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While women gathered near a banyan tree on Boring Canal Road to perform Vat Savitri puja a few days ago and tied the holy thread around the tree, a newlywed young woman who entered the scene with an elderly woman, who appeared to be her mother-in-law, grabbed their eyeballs. She wasn't too pretty to attract attention, rather but it was a tattoo showing from under her bangles that made all other women raise their eyebrows.
A woman whispered into another ear, "She is too modern. Look, she has her husband's name etched on her right hand." The other retorted, "She is also traditional, as she has put a long mark of vermilion from her nose till the hair parting and her 'Aanchal' too is intact on her head."
The soft sound of anklets from beneath the pair of denims of young women and the glimpse of sacred janeu thread around the neck of men in their late twenties or early thirties, new age brides and grooms in the city are a blend of both tradition and modernity. They know how to look cool and trendy while not being aloof from their culture.
Shravan Upadhyay (name changed) fell in love with a girl who was his college mate in Ireland. They got their parents' approval and tied the nuptial knot last year. While Shravan after completing his studies came back to the city a few months ago to help his father in his automobile business, his wife still has a year left there. But the surprising element is that his wife, a Punjabi, is a part-time bartender in one of the clubs there. "It's her part-time job and she has been doing it for the past three years. And now that she is married in a Brahmin family, she has stopped taking alcohol as well as non-vegetarian food," said a proud Shravan.
When asked if his parents ever expressed their displeasure over her job, he said, "They don't know about it but we will reveal it to them after a while. But I strongly feel to become a good 'bahu', it is not necessary for her to change her calling. Abandoning alcohol and non-veg food was her own choice."
City's Abhishek and Shivya, who have been married for more than five months and are now based in Australia, say though being miles away from their own people, they do not miss celebrating the festivals popular in their family. "We both wear traditional dresses during festivals and do video chat with family members," Shivya told adding this Vat Savitri Puja, though she could not worship a banyan tree there, she performed the puja at her home and called up her mother-in-law for her blessings. "Even my mom-in-law told me to become a Roman while in Rome. Being traditional does not mean proclaiming the tradition but is about respecting our tradition in our hearts," she said and added, "However modern we become, 'dil' will always remain Hindustani."
A woman whispered into another ear, "She is too modern. Look, she has her husband's name etched on her right hand." The other retorted, "She is also traditional, as she has put a long mark of vermilion from her nose till the hair parting and her 'Aanchal' too is intact on her head."
The soft sound of anklets from beneath the pair of denims of young women and the glimpse of sacred janeu thread around the neck of men in their late twenties or early thirties, new age brides and grooms in the city are a blend of both tradition and modernity. They know how to look cool and trendy while not being aloof from their culture.
Shravan Upadhyay (name changed) fell in love with a girl who was his college mate in Ireland. They got their parents' approval and tied the nuptial knot last year. While Shravan after completing his studies came back to the city a few months ago to help his father in his automobile business, his wife still has a year left there. But the surprising element is that his wife, a Punjabi, is a part-time bartender in one of the clubs there. "It's her part-time job and she has been doing it for the past three years. And now that she is married in a Brahmin family, she has stopped taking alcohol as well as non-vegetarian food," said a proud Shravan.
When asked if his parents ever expressed their displeasure over her job, he said, "They don't know about it but we will reveal it to them after a while. But I strongly feel to become a good 'bahu', it is not necessary for her to change her calling. Abandoning alcohol and non-veg food was her own choice."
City's Abhishek and Shivya, who have been married for more than five months and are now based in Australia, say though being miles away from their own people, they do not miss celebrating the festivals popular in their family. "We both wear traditional dresses during festivals and do video chat with family members," Shivya told adding this Vat Savitri Puja, though she could not worship a banyan tree there, she performed the puja at her home and called up her mother-in-law for her blessings. "Even my mom-in-law told me to become a Roman while in Rome. Being traditional does not mean proclaiming the tradition but is about respecting our tradition in our hearts," she said and added, "However modern we become, 'dil' will always remain Hindustani."
source:TOI
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