Rishi Panchami

 The very next day after the great Ganesh Chaturthi is the Rishi Panchami. Like most women of her generation, Aai used to keep a fast on the day. Well, I do not. Let us today explore the relevance of the day. May be, currently that could be the real tribute to the spirit of the day, may be, more focussed than a mere fast.

The traditional stories associated with the day are impossible. They would be absolutely unacceptable these days. They talk of the menstruating woman as impure so much so that in one of the stories the wife, who prepares food during her periods, becomes a she dog, while her husband, who eats the food she cooked, becomes a bullock. The 'lowly births' are due to, yes, the womanly bodily function, the periods.

In another story, an excellent girl suddenly finds her body rotting, full of worms. Her concerned parents try to find out the reason. It seems she is thus suffering 'coz in the earlier birth, she made everything impure by touching food during her periods.

Such stories as well as their underlying premises are absolutely unacceptable now. These tales, once upon a time, may be, were written with the noble purpose of giving some rest to the menstruating woman. Now when the world has changed so hugely, and life has become a consumer market with technological gadgets flooding our daily lives, the traditional tales appear terrible, irrelevant.

I look at the day a little differently. Ganesha is the deity of knowledge, of intellect, of ratiocination. As a proof, you have to just remember Sant Dnyadev's tribute to the Lord, which is in the very first chapter of Dnyaneshwari, and runs in to many "owi"s. 

If the Lord is thus intellect, the atmtatv, the originary and original principle, rishis who would spend a lifetime trying to understand it, need to be honoured, should be revered, must be remembered by the common man, far far away from such intellection. Hence this day as a tribute to the rishis, I feel. Hope you would accept this interpretation!

Pratima@New relevance must be found in traditional tales, if they are to mean much today.