Brahmin of India

Remember Satya from my posts a few months back? Most of the posts in Jan and and Dec 2007. Satya was my apartment manager in Bangalore when I was posted there for a project since Nov 2007 and also my lovely neighbour!

Anyways, the beauty of ICT allows us to keep in touch easily regardless where we are. Eventhough we are in different part of the world, skype allows us to update each other on our present situations.

Just about 30 minutes ago, Satya sent me a message through skype and updated me with some pictures of Balu, his son. It was taken in the recent thread ceremony in Puri, their hometown.

I did a quick check on my favourite "all-you-want-to-know" website, wikipedia and found...

"Upanayana, sometimes known outside India by the name, "sacred thread ceremony", is commonly known for being a Hindu rite-of-passage ritual. Traditionally, the ceremony was performed to mark the point at which boys began their formal education.

In Hinduism, the ceremony is performed on boys of at least 5 years of age from the Brahminvarna, of at least 13 years from the Kshatriya varna, and of at least 17 years from the Vaishyavarna. The youngster is taught during the ceremony the secret of life through Brahmopadesam (revealing the nature of Brahman, the Ultimate Reality) or the Gayatrimantra. The child then becomes qualified for life as a student or Brahmacharya, as prescribed in the Manusmriti."

When I received the first picture, the first thing I told Satya is...
"Oh my god! Balu is bald...! What happened to his hair??"

Balu with his new look!

According to Satya, Balu is now a typical Brahmin of India. I remember Gayathri told me that they will need to get lots of sarees to give away as part of the ritual. And, she has already started planning and preparing for this ritual since I was in Bangalore back in Nov 2007.

Here are some photos of Balu's thread ceremony.


The ritual was taken at the famous Jagannath temple of Puri


Balu with his aunty and uncle (left), Gayathri with her sister-in-law (right)


The lovely Balu...!

It's really nice to get an update from someone who once been like a "2nd family" to you when you are abroad. Thank you for keeping me posted. I miss you all - Gayathri's cooking, Satya's ever-friendly chit chat (plus some drinks, hee hee....) session and Balu's jokes and stories..!

Take care and hope that our path will cross again. Till we meet... !