Saturday, February 7, 2009

Lesson 1 - Subhadra and Arjuna.

I have never much cared for Valentine's Day, I thought it was too silly, too much of hype, puppy love, teenagers and newly weds thing.
And all my experiments with drinking ended when I read that beer was better applied on hair than consumed.

BUT this Valentine Day is about FREEDOM, INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS, LIBERTY, GENDER EQUALITY ... about upholding a Constitution I revere.

It's also about snatching my religion back from some standard five-drop outs who think Hinduism can be worn on their foreheads like a tilak.

So all you those who need precedence from Mythology instead of plain common sense, here goes.
Indian culture was never against expression of love.

Arjuna and Subhadra loved each other and Krishna, Subhadra's brother knew their families will not approve of this union, so he planned for Subhadra to go to the temple where Arjuna was waiting in a chariot.
In order to make sure that the Moral Police (always been there in some form, telling people how to live their lives) of those days does not harm the love birds he advised his dear sister Subhadra to drive the chariot, instead of Arjuna. So nobody could say Arjuna abducted Subhadra.

So in fact it was Subhadra who kidnapped Arjuna to Indraprastha :)

I find Krishna amazingly ahead of his times, although Shiva is an Indian favorite as a husband. Unmarried Hindu girls fast on Mondays so that Shiva will give them a loving, faithful husband like himself.

[But anyway all Indians are not Hindus ... we forget that?]

Writing this in a great hurry, will link later, I just have to go - we are taking the kids Valentine Day shopping :)

Edited to add: This is funny :)

34 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh yes Krishna, my favorite! Quite unlike our Moral Police "Brothers" pawing at girls in the name of religion!! Bah!

Well to tell you the truth, I do get gifts on Valentine's Day from my married-for-26-years-Lord & Master! *blush blush*

Reema said...

I didnt know Arjuna had another wife!!

Bones said...

I too feel Valentine's Day is a silly money making concept but I agree with you that if someone wants to celebrate it, he/she should be allowed to do so without being harassed by the dhobis of Indian (or should I say Hindu?) culture...

I also believe that people who wear their religion on their sleeves (or rather their foreheads) are the least religious...

OG said...

:) LOL
kids for valentine shopping.... :)
good one IHM.....

what is Pramod M going to do on valentines days when he finds a couple "To marry off" and realizes that they are not Hindus.... :)
Well, he should have thought about that right.... :)

Usha Pisharody said...

Tell them, IHM, tell them!!

I really loved this post, for it brings to the fore the depth of the expression of love that is ingrained in our "culture" in its mythology, esp that which the goons spout :)

But you can be sure that something will be said about that too, about Krishna, ie.. :)I shall not go into details about that :):)

Have a great time shopping... :) And yes, this time I am determined to celebrate Val. day here too...LOl!

Mamma mia! Me a mamma? said...

"...we are taking the kids Valentine Day shopping"

Hahaha! You so rock IHM! I hope I can be half as great a mom as you are!

Sashu... said...

ah! indeed krishna seems much ahead f his times! n i liked the kidnapping! sounds interesting :) hehe!!

Anonymous said...

Yup, if only the sena guys knew our mythology and traditions. If only they knew about Bhagvad Gita and kamasutra.
Well, I am in splits IHM. The latest from them is that they have warned parents not to allow their children to step outside their homes on Feb 14 lest they want to get married. The Sena guys have warned that any couple found dating on V-Day would be married off. On the sly, couples who have been facing problems in getting married can approach these self-appointed guardians of our morals and traditions.

Anonymous said...

For a change, you're quoting from religion and mythology???

Biju Mathews said...

Dear IHM,

Shop all you can and don't hide the goodies in dark plastic covers but just carry them in the open for all to see. It's not just about freedom and equality as you say, its also about the celebration of love.

Instead of saying, "God bless America" like the Americans lets start saying, "God kick Ram Sena"

Check this too: www.venusmoonboy.blogspot.com

♥ Braja said...

and it was Rukmini who kidnapped Krishna, also. Those girls were somethin' :))

hitch writer said...

Rukmini & Krishna also did Bhaag ke shaadi !!!!

Rukmini was to be married to some king, his name starts with Jarasangh(I hope the name is right) she was in love with krishna...

She went to bow to her kuldevi, as after marriage she would not get a chance to bow to her kuldevi.... krishna was waiting at the temle and they fled !!!!!!!!


Tell Muthalik this toooo ....

Indian Home Maker said...

@Biju Mathews Yes, I will. so will all the rest of us. Let's put an end to this tomfoolery.

@Shail I also receive floweres and gifts, generally (mis)use the occasion as an excuse...

@Reema Subhadra was Abhimanyu's mother... he had two other wives also, total five .. four.

@Bones Absolutely. And these guys should be forbidden from wearing tilaks like this.

@Ajit They will have to stick to their agenda. No matter how much the parents object ... every year Valentine's day should be an opportunity for all such couples :)But seriously they are such fools, I hope they continue like this, soon everybody will see them for what they are.

@Usha Pisharody All it means is that love and love marriages were acceptable even to Gods. And have been a part of our culture.
These guys cannot go against the religion ... :))

@Mamma mia! Me a mamma LOL Hey this is all thanks to Muthalik, if he keeps at it, we'll all be forced to accompany our kids with guns for all their outings :)

@Shashu Krishna was basically very practical. When these men were misbehaving with those girls, there was only young Pawan Shetty who acted like a true Krishna Bhakt.

@sscribbles I hope they continue like this and they will show their true IQ levels.
I suspect they want to marry some girls themselves, but as no decent girl will marry them, they have to do this nautanki, girls better watch out!

@Rakesh Whaaat to do :( They only understand this language :)
If common sense doesn't work, always try mythology :)

Indian Home Maker said...

@Braja True :)So our Gods were not against love? Right?

@Hitchwriter And Krishna killed Jarasandh (much) later.
But I doubt if these guys actually know anything about religion and culture.

Surbhi said...

LOL... So why don't unmarried Hindu men fast for a wife like Savitri who will even bring them back from the dead? The other day, there was a promo of this serial on Colors where the heroine (an Ekta Kapoor pativrata) was to go through Agnipariksha to prove she had not committed adultery. My Mom and I were sickened, and Mom said, "Ekta Kapoor chali gayi par doosre channel waalon ka bhi satyanaash kar gayi."
BTW, Moronic Muthalik is a frustrated guy who no one married or even befriended, so he can't bear to see others happy with their partners or friends.

Indyeah said...

What an example to give!great one!:)
''BUT this Valentine Day is about FREEDOM, INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS, LIBERTY, GENDER EQUALITY ... about upholding a Constitution I revere.''
Absolutely!!bang on IHM!
hopefully here in Delhi the march will turn out well and also will send out a mesaage...

How was the shopping?:)

Bud-Wiser said...

"I just have to go - we are taking the kids Valentine Day shopping :)"

Hahaha..cool.:-)!! Why don't you publicly admit that you wanted to shop??he he..:-)!

Mavin said...

Hello IHM,

May you splurge on Valentine Day shopping with a vengeance and all of you have a great day.

In fact, I do not remember Valentine's Day as an event when we were in college. I guess we "ever-ready" romeos were deprived of a chance to give our girl friends (real or imagined) a red rose.

It sure has gained prominence in the last 15+ years and especially with violence to prevent it being celebrated. As Bones says - "it is a silly money making concept"....probably gives a youngster his/her fifteen minutes of high, then why not?

In a lighter vein - there is so much anger in your tone in the last couple of posts that I could almost imagine you with clenched fists wanting to land a KO punch on your "pet peeves." :-D

Way to go (this is not in a lighter vein). Cheers!!!

hitch writer said...

If Muthalik came to know about Krishna & Arjuna running for marriage I assume he would declare them as Non-Hindu - Sanskriti Virodhak and what not !!!!

Indian Home Maker said...

@Mavin Not just anger (in the last few posts), but also absolute helplessness :(
I had a lot of reason to feel this way, you will agree?
We only read of valentine's day in Far From The Madding Crowd, by Thomas Hardy, in school .. and I thought what a cute festival!

@Surbhi Now now, don't be so difficult, (read Roop's post for today) ...No standard-five drop out with 45 criminal cases against him will think so much. This is enough to convince his IQ level. By the time I reach Lesson three he will be organizing Valentine Day Parties in Mangalore :) Then it will become criminal to wear anything but spaghetti straps and low waist, skin tight jeans.

Ekta Kapoor is a part of his new wave of fundamentalism we see all around us.. Have you seen her tilak? I haven't seen any of her serials, but whatever glimpses one gets while channel surfing are enough. Young girls should refuse to watch and speak to their mothers also and if we all stop watching maybe she will stop making ...
We should do a tag on how these serials are affecting our society ... what say?

@Indyeah Yes and you Delhi guys are not alone, we are all going out and celebrating this year :)
Bought some clothes! Received an SMS of flat 50% off everything at a place I love, so I thought why not save some money :)

@Chikki LOL I was afraid Muthalik will not approve of Indian women shopping for Valentine's Day .. Men and kids are permitted ..yeah?
ROTFL

@hitchwriter Let him speak a word against Hinduism and our culture ...grrr

pink dogwood said...

Great story - so what did the kids buy for valentines day?

Indian Home Maker said...

@Pink Dogwood Gifts for their friends and some 'prohibited' Clothes... lol !

Anonymous said...

my comment ??? :((( sob sob..

Nevermind,i love you IHM for your spirit..I have lot of memories down the lane,associated with V's day.Love is divine...lol..what crap literature.. :(

Mandira said...

i dint know the story behind subhadra and arjun's marriage..
taking kids for V day shopping.... please tell me kids dont buy heart-y cards and pink balloons and stuffed toys..please please!!

Anonymous said...

vah ji vah.

what an apt answer to those who use religion for their personal benefit.

enjoy shopping! :)))

Dr. Ally Critter said...

How about Dushyant and Shakuntala- they had a "gandharva vivaha" which actually meant that they did not have any witnesses to their "wedding". ( A sort of a live-in set up I would say) and their son is whom India is named after- Bharat-varsha- land of Bharat.

Piper .. said...

I`m getting angrier and angrier by the minute. Where and how do we end all this horror? :(
I emailed you a link of the online petition to stop moral policing.Shall give the link here too.
http://www.petitiononline.com/SMP12345/petition.html

Jay said...

Ha ha. Superb. I really subscribe to the views. Maybe the Ram Sena's blind fundamentalism forced them to skip this chapter in Hindu history.

I also agree that Valentine's Day is more of marketing and opportunism than anything else. And I also agree that this Valentine's Day has arrived at a very right time. The Constitution is to be defended on the day. And the people of India need to kick and boot the Ram Sena all the way to the Supreme Court.

I never thought Valentine's day would ever be as significant as the upcoming one is. :-)

However, I fear for couples because of the threats by the Bajrang dal and Ram sene. May they stay safe.

Jay said...

Oh and of course, shop good.

Anonymous said...

IHM, As I mentioned I am also not much into Valentine's Day but cute gestures I don't mind. But because of these fanatics I think everyone should celebrate it. Loving is much better than hating.

As for Subhadra :)) our epics are modern. How else would you describe Kunti getting 5 children from 5 different men? IVF at that time? :))

Panchali marrying one and living in with the rest. Modern times I tell you. Where in the world will anyone let a woman live with 5 men?

Krishna is epitome of love. If anyone then it should be Indians who celebrate a Love Day. Fanatics object to Valentine's Day then next time let Janmashtami be celebrated as Love Day.

vimmuuu said...

Oh, this actually happened?? I mean, atleast in the mythology?? Wow! Way to go, Mr.Krishna!

Anonymous said...

IHM, Gandharva Vivaha was an acceptable form of marriage in ancient India.What could be more romantic than that?
Historically Prithviraj-Sanyukta, in literature Shakuntla and Dushayant, we have so many examples of freedom of expression of love in ancient India, these guys are mad and know nothing about Indian culture.

Anonymous said...

Why not take every chance to celebrate love? I hope your valentine's day is divine.

Aathira Nair said...

Shopping for Valentine! Nice!

I do not think goons are going to achieve much here. People will surely revolt. I am waiting to see what is to happen on 14th