This is something all of us can relate to in some way or the other. People - irrespective of age, gender, culture and education - believe and follow various practices which may or may not have a scientific or logical reasoning.
The classic Indian 'nimbu-mirchi' - to ward off evil, the 'four-leaf-clover' in Ireland, the Turkish 'evil-eye', the 'hamsa' hand in Israel, the Roman dolphins, 'maneki-neko' in Japan, the Swedish 'dala-horse', 'acorns' in England, the Chinese 'koi-fish' and the 'dream-catcher' in Native America are some of the most popular good luck charms across the globe.
In India, especially, we seem to have a whole bunch. And these again are affected by the specific culture, religion and region. Right from auspicious days, dates, colors & numbers to begin/buy new things to wearing gemstones or changing one's name/spelling to achieve success, the list is endless.
Personally, I wouldn't call myself superstitious. That's not to say I don't follow any of these practices. Some actually strike a chord, some have been a part of my upbringing while some things I do (or don't) just because it makes a loved one 'happy' without being too inconvenient for me!
In fact, life changed - in literally every way - post kids (about a decade ago). I was a first time mom - of twins - with absolutely no clue about how to handle a baby.. let alone a premie or a colicky one! So, I tried everything (within limits). What (if anything) helped, I can't say. But it did help my state of mind to know I was in-line with pain-reliever/health related 'dadiji ke nuske' (age-old family traditions) unless they were in direct conflict with the doctors orders!
Anyway, the kids were studying about Ireland which is how this whole discussion started. It was difficult to explain the concept of "nazar" to them.. and they just laughed off the 'no-hair wash' Thursdays and 'no buying oil/ghee' on Saturdays! The 'dahi-cheeni' (sweetened yogurt) bit was met with rolling eyes reminding me that I was the one to insist that luck helped only when you have made the effort and put in the requisite hard work.
Number 13 was just a number to them - a 'prime' number to be more specific (math). Not keeping broken mirrors and clocks was 'common-sense'. Black cats, owls, spiders... "why target poor unsuspecting creatures?!"
So we laughed at some and just let some 'be'. For now, I'm happy and content that they think and evaluate things *touchwood* . What they eventually do is yet to be seen *fingers crossed* ... lots of learning and growing up to do before that.
A perfectionist at heart, Sonali Modi held several roles in Banking & Investment Banking industries, loves "making lists" on anything and everything, enjoys reading, art & movies. Follow her @fun_with_t.mee which gives a glimpse of life with her 8 year old twins.
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