my paternal grandmom's closest brother died recently. yesterday my dad and a cousin of his performed this puja called the shraadh. the same day this was being done in Calcutta, only on a larger scale. a lot of sanskrit mantras were being recited. the brahmin who conducted the puja supposedly did a wonderful job and was very clear in his enunciation and tried to explain what was being done and all cause it is so difficult to follw a hindu ritual, as everything has a purpose obscure to the common man. but i just realised someting as my mom and grandmom were talikng about it. THAT..... we hardly know whats happenning during religious rituals, so we feel certain basic emotions when such rituals are going on, and not more as none can follow the nuances of the whole long thing. what my mom and dad felt, and i guess were supposed to feel was respect and thats it.....thats it.
is it not amazing? that you can be sitting before the fire with a million offerings around you and you dont know what is being said and why you have to wear only that certain thing, but can feel what one should during the final goodbye to someone close to them.

the mantras and the offerings were actually meant, as the priest explained, for accompanying my grandad to heaven, and the mantras were spoken to narayan asking him to accompany him and also show that he was a respected man on earth...... i think....or well i like to think......this way it sounds so nice.


forgive the minimal use of capitals.