Upside Down….
Saturday, September 11th, 2004One of things I have been very conscious of this trip is to listen to my first instincts and also to not plan every move I make. Thus, when my aunt (my mom’s brother’s wife) asked me to come and stay with them, I agreed. I packed a few things in my daypack and left Hyderabad towards Guntur, which is a district in the state of Andhra Pradesh. I have never spent any quality time with my uncle and aunt and thought this is a perfect opportunity, as I will never get the chance again.
I have been very lucky to have the affection of my extended family…, which is rare these days. Our parents never involved us in the family politics, which there are many. Overall there is harmony in the family (with some undercurrents kept in wrap by all of them) and I feel welcome in their home as well as the homes of some of my other aunts and uncles. These days its not prevelant but in my parents time, it was not uncommon to grow up in your relatives house, especially if they were in the cities and parents were living and working in the village. My mom and her brothers went to school and college while staying with their aunt’s daughter! Today these families have a bond as they share some good old childhood stories and make us who grew up in nuclear families a little jealous. Strange by western standards?
Anyway, I accompanied my aunt (who is very happy btw as she is all alone here while my uncle works crazy hours). The very next morning she took me out and said that we needed to deliver some papers to a local Brahmin man (who is actually the dean of the local college here). It turns out the papers are what we call the “Janam Patri” (charts made according to ones Astrological signs). Pretty much every child born has one, usually prepared in the first year of birth, this sheet of paper tells you the exact location of the stars etc at the time of birth. Some people strongly believe that our life is predetermined and all that is going to happen is written in those charts. Well, he was going to see these papers and tell us more about my brother! It turns out the bundle also contained mine as well..ooh ooh. More over it turns out “Guruji” also reads palms. Somehow I was sitting in front of him with my palms facing up. Little did I know he is unique, he reads the back of the hands. Upside down. So here I was listening to the summary of my past and peeking into my future as written on the back of my hands.
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Madhu