Lockdown Day – 14 Azaan.. Gaana?

Today was a crazy busy day. How technology has made sure everyone stays connected, is amazing. The only relief in the lockdown work from home scenario is, I can work all day wearing my shorts. For an online workshop today, I got dressed in a shirt and shorts. How peaceful and comfortable that is!

Right after the evening session of the workshop got over, as I was sitting on my terrace, I heard the sound of azaan. Hearing the azaan so clearly, my two year old asked me : mumma, gaana? (Song?)

I told her no, its azaan. She again asked : azaan gaana? Then again I told her no azaan. After the third time, I simply didn’t correct her again. Who am I to tell her what to make of the sounds that she hears? I love the peter patter of the rain and to me, its music. I love the leaves of the trees ruffling and I feel that’s music too. The waves in the sea make their own music. Who am I to correct someone who is just figuring out the world and almost every day is coming across something new and amusing?

My daughter is just 2 and its too soon to explain to her the difference between music and songs (gaana) and she has no concept of religion or prayer since we are non believers and don’t pray at all.

I am looking forward to the day I would slowly introduce the different religions of the world to her. I try and remember how my parents did that. My earliest encounter with religion was not prayer or me being told there is a God. It was more on the lines of how a lot of people have different faiths and how the world functions. I was never told what my religion is and I never saw my parents praying. For me, religion was more to do with the concepts, historical aspects and not superstitions and it definitely wasn’t something that I couldn’t question. The concept of God or Allah or Bhagwan was left on me to be understood. Whenever I asked my parents about God and its existence, they never gave me any answers as the final truth. They left that to me to figure out. By the time I was in 12th standard, i had read Quran, Bible and Geeta. I had zillions of questions and thats how my love for world history began.

The quest to find answers led me to the two most interesting parts of my life.

1. World history

2. The mysteries of the universe

The world history made me sensitive, helped me in understanding my present and the mysteries of the universe taught me to look at the bigger picture and see beyond religions and Gods and basically, made me an atheist.

That was my journey. I am curious to see how the journey unfolds for my daughter. All I intend to do is, give her examples of logical thinking and logically seeing life and help her in becoming a rational human being. Rest, it’s her journey. For now, yeah, azaan.. gaana.

Lockdown Day – 4 Magic

We observed Earth Hour today. As i stood outside in dark with my two year old comfortably hugging me with her arms wrapped around me, i told her about the Earth, stars, moon, galaxy etc. I told her how stars twinkle and planets don’t. How to distinguish between stars and planets in the sky. I told her why I had switched off all the lights in the house, what is global warming and how like all of us, even the Earth needs some me-time.

Of course she wouldn’t remember any of it. But, when I do this with her every year, when i tell her about the mysteries of the universe, when I create a tradition of respecting the Earth in my house, she would hopefully grow up to be an aware and sensitive person.

Some day, say 3-4 years from now, I would buy her a telescope and we would spend nights outside looking at the stars and understanding the universe.

In my opinion, once you wittingly or unwittingly place yourself in the bigger picture i.e. the universe, you automatically become humble and gain a sane perspective. You realise you aren’t in the centre of it. The sheer magnanimity of the space of which we have no clue what it holds, is enough to baffle a person, jerking them back to reality which is a world that is beyond Gods, religions and superstitions.

For today, I enjoyed telling my daughter about the universe and gave her a taste of this magic.

My Musings ~ 12

I strongly believe that life is the best teacher anyone could ever have. It teaches you things in your way, exactly how you would understand it and it tests you like the way you would be able to just about scrape through.

In the learning process, it helps if in the beginning a platform is provided for an individual to develop the capabilities to develop into a rational being.

I had a very unique childhood and the credit for it goes to my parents and their value system. I grew up in an environment where there was no place for any disrespect shown based on hierarchy, i grew up asking a billion questions about everything, i grew up questioning the existence of God and was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to think for myself without anyone having to tell me what is and isn’t, i was given the realisation of possessing wings and the freedom to choose to fly as and when i wanted.

All these things help me make my own value system and principles in life which i feel are a bit different from the mainstream flow of ideas that i come across in different walks of life.

The definition of success, the idea of love, the place of religion and God in life, the concept of respect, my dissent for the so called gender based roles in the family accepted by the society and the meaning of my existence have all shaped the way they are due to the nature of exposure that i got.

I saw my father making chapatis while growing up, washing utensils after meals was also his work, when guests came, i saw them both get up to make and serve tea, I saw my mother and father both making decisions in the house, I saw them agreeing to disagree when they both felt differently and I never saw them mince any words or emotions.

Most importantly, I saw them as equals.

I never knew till the time i was a teenager that men doing the household chores, women making decisions and both men and women being equals was not a common sight to be found in the society.

I had friends who came from religious households and were surprised that we dont pray at home, we don’t believe in God or that I had two surnames or that my father washed utensils and made chapatis or that my family members including my mother were social drinkers!

There were instances when I came back from school and asked my parents whether or not God was present or were not men and women equal? Good grief, i even asked in detail to my parents what sex is and even made jokes about it once i got to know !

It is only now, after growing up that I understand how charming their stand was to not tell me anything but to urge and ask me to think and reach my own conclusions.They gave me the chance to discover my own beliefs and also encouraged me in the process to question theirs’ for no learning is complete in isolation, without the interaction with the opposites, without having to fight the way through reasoning and understanding and finally reaching a conclusion.

The necessity for equality, the freedom to make choices and the capability to stand by them is what i have learned from my parents. What i have learnt from my experiences based on the interactions i have had with people is, that none of the above is a naturally occurring phenomenon.

I have been extremely lucky to have the closest people to me believing in the basics that form my life and govern my decisions.

The way my parents have set an example of freedom, equality, respect, responsibility and thinking, i hope i am able to do just that with my kid. In today’s world, we have too many Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Jews, rich, poor, men, women. Its time we had good humans. Hope i am able to help one be.