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To Be With Shoes Or Not To Be?

imageGuess whose birthday it is today? He was a music legend (south of the Vindhyas) and was born long long ago. Still nothing? Today is the birthday of Tyagarajar, one of the greatest composers of Carnatic music along with Muthuswami Dikshitar & Syama Shastry aka the Holy Trinity of South Indian Carnatic music. By a curious coincidence all three were born in Tiruvarur. Wikipedia says he was born on May 4, 1767 but then we all know how accurate that is. Besides, the Indian calendar is based on the moon you know, so we can just about pick any date we want.

So today is his birthday. To celebrate, there was to be a procession from our school to the temple and back again (I assume, I don’t know the exact route). After all the confusion that such an occasion entails in my house, we were finally prepared for it. Mom and I left for the school but unfortunately the procession started the moment we reached. There was nothing to do but walk along with them. Then we waited for it for to reach the front gate.

While I was waiting my mom hissed at me to remove my slippers. Never mind that we were on the streets and they, as you all know,were incredibly dirty. Knowing how maniacal these religious types get, I obediently went and came back, de-slippered. That was when I noticed an extraordinary thing. All around me, the women were bare foot while the men wore shoes, slippers and what have you!

Aarti, singing and the usual stuff followed, attended by barefoot women and wearing- footwear-of-all-types men. Lacking the nerve to ask my mom, I ask the blogosphere thus: Why this pedalian discrimination? Yes, I had to look up that word but what matter. Anyone care to venture an answer?

P.S: The more sarcastic/ironic/satirical, the better!
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Comments

  1. Abhilash BingiMarch 10, 2012 at 5:22 PM

    Wow, women are allowed to wear footwear in your household? Lucky you!
    Where I come from, women don't have to step out of the kitchen, much less the house. So I don't see the point of them wearing footwear at all.

    You see, your mom was just trying to help you by asking you to hide your footwear. If society had caught a glimpse, you and your family would be in lots of trouble and you would lose the opportunity of wearing footwear forever!

    Moms! They are the best! Always thinking whats good for you. :P

    ReplyDelete
  2. Shilpa JMarch 11, 2012 at 9:07 PM

    Since you come from Bangalore, I'm curious enough to check this out when I visit this April. Woe betide you if I spot women wearing footwear ;)

    ReplyDelete

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