On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 6:32 AM, Kiran K Karthikeyan <kiran.karthike...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > We've also once had to rudely refuse family friends of ours offering us a > copy of the Bible. When we refused, they left it on the coffee table on > their way out and had to be reminded to pick it up. When my father was > hopitalised a year ago, our erstwhile neighbours who are Pentecostal > Christians organized a prayer meeting at their home - ostensibly to pray for > my father's health, but invited everybody non-Christian from the > neighbourhood (Hindus and Muslims). Nil attendance at that event made them > stick to "I'll pray for you". That said, we also have Christian family > friends who seek astrological advice and have horscopes checked before > marriage. It works both ways I guess.
This happens in cosmopolitan Mumbai too and we had one such neighbour who was so annoying that other christians (catholics, etc...) avoided them like the plague. One of their kids married a hindu and the groom wanted to say a few words after the toast. He started off with his past religious experiences (how confusing it was to pray to 33,000 gods and goddesses, to be precise) and by the time his toast ended the hall was nearly empty. Once i saw a group of women at a bus-stop and i told my friend that its strange that they spoke to all the men (asking them to attend a meeting) standing there and avoided us (and the remaining women). Curious, I asked them what the meeting was all about, but she brushed me off with "its not for you". A man showed me the pamphlet she had handed to him and mentioned a prayer meeting that week and why we were not invited. Apparently in India men are the decision makers and if he converts, the whole family will follow suit. i suddenly realized how important women were in India. I am not surprised that folks think hinduism is all about women wearing kilos of jewels, bindi (tikka) on the head, flowers in the hair, and draping oneself in embroidered saris even at home.....Blame it on the "K" serials fetish. sadly real life does not permit and easy replacement (read plastic surgery) solution for annoying family members. -- .
