Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Being Human! No, its not about Salman Khan's NGO!

Born to Bengali and Gujarati parents, and getting married to a U.P. husband, now living in Karnataka makes me wonder what should my answer be when someone asks me what place or what caste I belong to.

Does it really matter? For a moment I pause and think what should my answer be and then confused of what part of India is more in me, I prefer giving my entire history to the person rather than describing myself as a Bengali, Gujarati or a U.P.

Having brought up in a nuclear and modern family, my parents were liberal and independent in thoughts. We spoke Hindi at home (neither Gujarati nor Bengali), no particular cuisine was preferred (we followed our taste), open to worship all Gods (a debatable question though), celebrated all festivals (felt it specially while celebrating Gujarati Navratri and Bengali Durga Puja simultaneously) and we adopted rituals from various  places. Our mind and belief dominated our place of origin.

I have had friends from various parts of India and world rather, this broadened my perspective even more. Being with them made me realize that every religion teaches you to be humane, humble and true to your self. It actually depends on the person what he chooses to become in the course of time that he goes through the tests of life.

Rituals have their meanings and purpose, but they gradually become rigid rules to be followed blindly. Rituals are a way of purifying your soul and they make sense only if you perform them when you understand the entire purpose of it. One should always be open to performing rituals with sincerity, provided you understand their meaning and purpose. One should be happy to perform them unless they are made compulsions and a matter of being judged of who you are.

I am happy to be just Human! Not a Gujarati, Bengali, Christian, or any of those kinds.


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