Young children tend to learn quickly. They are also curious to know various details and question enormously that annoy adults sometimes. The following scene will demonstrate the need for being very specific to a child's question else it might possibly end up in a mess.
Scene 1:
Characters: Tiny tot,Daddy,Mommy and Sis.
Place : Shivan temple, India.
Tiny tot, who was about 3 years old,arrived at the temple around 9 in the morning along with his family. Tiny tot was pretty restless due to the long travel. He was with his Daddy questioning occasionally on whatever he came across. Daddy was holding Tiny tot and was waiting in the long queue along with Mommy and Sis. Temple was extremely crowded as it was Maha sivarathri*
that day.Finally,they reached the Moolasthanam*. Priest was chanting vedas as he was doing pooja* for Lord Siva. After praying for about fifteen minutes. Priest came out with the Deepa arathi .Everybody prayed and placed their offerings on the plate which was held by the priest. Then the priest came out with pancha pathiram* filled with Theertham*. People cupped their hands dutifully as the priest filled them with the theertham using a holy spoon.
Sis, who was about 9 years old, emerged from behind and also cupped her right palm with her left palm supporting it at the bottom. She received her share of the theertham. With due respect, she closed her eyes brought her right hand near her eyes,prayed and then she drank a drop or two and sprinkled the remainder on her head. Tiny tot, who was silently observing his sister, started to prod further about that action to his Daddy. Daddy, by then, was annoyed due to the crowd which was pushing him from behind. He did not pay much attention to Tiny tot. Eventually, Tiny tot entered a fit of tantrum as he did not receive any answer from Daddy. He went on prodding his Daddy. Finally, Daddy told him that whatever Sis did was a mark of respect to God and it should be done during the time anybody receives a holy thing from pooja. Tiny tot felt a lot more better after receiving this reply.
Scene 2:
Characters: Tiny tot,Daddy,Mommy and Sis.
Place : Thirupathi, India.
Tiny tot, along with his family, reached Thirupathi later that year. That time it was to perform a ritual of shaving Tiny tot's head for the third time which would complete the long standing ritual in Hindu religion. Thirupathi, as usual was extremely crowded and Tiny tot held his Daddy's hand, and Sis, Mommy's palms. Daddy took Tiny tot to get his head shaved before entering the temple. Tiny tot had his head shaved with wet sandal applied on it. They completed the prayers. Mommy, by then joined another queue in order to receive the holy prasadham, Ladoo*. Daddy,Sis and Tiny tot was waiting for her near the steps which led to the temple's tank.
Mommy returned with a packet of two huge Ladoos in a plastic bag. Everyone sat down to have their share of the prasadham. Mommy divided the Ladoo into four equals and handed over to Sis,Tiny tot and Daddy. The moment Tiny tot received his share, a bright idea struck him. Even before anybody could taste their Ladoo, Tiny tot took his hand filled with Ladoo near his eyes prayed for a second. Daddy, gazing at Tiny tot was happy to see his son's demeanor. The next second, Tiny tot brought his hand to his mouth, had a drop or two. The next second was even more hilarious when the family saw the major quantity of Ladoo on Tiny tot's head. Sis was rolling with laughter. Mommy started cleaning Tiny tot's head. Thanks goodness,the cleaning was easy as then the head was devoid of hair. Only Daddy was able to comprehend his son's action. He thought the mistake lay in him as he was too generic in his explanation at Shivan temple. The child had stereotyped..!!!!
Scene 1:
Characters: Tiny tot,Daddy,Mommy and Sis.
Place : Shivan temple, India.
Tiny tot, who was about 3 years old,arrived at the temple around 9 in the morning along with his family. Tiny tot was pretty restless due to the long travel. He was with his Daddy questioning occasionally on whatever he came across. Daddy was holding Tiny tot and was waiting in the long queue along with Mommy and Sis. Temple was extremely crowded as it was Maha sivarathri*
that day.Finally,they reached the Moolasthanam*. Priest was chanting vedas as he was doing pooja* for Lord Siva. After praying for about fifteen minutes. Priest came out with the Deepa arathi .Everybody prayed and placed their offerings on the plate which was held by the priest. Then the priest came out with pancha pathiram* filled with Theertham*. People cupped their hands dutifully as the priest filled them with the theertham using a holy spoon.
Sis, who was about 9 years old, emerged from behind and also cupped her right palm with her left palm supporting it at the bottom. She received her share of the theertham. With due respect, she closed her eyes brought her right hand near her eyes,prayed and then she drank a drop or two and sprinkled the remainder on her head. Tiny tot, who was silently observing his sister, started to prod further about that action to his Daddy. Daddy, by then, was annoyed due to the crowd which was pushing him from behind. He did not pay much attention to Tiny tot. Eventually, Tiny tot entered a fit of tantrum as he did not receive any answer from Daddy. He went on prodding his Daddy. Finally, Daddy told him that whatever Sis did was a mark of respect to God and it should be done during the time anybody receives a holy thing from pooja. Tiny tot felt a lot more better after receiving this reply.
Scene 2:
Characters: Tiny tot,Daddy,Mommy and Sis.
Place : Thirupathi, India.
Tiny tot, along with his family, reached Thirupathi later that year. That time it was to perform a ritual of shaving Tiny tot's head for the third time which would complete the long standing ritual in Hindu religion. Thirupathi, as usual was extremely crowded and Tiny tot held his Daddy's hand, and Sis, Mommy's palms. Daddy took Tiny tot to get his head shaved before entering the temple. Tiny tot had his head shaved with wet sandal applied on it. They completed the prayers. Mommy, by then joined another queue in order to receive the holy prasadham, Ladoo*. Daddy,Sis and Tiny tot was waiting for her near the steps which led to the temple's tank.
Mommy returned with a packet of two huge Ladoos in a plastic bag. Everyone sat down to have their share of the prasadham. Mommy divided the Ladoo into four equals and handed over to Sis,Tiny tot and Daddy. The moment Tiny tot received his share, a bright idea struck him. Even before anybody could taste their Ladoo, Tiny tot took his hand filled with Ladoo near his eyes prayed for a second. Daddy, gazing at Tiny tot was happy to see his son's demeanor. The next second, Tiny tot brought his hand to his mouth, had a drop or two. The next second was even more hilarious when the family saw the major quantity of Ladoo on Tiny tot's head. Sis was rolling with laughter. Mommy started cleaning Tiny tot's head. Thanks goodness,the cleaning was easy as then the head was devoid of hair. Only Daddy was able to comprehend his son's action. He thought the mistake lay in him as he was too generic in his explanation at Shivan temple. The child had stereotyped..!!!!
P.S.
Maha Sivarathiri Hindu celebration to honor Lord Shiva.
Moolasthanam Sacred place in a Temple where the deity of the God is placed.
Pooja Worship in Hindu tradition.
Panchapathiram Sacred cup for serving theertham.
Theertham Holy water.
No comments:
Post a Comment