Those Matchmakers

One of the Bollywood song says……

Chudiyan banti hai dukano mein
Jodiyan upar aasamano mein

(चूड़ियाँ बनती हैं दुकानों में
जोड़ियाँ ऊपर आसमानों में )

But, there are some places where matchmaking is done. In the Mithilanchal region of Bihar, the 'Saurath Sabha', that is, the fair of brides, has grown from ancient times. This tradition continues even today. The debate over its importance in the modern era has definitely increased.

Saurath Sabha is located on 22 bighas of land in Saurath, Madhubani district. It is also known as 'Sabhagachhi'. Saurath is a name similar to Saurashtra in Gujarat. Like Saurashtra in Gujarat, there is a Somnath temple here, but not so big. The similarity in Saurath and Saurashtra is the subject of research.

In the Mithilanchal region, this fair of Mathil Brahmin grooms takes place for seven to eleven days every year in the month of ashadh , in which the fathers of the daughters pick up the worthy groom and take them with them.

In this meeting, the qualified groom comes with his father and other relatives. The people of the girl side interact with the elders and their families and gather all the information about each other's family and decide the relationship when the groom likes it.

There had been good crowd in the Saurath Assembly till about two decades ago, but now its charm seems to be decaying. Highly qualified grooms do not like to sit in this Saurath Sabha. Today's youth section seems not ready to follow this tradition.

The role of traditional registrars(Panjikars) in Saurath Sabha is important. The relationship that is settled here gives recognition to the registrar. The role of the registrars(Panjikars) is the same that the Magistrate in the Court Marriage

The registrar keeps the genealogy of the groom and the bride side. They match up to the seven generations of the records of marriage of both sides. On seeing the record of both sides, it is confirmed that no marriage has been done in the past seven generations between the two families, then the registrar says, "Get the right!" That is, there is no blood connection before, so there is no harm in establishing a relationship.

Maithil Brahmins started this practice in about 1310 AD about 700 years ago, so that marriage relations can be settled between good clans. About 1.5 lakh people visited in Saurath Sabha in 1971. In 1991, nearly fifty thousand people had come, but now the number of visitors has decreased significantly.

There are some scientific reasons behind this kind of fair. Doctors also advise not to marry in the same blood group. Perhaps this is the reason why Maithil Brahmins do not marry in the same clan and origin. They believe that the best of the offspring is to marry children in different clans.

Finding a suitable groom for daughter was a difficult task earlier, so all the Brahmins of Mithilanchal came to Saurath Sabha to find a groom.

Now, the people are also living in different states and they get suitable grooms there too. If the boys and girls are well educated, they make a decision by own, they do not have to come Saurath Sabha. Yet, there are people who come here to verify the record and registering the marriage.

In Mithilanchal, since the ancient times, an annual meeting of the bride-groom's parents and relatives has been put in place during the auspicious time for proper settlement of marital relations. The aim of the Saurath Sabha was to stop marriage of celibacy, to eradicate dowry and provide confirmation of marriage keeping various aspects of both the sides of the bride and groom.

The positive outcome of this tradition is that the marriage institution in Mithila has always been in a strong position and the intensity of social relations remains intact. Nowadays, considering the rising cases of divorce, its significance can be understood.

It is true that people are becoming disillusioned with this meeting now. Its main reason may be changing social lives, values, latest education and loosing importance of their customs and traditions.

Animals predict death

It is widely believed that Dogs can sense death beforehand. The famous novelist Thomas Hardy had a pet dog Wessex.The dog was very fond of Hardy’s friend William Watkins. 

One evening when Watkins appeared Wessex, instead of greeting him with his usual enthusiasm greeted him with whines. The dog followed the man to Hardy’s study where Wessex kept up a continuous whining. Several times, 

Wessex put his paw on Watkin’s hand only to withdraw it.

Both the man were puzzled. They examined him fully to find any possible injury.The dog was physically fine.The next morning Hardy got the news of Watkin’s death.

Dogs’ premonitions have saved many a life. Redsey, a bitch loved to go fishing on a boat with her master Mr. Montgomery. One morning in 1938 her master prepared a boat for a fishing trip.When called Redsey refused to get in. Ignoring all his persuations and even his commands she stood on the deck and barked continuously. 

Mr. Montgomery gave up the trip though the sky was clear. Soon he thanked Redesy. Within a hour a great hurricane stuck the area and hundreds of people lost their lives.

It is a common belief that telepathy is easy between two beings who have deep emotional tie. The author of ‘Your pet’s Secret Language’ John Robbins reports a case of a women who while at work suddenly thought of her dog.

Simultaneously she experienced an intense fear.She left whatever she was doing and rushed home. She found her dog entangled in a rope and slowly choking to death.

It has been seen that very often Pigs run away and hide just a day before they are to be caught for slaughtering. They return only after the pig catchers have given up the search.

Amazing animals2

Lobsang Rampa was the pen name of an author Cyril Henery Hoskin who wrote as many as 18 books on paranormal and occult themes. He claimed that his body hosted the spirit of a Tibetan lama going by the name of Tuesday Lobsang Rampa,who is purported to have authored the books.The name relates to a claim according to  his famous book “The Third Eye” that the Tibetans are named after the day of the week on which they were born.

He dedicated one of his book “Living with the Lama” to his pet Siamese Cat,Mrs. Fifi Greywhiskers. He says, ’Cleopatra and Tedalinka,the most intelleligent Siamese cats have shown great understanding and sympathy. Don’t ever say her ’dumb animals’. Thaese are intelligent and civilized.

Once one of his cat was banished to their local bazaar. The cat used to visit their neighbours one by one till she could steal atleast one fish,coocked or uncoocked. She would never come home with the loot. Punishing animals several hours after the event was of no use.So she always went scot-free.

Fed up with complaints, he decided to leave her in a local fish market which was mile away.The cat was placed in a cloth bag and the bag’s mouth was tied.A neighbourhood boy with a cycle was summoned and was asked to deport the mewing cat,which he did.

Four nights later, the cat was back. There were more surprises. The cat no longer stole fish or other items to eat. When other cats snatched away her food she just looked on in a benign manner.

Our own home can be a laboratory to study animals, especially domestic. We can observe them easily. Only if we humans learnt to treat animals as our equal we could learn much, not only about them but about ourselves too.

Amazing animals

Like human being all animals have psychic powers. In some it is developed and in some it is dormant. Domestic animals being closest to us are easier to observe. Famous controversial writer Lobsang Rampa has illustrated some examples.

Frau Moekel was a German housewife.One evening she was helping her child with mathematics. The child could not add 122 and 2.To put her to shame Frau Moekel asked Rolf, their dog how much is two plus two. When Rolf tapped his paw four times, Fau was flabbergasted. Recovering, she asked again how much is five plus five and got the correct answer.

Soon Rolf was extracting square roots. His mistress taught him German alphabets. Within a short time he could communicate by signaling the letters of alphabets with his paw. Rolf and Frau Moekel travelled widely giving public demonstrations. He was tested by top scientists. Rolf could identify flowers in a bouquet presented to him.

Once when asked the meaning of autumn he answered, ”Time for apples”.He could be naughty too. When asked by a lady secretary of a psychologist if there was anything that she could do for him Rolf answered, ”Wag your tail.”

Rolf’s abilities were passed on to his daughter Lola was owned by a lady named Henny Kindermann. Initially Lola was slow to learn but later turned out to be a superb scholar. She learnt to signal numbers using her paws. She used the decimal system by tapping with her left paw to indicate tens and right paw to show units. Lola even learnt to read.

Once Lola disappeared for some time. When asked about it she said she went to the “woods to “marry”. She even correctly predicted how many puppies she would have. She began to refer to herself as “I” rather than “Lola” as before. When asked if she would like to become a human being she replied in the negative. Her reason – people worked too hard. When asked by her mistress “Do you belong to me Lola?” she answered “No”, that belonged to myself.