Super-duper-stitions !

Is it fear or is it faith….what makes millions around the world believe in the many superstitions that each one has…? Thankfully, I don’t have any, but over the years have seen so many people with their odd quirks and idiosyncrasies that have amused me so much….
The idea to write to about this came to me sometime back on reading AnandChitra’s post “A Black Cat, Check out lane,and traffic"
Well, let me start at the very beginning, a very good place to start…
The most popular of all superstitions seems to be the black cat crossing, sending shivers down the spines of many, forcing them to turn back and reach for a glass of water( or cookies or savouries, anything within reach, for some people !).
Next comes the omnipresent sneeze….poor thing, if only it knew that it were considered such a bad omen, it wouldn’t coming rushing down our nasal passage at such a speed, unannounced….my dh in his younger days once had a bad news after someone nearby sneezed and was left so scarred by it that he would never proceed with something important if he heard a sneeze in the vicinity.
When he attends telephone interviews, the whole family takes care not to go anywhere near him, for fear of sneezing…and poor man, he married me, who can sneeze at the drop of a hat… a few specks of dust near my nostrils, opening a box of chilli powder, or simply a couple of extra chillies in the tadka, and I go a-ti-shooo… so much for the body’s natural reaction to a foreign particle entering it…personally, I am worried about sneezes only when their flight is not arrested by a tissue or hanky over the nose they emerged from !

What will a gust of wind do to a small open flame? Blow it out, do you say? Naturally…but again, such a normal thing doesn’t go down well with many….a lamp lit in the puja room going out gives jitters to many…well, if you have a room with a window, its bound to happen ! Don’t spend the day worrying about all the possible misfortunes that are likely to befall you....
Now, some people take this too far, and include even power cuts in the ever growing list of bad omens, especially if its in the middle of some event or function! In a power-starved country like India, it only means that your electricity board is doing a load shedding, or your local political party is drawing power for their rally, or the transformer down the street has gone bust….don’t blame your fortunes !

One of the most dreaded is the Rahu kaalam, a one and a half hour duration that occurs every day at a different time - its mentioned on all the calendars and most of it know it by heart….no well meaning Indian would begin a new venture during this time, but then again, I’ve known people who consider it for anything and everything they do….there are ladies who won’t even soak rice for idli batter during rahu kaalam !

One interesting superstition I’ve come across in my family is that it is considered inauspicious to see a single (I mean number, not marital status!) Brahmin man approaching when one is leaving to go somewhere… I used to ask my mom if seeing a Brahmin man itself was considered unlucky, what about marrying one for life?! (thank goodness, I proved to be quite lucky in this regard) My mil is quite steadfast in her belief in these things, and doesn’t relent even if its her own husband…she made an about turn even when my own fil came up the stairs just as we where setting out to go somewhere… :)

And then, my favourite – the subject worthy of an extensive study and research – is students, and their superstitions… these are not limited to those who while away their time and resort to last minute study, but even the meticulous ones …
I have cousins who are very particular that their parents wish them without fail on the exam days …and how - simply not any wish, but only the words “ all the best” ! they would not relent to being wished
“Best of luck” ! I am especially careful…I call before hand, ascertain the right words, and only then make a call on the morning of the exam, and I pray that the paper be easy, for fear that my wish be considered unlucky!
My dear cousin even has her own lucky exam pad, bag, pencil case…even if they have become dog-eared and worn out with age, she’ll cling on to them, and safeguard them to be used only on exam days….
One family friend’s son went a step further – on all exam days, he would wear only a particular shirt and eat only cabbage before leaving for the exams! OMG!

One thing most Indian women are afraid of (I haven’t seen many men bothering about this one) is the evil eye! Women are mortally afraid that other women will cast the evil eye on their house, assets, children, simply anything that they think in their possession is precious…and take precautions to insulate their house and possessions.
We Indians are indeed the greatest scientists…its amazing that the evil rays emanating from a fellow human’s eyes can be effectively rendered powerless by simple things like lemons, red chillies and kajal dots, to name a few…
Some do not even tell you that they have booked a flat, or bought a car….even back in school, I knew girls who would crib and cry that they have messed up the exams, but when the results came, would have got excellent marks…beats me, why do people do it ? I have just a pair of eyes, and am extremely possessive of them…what would I do people, after casting them on you!

And then, numbers! – there are people who have their own lucky and unlucky numbers – they try with all their might to get their vehicle’s number plates with their favourite numbers, and avoid the unlucky ones finding a place there….when I was a kid we had a family in our apartment block whose flat was next to the number seventh but they stubbornly numbered their flat 9, because apparently,8 was unlucky for their family…phew !
The west has its own superstitions too…they consider 13 unlucky, and if its Friday and 13^th combined, there is nothing worse… but what I like is that they have a name for everything – fear of the number 13 is triskaidekaphobia, and fear of Friday the thirteenth is paraskavedekatriaphobia….tongue twisters, anyone ?

Wow, we could come up with interesting names for our superstitions too… we’d have a long list of phobias…

Well, i have always believed that our ancestors where very rational and scientific people, and had very good reasons for what they were doing….with time, some of these practices lose their relevance, and when we follow them blindly without stopping to think about the rationale behind them, they become superstitions….

I’d like to end with a story I read somewhere years ago….
There was once a Guruji who used to give sermons to his disciples in his ashram…one day, a cat entered the place and was running about here and there in the middle of the sermon. It kept returning even when chased and the disciples were getting distracted. So the Guruji ordered that the cat be tied to a pole till the sermons ended and then released. Soon, the cat stayed there everyday, and had to be kept tied always till the sermons ended.
Some years passed, the Guruji was no more, and some one else succeeded him… one fine day the cat also died…the next day, at the beginning of the sermon, there was no cat – and someone said, “ a cat has to be tied to the pole during the sermon – let’s go find a cat soon !”

I guess this is how superstitions start!
If you ask me, they should be supersti-shuns ! I shun them !

A wonderful write up. I thoroughly enjoyed it.. Would like to comment more here, but will be back later. Have to go now. Keep up the good work..

hi venus,
thanks for the nice feed back ....will look forward to you being back here soon !

Dear Sowpar
very well written.. already found its way to F.P. I agree with you that I shun them too!

Dear Sowparnika,
You write so well & i enjoyed it very much.I think once we start believing in such superstitions we will be hooked forever.The irony is eventhough the result or outcome after following the superstitions turns negative no one is ready to put the blame on the superstitions.They try to protect it.Once my room -mate was getting ready for her project presentation.I wished her luck.Suddenly her face turned grim & i didnt know why?In the evening she came back very happy saying that she did a good job.She told that if any one wished her luck she was sure she wont be able to make it.But my wish turned the opposite.Thereafter whenever there is any important work she will come to me with a smile & i will have to dramatically wish her good luck.HowzzzatKeep writing more Sowparnika...

love,
ammu

Sowpar,
Nicely written article which has many findings ( as a result of the research done by you)
These things reminded me of many small superstitions I followed when I was in my school/college years.....now I had outgrown them (name it as maturity...)
When reading about the power-cut, on my nichayathartham day...the power was out....mmm...
Eventhough we don't mind...but we had to mind other's beliefs, isn't it...I am in a jeopardy when I am the first to wish anyone for their exams/ new venture and the like...

sriniketan

Dear AC,
thanks for the feed back....your thread was my muse for this...
you deserve the credit for being the inspiration for this one !

Originally Posted by anandchitra

Dear Sowpar
very well written.. already found its way to F.P. I agree with you that I shun them too!

Dear Sowpar,

very well-written. I don't have many and never had many in my childhood too. But now observe only rahu kalam for important work.
Keep writing!

Hi sowparnika,

a very nice writeup....yes many like to shun them but when one cannot think of any logical reasoning people resort to such superstitions as bsically man wants to raeason out every thing happenning in his life,i think....enjoyed your writing...

Mindi

Dear Sowparnika

You may be interested to read an earlier thread titled-" Favourite Superstitions "
in this same forum. Look forward to yr comments/views.

Have a nice day

Regards.

Originally Posted by sowparnika

Is it fear or is it faith….what makes millions around the world believe in the many superstitions that each one has…? Thankfully, I don’t have any, but over the years have seen so many people with their odd quirks and idiosyncrasies that have amused me so much….
The idea to write to about this came to me sometime back on reading AnandChitra’s post “A Black Cat, Check out lane,and traffic"
Well, let me start at the very beginning, a very good place to start…
The most popular of all superstitions seems to be the black cat crossing, sending shivers down the spines of many, forcing them to turn back and reach for a glass of water( or cookies or savouries, anything within reach, for some people !).
Next comes the omnipresent sneeze….poor thing, if only it knew that it were considered such a bad omen, it wouldn’t coming rushing down our nasal passage at such a speed, unannounced….my dh in his younger days once had a bad news after someone nearby sneezed and was left so scarred by it that he would never proceed with something important if he heard a sneeze in the vicinity.
When he attends telephone interviews, the whole family takes care not to go anywhere near him, for fear of sneezing…and poor man, he married me, who can sneeze at the drop of a hat… a few specks of dust near my nostrils, opening a box of chilli powder, or simply a couple of extra chillies in the tadka, and I go a-ti-shooo… so much for the body’s natural reaction to a foreign particle entering it…personally, I am worried about sneezes only when their flight is not arrested by a tissue or hanky over the nose they emerged from !

What will a gust of wind do to a small open flame? Blow it out, do you say? Naturally…but again, such a normal thing doesn’t go down well with many….a lamp lit in the puja room going out gives jitters to many…well, if you have a room with a window, its bound to happen ! Don’t spend the day worrying about all the possible misfortunes that are likely to befall you....
Now, some people take this too far, and include even power cuts in the ever growing list of bad omens, especially if its in the middle of some event or function! In a power-starved country like India, it only means that your electricity board is doing a load shedding, or your local political party is drawing power for their rally, or the transformer down the street has gone bust….don’t blame your fortunes !

One of the most dreaded is the Rahu kaalam, a one and a half hour duration that occurs every day at a different time - its mentioned on all the calendars and most of it know it by heart….no well meaning Indian would begin a new venture during this time, but then again, I’ve known people who consider it for anything and everything they do….there are ladies who won’t even soak rice for idli batter during rahu kaalam !

One interesting superstition I’ve come across in my family is that it is considered inauspicious to see a single (I mean number, not marital status!) Brahmin man approaching when one is leaving to go somewhere… I used to ask my mom if seeing a Brahmin man itself was considered unlucky, what about marrying one for life?! (thank goodness, I proved to be quite lucky in this regard) My mil is quite steadfast in her belief in these things, and doesn’t relent even if its her own husband…she made an about turn even when my own fil came up the stairs just as we where setting out to go somewhere… :)

And then, my favourite – the subject worthy of an extensive study and research – is students, and their superstitions… these are not limited to those who while away their time and resort to last minute study, but even the meticulous ones …
I have cousins who are very particular that their parents wish them without fail on the exam days …and how - simply not any wish, but only the words “ all the best” ! they would not relent to being wished
“Best of luck” ! I am especially careful…I call before hand, ascertain the right words, and only then make a call on the morning of the exam, and I pray that the paper be easy, for fear that my wish be considered unlucky!
My dear cousin even has her own lucky exam pad, bag, pencil case…even if they have become dog-eared and worn out with age, she’ll cling on to them, and safeguard them to be used only on exam days….
One family friend’s son went a step further – on all exam days, he would wear only a particular shirt and eat only cabbage before leaving for the exams! OMG!

One thing most Indian women are afraid of (I haven’t seen many men bothering about this one) is the evil eye! Women are mortally afraid that other women will cast the evil eye on their house, assets, children, simply anything that they think in their possession is precious…and take precautions to insulate their house and possessions.
We Indians are indeed the greatest scientists…its amazing that the evil rays emanating from a fellow human’s eyes can be effectively rendered powerless by simple things like lemons, red chillies and kajal dots, to name a few…
Some do not even tell you that they have booked a flat, or bought a car….even back in school, I knew girls who would crib and cry that they have messed up the exams, but when the results came, would have got excellent marks…beats me, why do people do it ? I have just a pair of eyes, and am extremely possessive of them…what would I do people, after casting them on you!

And then, numbers! – there are people who have their own lucky and unlucky numbers – they try with all their might to get their vehicle’s number plates with their favourite numbers, and avoid the unlucky ones finding a place there….when I was a kid we had a family in our apartment block whose flat was next to the number seventh but they stubbornly numbered their flat 9, because apparently,8 was unlucky for their family…phew !
The west has its own superstitions too…they consider 13 unlucky, and if its Friday and 13^th combined, there is nothing worse… but what I like is that they have a name for everything – fear of the number 13 is triskaidekaphobia, and fear of Friday the thirteenth is paraskavedekatriaphobia….tongue twisters, anyone ?

Wow, we could come up with interesting names for our superstitions too… we’d have a long list of phobias…

Well, i have always believed that our ancestors where very rational and scientific people, and had very good reasons for what they were doing….with time, some of these practices lose their relevance, and when we follow them blindly without stopping to think about the rationale behind them, they become superstitions….

I’d like to end with a story I read somewhere years ago….
There was once a Guruji who used to give sermons to his disciples in his ashram…one day, a cat entered the place and was running about here and there in the middle of the sermon. It kept returning even when chased and the disciples were getting distracted. So the Guruji ordered that the cat be tied to a pole till the sermons ended and then released. Soon, the cat stayed there everyday, and had to be kept tied always till the sermons ended.
Some years passed, the Guruji was no more, and some one else succeeded him… one fine day the cat also died…the next day, at the beginning of the sermon, there was no cat – and someone said, “ a cat has to be tied to the pole during the sermon – let’s go find a cat soon !”

I guess this is how superstitions start!
If you ask me, they should be supersti-shuns ! I shun them !