Kumari

It was one of those moments when I give up clicking through all the stations on the radio, when I have already heard the CD in the player enough times and my only resort is the NPR channel, which believe it or not has saved me from listening to a lot of senseless music and brought me stories I couldn't have come across if I spent a whole week at a bookstore. This particular story caught me with awe. This is the story of Kumaris. The NPR segment talked about the Nepalese living child Goddess who was visiting America to attend film festivals featuring a short film made on her lifestyle as a Kumari and many others like her. Kumaris are believed to be Goddess living in the body of a girl child who has all 32 signs determined by the Nepalese tradition. Kumaris as young as the age of 6 are taken to the "Kumari Ghar", with the will of their family where they will spend another 5 - 6 years being worshipped. I giggled as I heard the part where the Kumari visits an American elementary school and is faced with remarks such as "wow, i never met a goddess before", the kids watch her make up and stature in awe as she reciprocates the same, they are foreign to her, a Kumari's life is spent in isolation where she is worshiped by priests, her own parents (that I think is super cool) and many others who want her blessings to prosper. Her feet must not touch the ground, she must not be injured, one of the students asks the lady accompanying Kumari, "will she always remain a Goddess?" the answer is no, the Goddess shall leave this young girl at the age of 12, a gentle way of presenting the answer that hides within it the idea that once the girl reaches puberty she will no longer be inhabited with Goddess. This is when my budding excitement for this interesting ritual dies.

It's not odd to hear things like.. oh you shouldn't go to the temple when you are going through THAT time, back in the day one of my friends told me about her mother's explanation that when you go through THAT time you are dirty and you shouldn't visit God when you are dirty, it's disrespectful.

Back to Kumari, so what exactly happens when you have spent about 6 years being treated like a Goddess and suddenly one day your bodily change causes you to be sent back to your home, with your family who don't know you anymore, you are expected to carry on a normal life, your childhood has passed while you have hardly had a normal one, you have never been to school but you must now catch up, it gets better, once a Kumari you may never be married as you can be a danger to the life of the guy married to you.... great isn't it..and what do the family members have to say to all this..ofcourse they are privileged to have their daughter be a Kumari. They must follow the societal rule, which takes higher precedence than law in such communities.

Now what would be the case if it was a child boy God ? Would he forever be a God since he doesn't become impure? Would he be prohibited to marry? I bet there would be line of families waiting to have their daughters blessed by the God. Here's an interesting video about an ex-Kumari and her struggle to adjust back to normal life click here to watch it , some do not buy into this cultural ritual and call upon the human rights violation since it is never a choice left to the child to be part of this ritual read here

What thinkst thou?

The next Sanjaya Malakar???

Um first of all WTF?

Personally i think its an act. Who says "I am perrfaarming on the Ballywood movie like eh dancing .... i can vin yif yeveryone loww my dence" ?

For the two people reading this who haven't seen it ... Here's the original.

My bump my bump my bump... Check it out...

Last night..., I bumped my head into a wall. Yes yes... It was a total Coyote/Road Runner replicated moment. I was trying to get away from some..."thing" and I rammed my head into a wall. And yes. It hurt like shit and I was almost teary eyed. So the rest of my evening was spent putting ice on the bump that formed on my forehead. Oh the agony of random things sprouting out of your face! argh...

About an hour or so later mummy and daddy came home. Mummy laughed hysterically at my klutziness while daddy looked at my bump thinking "what else is new..." Mummy applied Iodex (yes yes... that Indian Miracle Cure product that seems to solve almost any bodily pain) onto the bump.

Today, the bump is still existent. It is flatter and less redder than what it was yesterday. I have named it Bumpee. Everytime I cringe my forehead the bump hurts. But other than that, we seem to get along ok. Coworkers looked at me weird though... Tra la la...

Some UTube Stuff worth sharing

BanHammer falls on Hitler



Now some geeky stuff



Last but not the least




Go Comment Now!!!

miss pronoun C A shuns

Have you ever found yourself engrossed in communication so intensely that often your words get mixed up .. no I'm not talking about how the accent that I think I might not have becomes suddenly apparent in a conversation....
I am talking about the time when the accent you can't possibly have becomes apparent in a conversation... how can this be.. here's an example of what happened at lunch today:

Note: S and D are indian.. which is different very different from Japanese.. they cannot possibly have a japanese accent.. but looks like D can...

(in the middle of a political conversation..)

S: Yea I wonder what these new presidential candidates have to propose about all these issues.
D: I dont' know dude.. I guess we won't know until next years erection.
S: The what?
D: I meant election !!! election !!!
S: Wow...you just sounded like you had a japanese accent... next presidentiar erection..
D: lolz
S: something is wrong with that sentence, reminds me of monica lewinsky, afterall, she is responsible for one of those.. you know presidentiar erections.
D: Gives a whole new meaning to those phrases commonly used during erections.. "Bush is only a few votes behind in Iowa and inches away from winning the erection"
S: Yea.. we should stop.

Your votes:

Booing Miss USA was justified

Miss Universe wheeeeeeeeeeeee

So Miss Universe was on last night. Did you watch? Did you? Did you? No???? Why? Cause you think it’s lame and derogatory to women? Or because its against your culture? You’re freakin insane! It is one of THE most entertaining shows ever!!!

I thrive on the clichéd speeches and the fake heart holding and the pretend confusion [read - stalling for time] while the translator is translating. I’ve watched these pageants since I was a kid; even before Rai and Sen won. It's also a fabulous way to discover new countries you never knew existed. Turks & Caicos – Really?

Also if you're lucky you might get to see someone trip. You wait with baited breath. It’s impossible you think, for all the 77 of them to make it across that super shiny floor in those high high heels and humongous dresses. Last night however was like winning the lottery. Miss USA didn’t just trip, she landed on her ass. It was the most hilarious thing I’ve ever seen. The crowd laughed and then booed when she was put through to the next round [sympathy vote? or maybe it was because every effing judge was an actor from some American TV show].

In the end Japan won the crown and i thought she completely deserved to win mostly becauase of her amazing ability to walk the way she did [Also because she was completely nuts.. but in a good way. She giggled and made strange faces but not like in a fake pageanty way] She did this amazing dance/walk thing during the swimsuit round while everyone else including Miss India walked like Zombies. [Seriously Pooja Gupta moved like a Zombie the whole time and then she suddenly turned around with this seductive look. It was absoulutely hilarious. It reminded me of the Zoolander look.] I’ll forgive her though since she was so pretty. And pretty people deserve another chance…you know like Paris Hilton. Free Paris Hilton! Free Paris Hilton!

Ooh also this year the National Costume round was wayyyyyyyyy more over the top than it normally is. It was like a Drag Show with wings and flowers and trees and rainbows. Remember this guy from America’s Got Talent? I swear I spotted him in the middle. And then again at the end.

Miss India unfortunately didn’t make it to the final 5 and we very sadly missed out on her public speaking skills. No, not because she speaks wonderfully and would have taken the crown but because she talks like a 12 year old. The final 5 didn’t disappoint though inspite of the fact that no one mentioned Princess Diana or Mother Theresa. Also what was with the Donald Trump booing? Not that I minded or anything but he owns the bloody thing!