Ancestral tree
Another year in our life is completing, as fast ever as
possible. As an individual, I had lots of ups and downs, turbulent times,
losing or winning days. It all marked the beauty of the year 2012 that was.
Several people and interactions passed by during this time.
Some, I do not remember at all, but certain others, I definitely remember.
One was the trip I took to India to perform rituals
associated with the first death anniversary of my mother-in-law.
We were asked by the priest to name our ancestors. He
started asking the name of our parents. We answered. He asked the name of our
grandparents. With a bit of difficulty, we answered that too. He then asked the
name of our grand grandparents. We got stuck.
Our knowledge train about our family stopped then and there.
We decided we should find out more details and prepare a family tree.
Back here in the UAE, I met the other day, a UAE national
and colleague of mine, who incidentally brought to me a photo showing his
family tree consisting of his ancestors leading to a list stretching a hundred
years back.
It took him a great deal of time, but he was proud to show
me the legacy. Why should we not try to emulate it as a task for the new year?
Explore our way to our ancestors’ memories and roots.
Ramesh Menon
To read it in original, visit Gulf Today Online
Gulf Today : Short Take dt 22 Dec 2012
No comments:
Post a Comment