A very Happy Dussehra to everyone. Or as they call it in my dad's battalion - Dasain. The last time I spent Dasain at the Battalion was way back when dad was commanding - probably 1970 or thereabouts. It has been my ardent wish to be a part of the Dasain celebrations at the unit ever since. Many battalions of the units have been posted close to Delhi and the opportunities had presented themselves a few times in the past, but somehow I never managed to be there. This time too I would probably have been somewhere up the high Himalayas had it not been for the unscheduled snow, avalanches, landslides, aborted expeditions, etc. Had it not been for these causes, I might have been abe to manage being in dad's battalion - 4/3 Gorkha Rifles that is posted close to where we were. But then, we were back in Delhi before the great day and I thought I had missed my chance yet again. But then, fate willed otherwise. The battalion that my dad was commissioned into, and the one that my mother was married into, was posted in Delhi, waiting to sail away on a UN Peacekeeping mission. And I kind of invited myself in to be a part of the celebrations.
I have just come back after a few hours of absolutely breathtaking experiences. Tonight was the night of revelry and celebrations. Three hours of drama and skits and plays and songs - all written, choreographed, directed and performed by the boys of the battalion. I have faint memories of yesteryears and all of them came flooding back in a flash. I felt my dad sitting next to me, holding my hands and participating in the celebrations along with the men he once commanded.
Oh, to be in uniform.
But, this is only a dream half fulfilled. Something in my head has been teling me for some time that my troubles and sorrows are waiting for a sacrifice. I have wanted to be a part of the Dasain celebrations with the unit, but more so, I have wanted to be a part of the bali. And today a bali did take place. But tomorrow is the big day. About 35 goats will be offered to the Mother Goddess as part of an age old tradition of the Nepalese people. And I will be a part of that. Given an opportunity, I would really like to offer a sacrifice myself. That will really be the fulfillment of a long cherished dream. Maybe I am being superstitious, but then, when the chips are down I am willing to clutch at whatever straw is offered to me.
Being a Buddhist I should not be offering sacrifice, when my primary purpose in life is to offer the road to salvation to all living beings. Making a sacrifice ... killing ... another living being is absolutely against all my Buddhist teachings. But given the tradition of the battalion, the memory of my dad and my long desired dream, this is something I need to do and be a part of. The priests are there and the sacrificer solicits the forgiveness of the animal. And there is a dream yet half unfulfilled.
I will see you tomorrow when I would have had a chance to participate in an age old ritual and offer my participation towards fulfilling a cherished desire.
I have just come back after a few hours of absolutely breathtaking experiences. Tonight was the night of revelry and celebrations. Three hours of drama and skits and plays and songs - all written, choreographed, directed and performed by the boys of the battalion. I have faint memories of yesteryears and all of them came flooding back in a flash. I felt my dad sitting next to me, holding my hands and participating in the celebrations along with the men he once commanded.
Oh, to be in uniform.
But, this is only a dream half fulfilled. Something in my head has been teling me for some time that my troubles and sorrows are waiting for a sacrifice. I have wanted to be a part of the Dasain celebrations with the unit, but more so, I have wanted to be a part of the bali. And today a bali did take place. But tomorrow is the big day. About 35 goats will be offered to the Mother Goddess as part of an age old tradition of the Nepalese people. And I will be a part of that. Given an opportunity, I would really like to offer a sacrifice myself. That will really be the fulfillment of a long cherished dream. Maybe I am being superstitious, but then, when the chips are down I am willing to clutch at whatever straw is offered to me.
Being a Buddhist I should not be offering sacrifice, when my primary purpose in life is to offer the road to salvation to all living beings. Making a sacrifice ... killing ... another living being is absolutely against all my Buddhist teachings. But given the tradition of the battalion, the memory of my dad and my long desired dream, this is something I need to do and be a part of. The priests are there and the sacrificer solicits the forgiveness of the animal. And there is a dream yet half unfulfilled.
No comments:
Post a Comment