Living away from India, Atul
Dave, like several Indian parents, wants his
children to have the same cultural upbringing as
they would have received if they were in India. His
son, 11-year old Monish, had his sacred thread
ceremony in Middletown’s Elks Club in August. The
ceremony, also known as Upanayanam (in Sanskrit) or
Janoi (in Gujarati) is traditionally the beginning
of formal education for children. It is marked by
wearing a sacred thread (folded three times over) on
the left shoulder, which denotes that the young men
lead a righteous life with purity in thought, word
and deed. This ritual is for the Brahmin sect as
several centuries ago, only this sect was imparted
education.
“During the first half of the ceremony, my wife and
I had to perform some rituals. The entire ritual was
conducted by Chandrakant Pandya, a priest from New
Jersey,” said Dave. Clad in a simple dhoti, Monish
had to participate in the latter half of the puja
when he wore the sacred thread. Preparations for
this ritual were going on for the past seven months.
Nearly 135 people were invited for this ceremony.
It was not just the parents who were a major part of the
religious puja. At one point, Monish was told to run by
the priest, symbolically meaning that the child is going
away from the family for education, which was the scenario
hundreds of years back. “Being a part of the modern era,
the child has to come back to the parents. The maternal
uncle then coaxed Monish to come back,” explained Atul.
“Monish was absolutely willing not just for the ceremony,
but also for the preparation of the ceremony, which
included shaving his head,” said Dave, who is a Middletown
resident, working with Hartford Life Insurance. Monish
said that he sports a cap only because of the heat. On the
day of the ceremony, Monish had to fast and could eat only
milk and fruits. A seventh grade student, he described the
experience of the Upanayanam as “life-changing”.
“I got to learn a lot about Indian culture through this
ceremony,” he said. Although none of his friends were able
to attend the ceremony, his Kung Fu gurus were there to be
a part of this ritual. When asked how he would explain the
ritual to his friends, he said that he’d explain the
process to them as “a very interesting” ceremony, which
also taught him a lot about Indian culture.
Interestingly, there was one particular instance from the
ceremony that both father and son distinctively remember
and spoke about. The priest asked Monish to select one
item from the five things put in front of him. He had to
select one item from a book about Vedas, a pair of
scissors, piece of cloth, gold ring and a dollar bill.
Each has its own significance. It is believed that based
on his choice, his future will be decided. “Monish picked
the book on Vedas, which means that he will be inclined
towards academics,” said Dave. Monish said that he picked
the book because it meant everything as it is about
learning.
The old sacred thread or Janoi can be discarded every year
and a new one is worn on a specific date as per the Hindu
lunar calendar. Since Monish now wears the sacred thread,
he has to chant the Gayatri Mantra 101 times every morning
for a year. In all he will recite the Mantra 12,000 times
in the first year after he wears his Janoi. Does this mean
waking up earlier than usual for the middle-school boy?
“No. Reciting the Gayatri Mantra takes about 25 minutes.
So I won’t have to wake up very early,” said Monish. That
apart, he will not be allowed to eat non-vegetarian food
and not take any afternoon naps also.
