The young daughter pours the oblation of ghee into the sacred fire of the "havan"...and her tears pour down her tender young face.

My own eyes fill as I see the sorrow of the toughest part of growing up. If Agni and Swaha do not take her love up to her father, surely those twin streams of salt and grief will do so.


( Read more... )

Not being familiar with the customs and rituals of a place of worship, and a religion different from one's own, often inhibits one from visiting such places. But when our friends Laxmichand and Vandana told us that they were visiting the

Gurudwara (Sikh place of worship)

in St. Peters, Mo, we decided to go, too.


( Read more... )

Amazing what a difference hair makes to the appearance of a person...even when that person is just 14 months old!

Click to view

That was Kalyan being shorn of his hair. My daughter wrote

this about the first haircut ( Read more... )

As I wandered around the kalyANa mantapam (festivity venue) at Chromepet, it struck me that there are so many trees that are inextricably entwined with Hindu rituals and customs...and I was lucky to be able to photograph some of them, right there. I am giving the Tamizh names and the link to the Wikipaedia entries about them, too.

One is the

( Read more... )

My childhood friends, Rajamani and Savithri, celebrated their sadabhishekam on the 26th of February, at the Sankara Matham, Chromepet.


( Read more... )

On Id-ul-Adha, the Moon, too, seems to have sacrificed some of Herself:


( Read more... )

shortindiangirl sent me

this link

to the meaning and the rituals of Passover.

Her observation, that this rivals Hinduism for rituals, is very valid.

When a man in our community (Tambrams, or Tamizh Brahmins) attains the age of 60, he and his wife undergo a wedding ceremony again, this time with greater emphasis on the Vedic rituals, and the spirituality.

Our friends Devika and Anand had the "whole 9 yards" ceremony, with pomp and colour, at

Thirukkadaiyur Where 60th, 70th, and 80th "abdha ( Read more... )

At dawn this morning, I was standing in front of the Raghavendra matth (religious centre), when the temple was opened, and I watched the priest:


( Read more... )

I attended a lovely wedding today; here are the happy couple, exchanging garlands, a ritual signifying one soul in two bodies:


( Read more... )