Well...its been quite some time since I sat down to write a blog entry. Maybe I was just waiting for the right moment and the right topic to write on. Call it writer's block, but I've been busy with these things called exams. Hehe! Anyway, thats besides the point. Read on.
Its Akshaya Trithiya time again and everybody is rushing to pre-book their gold, advance-book their gold, pre-order gold and what not...Its crazy how many terms these gold stores are coming up with. Every advertisement on the local TV channels is about Akshaya Trithiya. Stuff like "Rush to pre-book your gold today!", "Hurry! Offer limited till stocks last!" and "Attractive discounts on gold bookings!" is quite a common sight on TV these days. One advertisement even goes like, "Buy gold today, and you may be on the next flight to Singapore!" Hmm...I'm pretty sure a flight ticket to Singapore is going to be less expensive than buying gold! On the bright side, you see famous actresses in these advertisements dressed in all their golden glory. Its hilarious to see people groaning under the weight of so much gold! Makes me remember that old Sprite ad...where Lisa Ray was apparently bathing in Sprite...cameraman in the ad says "some people do anything for money!"
But I wonder what all the big hue and cry is about. According to popular belief, if a person buys gold, even one gram of it, on Akshaya Trithiya, he or she would be extremely prosperous for the entire year. I don't understand how people can get richer by spending on gold. I wonder if anyone has taken a step back to try and find out what this auspicious day actually signifies. I asked my grandmother about it. Being the self-proclaimed expert on South Indian rituals and festivals that she is, she said that she had never heard about it in her days. She said, "If this festival was so big, I would have definitely known about it. But nothing of this sort happened when I was younger." Right now, on the day of Akshaya Trithiya, one can see hordes of people on Usman Road in T.Nagar(the gold destination of Chennai), standing in long queues outside the several jewelry shops right from 5 in the morning. Usually, this is the kind of behavior one would notice on the day of the release of a Harry Potter book, but this kicks everything else into orbit, including the worst New York rush hour. And the people crowding up there are not all rich people. Chennai can't even have that many rich citizens. We are talking about our own maid-servants and cooks. One of my grandmother's sisters said that her servants wanted her to buy them some gold on Akshaya Trithiya. And the cook in our house was in such a hurry for the day to arrive, that she thought that it happened the previous week itself.
Traditionally, the day of Akshaya Trithiya is supposed to be the birthday of the Hindu sage Parashurama, the sixth avatar (incarnation) of the God Vishnu. And if you did'nt know that, its an auspicious day and is believed to be a very good day to purchase something or start a new venture. I seriously don't know where the gold link came in. Blame it on the media. Even wikipedia says so. Sheesh!
Its Akshaya Trithiya time again and everybody is rushing to pre-book their gold, advance-book their gold, pre-order gold and what not...Its crazy how many terms these gold stores are coming up with. Every advertisement on the local TV channels is about Akshaya Trithiya. Stuff like "Rush to pre-book your gold today!", "Hurry! Offer limited till stocks last!" and "Attractive discounts on gold bookings!" is quite a common sight on TV these days. One advertisement even goes like, "Buy gold today, and you may be on the next flight to Singapore!" Hmm...I'm pretty sure a flight ticket to Singapore is going to be less expensive than buying gold! On the bright side, you see famous actresses in these advertisements dressed in all their golden glory. Its hilarious to see people groaning under the weight of so much gold! Makes me remember that old Sprite ad...where Lisa Ray was apparently bathing in Sprite...cameraman in the ad says "some people do anything for money!"
But I wonder what all the big hue and cry is about. According to popular belief, if a person buys gold, even one gram of it, on Akshaya Trithiya, he or she would be extremely prosperous for the entire year. I don't understand how people can get richer by spending on gold. I wonder if anyone has taken a step back to try and find out what this auspicious day actually signifies. I asked my grandmother about it. Being the self-proclaimed expert on South Indian rituals and festivals that she is, she said that she had never heard about it in her days. She said, "If this festival was so big, I would have definitely known about it. But nothing of this sort happened when I was younger." Right now, on the day of Akshaya Trithiya, one can see hordes of people on Usman Road in T.Nagar(the gold destination of Chennai), standing in long queues outside the several jewelry shops right from 5 in the morning. Usually, this is the kind of behavior one would notice on the day of the release of a Harry Potter book, but this kicks everything else into orbit, including the worst New York rush hour. And the people crowding up there are not all rich people. Chennai can't even have that many rich citizens. We are talking about our own maid-servants and cooks. One of my grandmother's sisters said that her servants wanted her to buy them some gold on Akshaya Trithiya. And the cook in our house was in such a hurry for the day to arrive, that she thought that it happened the previous week itself.
Traditionally, the day of Akshaya Trithiya is supposed to be the birthday of the Hindu sage Parashurama, the sixth avatar (incarnation) of the God Vishnu. And if you did'nt know that, its an auspicious day and is believed to be a very good day to purchase something or start a new venture. I seriously don't know where the gold link came in. Blame it on the media. Even wikipedia says so. Sheesh!
3 comments:
Vicky,
That was a great blog. Why have people not thought of naming their children Akshaya or Trithiya if they were born on that auspicious day. Nice names by the way. Maybe you should suggest so to someone in the media and that could spur a new wave.
The prefix "pre" has been bastardised enough that its very intent in the english language is lost. Blame it on the yankees! And if the yanks do it, it is not necessarily correct. Though it is cool!
People have forgotten the use of the word advance I think.
Keep blogging!
Girish
Blame the Times of India for briniging in the connection between gold and Akshaya Trithiya.
They used it as a marketing gimmick to promote their supplement 'Madras Plus'!
Because they knew fools would rush in!
One can draw a parallel to this event and
Scene 1 of Julius Caesar.
My favorite line for the herd mentality is
"You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things!"
..G
Post a Comment