiful memories of games like seven tiles, hide and seek, foot ball etc. There were a number of mango trees bearing different types of mangoes and each time a ripe mango falls down it was a mad rush to the tree to pick it up first. For the men in the group it was relaxation time with lots of stories to share and pranks to play with the children. My grand mother was a great cook and she had a dedicated two members from the neighbourhood to help her prepare the food for all of us. Unlike the present days, the kitchen maids were so devoted and committed to grandmother and we have only good words to describe their work. Grand mother too considered them as members of our own household and would help them generously when required.
My best memories of this function are group prayers and having food together on the floor. The homely food is prepared by joint participation of all in the family. when we jointly sing aloud during the prayer session, it is altogether a great feeling. I cant forget the games we played alongwith our cousin brothers and sisters. Later adjusting and sharing the limited resources as a family is great learning for the children. The ‘Shasti poorthi‘ function also reminds us to respect our elders and be proud of our lineage. It is about family companionship and the members of all ages will enjoy the rituals and function.
I thanked my wife for the pinch and rekindling those beautiful memories as I completed the day’s walk.
Ajith Kumar K
Good old days sir... We miss those.