Kusum Choppra

What is the meaning behind Hindu last rites?   Mental rifling and Google Baba on death show     our ancient Vedas have lyrical hymns to Man’s relationship with Nature, plus ways and means of dealing with it,   that were unfortunately overpowered   by   Brahminical platitudes and money-making practices, but the essence has   survived. The soul/Atman is immortal. It is released at the Antyeshti rituals that return the body to the five elements, air, water, fire, earth and space…denoted in the Rigveda, section 10.16: “Burn him not up, nor quite consume him, Agni: let not his body or his skin be scattered, O all possessing Fire, when thou hast matured him, then send him on his way unto the Fathers.When thou hast made him ready, all possessing Fire, then do thou give him over to the Fathers,   When he attains unto the life that waits him, he shall become subject to the will of gods. The Sun receive thine eye, the Wind thy Prana (life-principle); ...

 That fascinating Great Indian Rope trick of yore has become the Great Indian son trick...  with innumerable two or more sons families.  When did medical practitioners master the art of thus catering to our current Indian craze for sons?  By effectively ensuring that no daughters are born?   Accident? Or that great unspoken shame, Foeticide practised but never acknowledged?  Earlier, daughters’ names were not entered into family records, except under exceptional circumstances.  Yet, our hoary literary marvels do revolve around women, aka daughters. This thought arose during the recent updating of my family tree that threw up an interesting observation:  before the advent of the two son family, for a long period, there were huge families with or without betis’ names on record.   It was held that more kids were on account of high mortality, poor health, and obviously multiple marriages. Does this health-mortality argument not stand at...