Page 30 - Masala Lite Issue 162 June 2024

30

lady you tried to give a shot to at the bar was a respected Wearing Black to Auspicious Occasions
auntie with a fabulous hair colourist? It doesn’t help With all the samosas that are force-fed to us, donning
that many times we don’t actually know the person ourselves in black-coloured garb can be a lifesaver to
(but don’t forget, they always know who you are) so help us look slimmer. Unfortunately, this absence of
we can get confused about who we’re meant to show colour is frowned upon by some Hindus who believe
reverence to. On top of that, everyone ages differently it symbolises negative energy and bad luck. It can be
so even though we were trying to do the right thing, we inappropriate to wear black to weddings, temples or
still get told off for being wrong.
other important events and you will certainly get told
Eating the Fruit Meant for the Puja off by your mum if you do. However, if we were able
An unreformed party girl and mother to get away with wearing more black, perhaps aunties
You open the fridge and see a bag of juicy apples, wouldn’t point out that we are looking fat all the time?
of two,writer, editor and observer
Sumati Huber tries to mangoes, and guava. Since you never learned how to
cook anything, you figure this will make a nice snack until
make sense of our unique someone serves your dinner. You’re about to take a big
Thai-Indian society and the aunties bite and suddenly your mum is there shouting, “What
that she will one day become.
are you doing?! That’s the fruit for the puja later today!
You can’t eat it until the pundit has blessed it!” Never
mind if you are hungry, your mum will take it away until
Four “Mistakes” All Indians
it has been offered to a divine deity first. Only after the
Have Made fruit has become holy can you eat it… unless you are the
middle child, in which case you will have to wait until
Being part of human society means having to abide by the favourite son is served first.
certain codes of conduct like wearing clothes in public,
and not eating with our toes. But growing up Indian Receiving or Giving Things With the Left Hand
adds another unique layer of rules and customs that Once upon a time, a terrible person used their left hand
must be followed. Even the best of us have probably to steal all the money from a bank and as a result, this
made these mistakes: limb became a sign of all bad things. Wait, no, sorry, that
was totally made up. Then why in the world do Indians
Doing Namaste and Touching the Feet of The
‘Younger’ Person still believe the left hand is ‘dirty’ and inauspicious?
Well, despite advancements in hygiene and soap, the left
It has been drilled in our heads to robotically show hand is still connected to toilet behaviour in India and
respect to any Indian elders we run into. Whether it’s at a this belief has trickled down all the way to Sukhumvit.
wedding or shopping mall, it is customary to namaste. If It can be blasphemous to use the left hand for offerings
the elder is very important, we should also take blessings such as prasad, money, and gifts, or during sacred rituals.
by touching their feet. But remember that time you Don’t do it unless you want people to gasp in shock
bowed down to the white-haired and white-bearded and horror at you. Or just use it anyway, especially if
man, only to realise he was the son of the uncle you were you are naturally left-handed? Wink-wink, down with
meant to namaste? Or when you didn’t know the cool the system.

MASAL A LITE ISSUE 162 - JUNE 2024