Her perfect bindhi
Symbol smeared on my forehead
Our post-nuptial love
See also First Night
*** Copyright @ Eric Alagan, 2017 ***
Eric Alagan's Books
Eric Alagan's Books
Her perfect bindhi
Symbol smeared on my forehead
Our post-nuptial love
See also First Night
*** Copyright @ Eric Alagan, 2017 ***
This is lovely.
Thank you, Ina
For reading and commenting.
Cheers!
Aha, so the post nuptial love has a “time limit”, less the old folks indulged too. Ha..ha..ha..ha… I don’t see Brother Grinn stopping.
Dear Windy,
Your comment gave me a smile. Time limit – yes! Before the cock crowed 🙂 And let’s not get the Brothers Grinn involved.
BROTHER GRINN: Did someone mention our name, Brother Grinn?
NO!
BROTHER GRINN: That must be god, Brother Grinn.
BROTHER GRINN: Oh god, Brother Grinn!
Nice to reflect again on the poem you wrote in 2012. I like the Indian symbols which focus on the permanent status of marriage originally intended. Not so in todays world. It reminds me of that Social Scientist Toffler’s description of the times we live in now. He describes inter relationships as the :”hurry up handshake” before pushing the person behind you. Such is the swinging door marriage of our times.
Hello Ian,
Ah, you re-read First Night. Thank you. I’ve included an excerpt of this in my forthcoming literary novel.
I believe most societies believe in the permanent status of marriage – when a man’s (and woman’s) word was his (her) bond. Now we have pre-nuptials and look for legal loopholes.
Interestingly, in some societies – including Indian – permanent marriages were never the constant in ancient times.
In my reply to Jane, I mentioned how I made each word count.
When I said post-nuptial, the hint was – there was also what was referred to as pre-nuptial love. To put it bluntly, sex before marriage. Yes, in ancient times, in large parts of Dravidian (south) India, it was common to have multiple lovers. And – hold onto your seats – it was the woman who had many partners. This family arrangement was an accepted norm. Post-nuptial love (marriage) as we know it, came later and for several centuries co-existed with pre-nuptial love. Arguably, the former was largely practised by city dwellers (who were the first to adopt Aryan – northern – mores) and the latter by the hill tribes and desert clans.
I’ve provided a broad brush stroke and obviously, as it stands, it is susceptible to nit-picking. But this is neither the time or forum for a detailed discussion on the subject.
All good wishes,
Eric
My Dear Eric,
The allure, the desire, the Unknown, one’s soul rapt within the essence of another, wholly smitten, entranced, beauty beyond measure–my soul mate speaks to me.
Wonderful poem, Mr. Alagan, and, as usual, it prompted me to compose my own, if you can possibly allow me to thus indulge:
Exquisite third eye
Awakening inner sight
Perfect Beloved.
Thank you for sharing such a lovely sentiment and I, too, experienced such marital bliss. You are a gem, a sparkling diamond to your devoted readers.
Take care, my friend,
Paul 🙂
My dear friend, Paul,
Your comments and contributions never fail to entertain and enlighten. Thank you.
What a marvelous haiku you came up with – profound and resonates for me.
Yes, we are both blessed for having found our soul mates. Say hello to her for me, while I pass on your good wishes to mine.
And as for that sparkling diamond bit – kinda raw carbon for now, I reckon. But I do appreciate the words.
God bless and keep you and yours well,
Eric 🙂
It is a lovely poem, and such a pity that so many nowadays dispense with waiting until marriage. I suggest that they don’t realize that they trade a moment’s passion for something more profound and memorable.
Hello Jane,
Thank you for your visit and comment. Looks like you picked up on that word ‘post-nuptial’.
Though this is not a haiku in the true sense, it adheres to the 5-7-5 rule. This forces me to pack in as much as possible into every word – and I love the challenge.
As you know, the bindhi is the red-dot Hindu women apply on their forehead. A smeared bindhi conveys much symbolism: a woman defiled, a woman recently widowed, or as in this haiku – a woman recently conjoined with her husband. Depending on the subject matter, poets and authors craft the words and paint the emotions.
A bright new wife, and so goes the tradition, wakes early and bathes before the rest of the family. She is careful lest her in-laws spied the smeared bindhi on her forehead. She does a quick prayer at the family altar and applies a new dot on her forehead. She then awakes her husband and serves him warm milk. And while he drinks, she carefully cleans away all signs of her kum-kum from his face and chest before he leaves for the bathroom.
Interestingly, the mother-in-law does the same in the mornings – trying to avoid her adult children and daughters-in-law. Keeping in mind that women in the old days married young, they remain pretty active 🙂 even after their children are married.
You can well imagine this provides much fodder for gossip and humour.
Cheers!
Eric
Beautiful
Thank you, Willow 🙂
🤗💗