Friday, May 02, 2008

We Indians do not know our age.

Serious!

Till about 2 generations ago, few, if any, knew their age or the year of their birth. Large parts of the country still remember their birth as "It was some 3-4 days after the Poornima, in the season of spring." or "i was born the year we had the drought. My mother says there was no water for us." or simply, "Some year, at night. It was summers, my mother tells me."

I've been thinking of this - the lack of need to remember a birthday, a date and the year. What an awesome luxury!! You are old if you do not have your teeth any more. You are an adult if you start to do *ahem* adult things, and you are a child if you do not do hard labor in the fields. Simply put, when we remove that number, we remember our life by its REAL milestones - that I am a grandmother now, that my teeth have come, that i have started to lose hair, that it is now difficult to put hard labor in the fields.. the things that really matter.

When you do that, you can not hide behind a number to explain why you have cholesterol, why you cannot have any more children etc. Some months ago, there was this news item of a man who fathered a child at the reported age of 90. The mother of the child was then 45. How did she give birth to another child, in the middle of a village, at the age of 45? Simple, she had no idea that women are not supposed to give birth at 45. What's more, she did not know she was 45 and should be looking at menopause, not childbirth.

Having a number and a day next to our existence on earth is of great value. It helps us measure (and get a birth certificate). But doing away with that number has its advantages too.

18 comments:

~nm said...

So true! And yes, it has its advantages but I guess I prefer remembering my date and want people to wish me on my birthday! :P Yeah..I accept..am a bit materialistic here :D

I guess the system of recording/remembering birth dates started in our parents generation only...not before that!

human being said...

interesting reflections...
i have always loved the concept of living in emotional time rather than mechanical time...

sometimes we experience a momemt as a long day or even a year... and sometimes a year passes in a blink of an eye...

broca's area said...

seems like that bee story where the bee doesnt know that it has carry 2 times its capacity !!!!:))

The Phosgene Kid said...

I've been trying to forget mine, maybe we could trade...

Jyoti said...

interesting!

Little Lamb said...

Yes, both do have its advantages. Age is just a number.

Aradhna said...

very interesting!

Swati said...

Interesting post :)

Something to Say said...

how very true.....how liberating it is - to live - as dictated by your body - and not - as thought acceptable by socially set norms...

Piercing The Veil said...

hello ... thanks for your concern ... i too do not know how old is my soul ...


you take care too
hope to see you around

~nm said...

Go here - Something for your eyes! :)

~nm said...

Pick your tag here

dharmabum said...

guess so. my granny used to tell me of mother and daughter pairs, being pregnant at the same time - can u imagine :)

i find birthdays pretty boring!

How do we know said...

Hi ~nm: LOL on that bday thing.. yes, bday gifts are a tough thing to resist ;-) Will do the tag asap and thanks a TON for that award!

Hi human being: "sometimes we experience a momemt as a long day or even a year... and sometimes a year passes in a blink of an eye..." So true!

Hi bro: i don't know that story.. tell me more..

EXSENO said...

I agree. I think not having a number has is good. I do know when I was born, but I never think about it. Age is just a number how I feel mentally and physically is all that counts.

How do we know said...

Hi Phos: A safe guess is that u r older than me, and i m not good enough to be old yet :-) Hows the itching now?

Hi Jyoti: Thanks.

Hi Little Lamb: Exactly what i wanted to call this post - Age is just a number, like weight. Someday, maybe, i will write about that too.

HI Chiya and Swati: Thanks!

Hi Something to say: Thanks!

HI piercing the veil: :-)

Hi Dharma: You find birthdays boring? Thats interesting!

PG said...

A lovely post! Yes, it surely has its advantages, not to know about ones age. My fahter also did not know his date of birth. For school, they just picked up the 1st of a month in that period. But being a bit lucky, as his mother remembered that he was born on a special day of the Indian calendar, and being good in maths, my fahter calculated his right date of birth and got it changed.
I would feel strange, not knowing my date of birth. I feel, it also adds to your self esteem. It is like a validation of your existence. Or not?

Mampi said...

Laughed at

"she had no idea that women are not supposed to give birth at 45. What's more, she did not know she was 45 and should be looking at menopause, not childbirth."

Good one.