To Sunday Shillong,
This is in reference to the essay, ‘Marriage in Indian society’, which was published on April 28. It was an interesting essay and gives information about the different types of Hindu marriage. The rituals are age-old and are practised even today, according to the essay. What I did not like was the ritual Vara Prekshanam where the bridegroom performs a ritual and chants mantra to remove defects of the bride. But what about the groom? What if he has any defect? Why don’t the customs and rituals ensure that defects of both the bride and the groom can be corrected by performing similar rituals? In this age of technology when women have broken almost all glass ceilings, this ritual is regressive and anyone who practises this is only supporting such regressive tradition.
Tradition is like glue that keeps a community together. But nowhere it is mentioned that tradition cannot be altered with time. Yesterday’s tradition can become obsolete today and we need to move ahead with time and make alterations in our practices as we progress. The ritual is also demeaning for a woman, who gives up her family bonding and name to be with her husband for the rest of the life.
Thanking you
Arpita Paul
To Sunday Shillong,
This is in reference to the article, ‘Need to save them’, which was published on April 28. The flood situation at the Kaziranga National Park every year is a proof of complete apathy of authorities and reluctance of the state government to preserve Assam’s wildlife. Over 200 animals were killed in 2017 when flood waters rushed through the national park destroying flora and fauna. A year later, Assam lost 361 animals, including 31 rhinos, as floods hit the Unesco world heritage site. Despite this yearly calamity, no constructive measures have been taken so far to save the animals.
Though annual floods are important to rejuvenate the park’s eco-system of grassland, swamps and ponds for the sustenance of the rhinoceroses, elephants, deer, wild buffaloes, tigers and leopards, devastating floods put the animals in danger. In 1988, more than 1,000 animals died due to floods. More than 120 rhinos have reportedly died between 2002 and 2017. Kaziranga has seen a steady rise in the number of one-horned rhinoceroses between 2006 and 2015 but if the government continues to be lackadaisical in its approach to save the wildlife, then the state’s pride might one day vanish.
Thanking you
SW Swer
To Sunday Shillong,
This is in reference to the article, ‘Are we good citizens’, which was published on April 14. If I have to answer the question then I would say, no we are not. Only a day back, I was passing by Kench’s Trace and I saw a woman and her toddler. The child showed no fatigue after school and was joyfully walking beside her mother. The woman was neatly dressed. I was behind them. After a few steps, I saw the woman spit out betel nut juice. A pool of red spit lay on the road as the woman walked away with her daughter who saw her mother spit. This is not an uncommon scene in the city and probably all of us do it everyday even in front of our children. This is what we are teaching our children, to spit on the road.
On another occasion I had heard a mother tell her teenage son to throw the empty packet of chips on the road as there was no dustbin around. Both mother and son were carrying bags big enough to accommodate the empty packet for some time.
Everyday I see hundreds of people smoking and throwing the butts on the road. Thousands of butts and empty cigarette packets litter the lane near my house. Though there are guidelines for citizens to behave correctly in public space, implementation of the same is completely zero.
No we cannot call ourselves good citizens and it is a long way to go before that happens..
Thanking you
Name withheld
