I wanted to raise my children without prejudice and superstitions clouding their mind. I wanted them to write an exam by studying for it, not spend an hour in the morning praying and offering bribes to the unknown for his/her help to pass the exam or get easy questions etc.. all that my cohorts and I practised, while growing up in India. We have no dramas here during exam time. They study for it, if they didn’t do well, they accept that it was their fault and know not to blame the planets for their misfortune.
When my son was in grade 1, I was at my best friend’s house having dinner, when her oldest son walked in with a gift for his mother. He was in grade 11 then and has been working for a few weeks part time at the mall. With his first pay, he bought a ring for his mother. It had 6 stones, one for each of her 5 children ( their birth stone) and 1 for the baby she carried to the term and gave birth knowing that the baby had severe trisomy 13 and will not survive. 6th stone was a tiny diamond, so it would shine the most. It was such a beautiful ring and my friend and I, we shed many tears..for her to have a son who loved his mother so much and for me, to know such a wonderful family.
Last Christmas. my son gave me a small ring with 4 tiny diamonds in it. He saved his money to buy it for me..He said he didn’t want to buy a ring with their birth stones and a diamond because he felt all three of them and the baby I lost, shines equal in his mother’s eyes..so he opted for diamonds.. ( very very tiny ones..that is all he could afford). He also told me not to lose the ring, for he wants to use the same ring when he finds his girl and want to propose. I told him “but the stones are tiny, won’t you think, the girl would be upset to get such a small diamond ring” and he replied
“mom, if she thinks the ring that means so much to my family is worthless, then she isn’t the one for me”
I grinned happily..
All was well, so I thought.
2 weeks after I got the ring, I got two speeding tickets. Sure, I am a speed demon. but I was with the kids and we were driving to Melbourne. 99% of the time, I used cruise control and I do not speed when my kids are in the car. I still don’t know how I got the ticket..that too twice.
Then the tax dept send me a lovely letter telling me that the family tax benefit I thought I was eligible wasn’t so..and I had to pay a substantial amount back !
Then my 2 year old washing machine conked out..4 days after the warranty expired. Somehow, a single socks manged to get caught in the drain and messed up the whole system. It cost more to repair than to buy a new one.
Then the underground water fiasco for the retaining wall started..
A part of me thinks I am stupid to blame a ring..but the last time I bought a diamond, my son was in the hospital for 3 weeks..and the jeweller did tell me that Diamonds don’t suit everyone.
So here I am. A rational part of me knows, it is nothing but bologna..to blame a piece of coal that was under immense pressure for a few million years for my miseries.. the other part of me..don’t know what to tell my son if he asks why aren’t you wearing the ring I bought?
Even I have heard that! Some of my Gujarati friends have told me that their jeweler had advised that they bring the stone home and observe events since then. If there are untoward things happening, then the stone does not suit them. If things are ‘normal’, then they are ok to keep the stone.
I personally have not tested it..could be a belief…I too used to pray before and extra hard after my tests for good marks.
My dad who was supposedly religious (bathed twice a day and lit lamp twice a day) once saw me praying hard and said..prayer will not bring you marks, but studying will!! 🙂 Wise man.. miss him!!
MS: You know what, Amma said the exact same thing after my son was hospitalized.. She said ” you are supposed to buy unset stone, keep it under your pillow for a few days to see if anything untoward happens and only then you will buy Diamond !”
As for Praying, It was an eye opener for me when I wrote my MRCP part 1 exam in England. All the white students came to write the exam like it was just another day. The indian ones prayed before entering the exam hall, kissed the question paper, touched it on their eyes and forehead etc before reading the first question..Only then it occured to me that how silly we all have been. If you studied, then you will be able to write the exam and pass.
Hi,
I don’t know how much of this is true but couple of years ago, when my husband was planning to buy a diamond ring for me, a neighbor suggested that he should pick one with odd number of diamonds in it. I don’t know reason and actually don’t believe in the same but he got me one with 3 diamonds and nothing untoward has happened.
Nee: Curious, are you the one whom I asked about Japanese/korean in your email id many years ago?.
The rational part of me can’t really accept that stones can bring misfortune..but then there is the Indian in me that tells me, do you remember Big B and his accident after wearing blue topaz..I wish I could find out why odd number stones are safe..mine isn’t. It has 4.
Yup, that’s me. I have been an avid reader of your blog. I’m just too lazy to sign in and then comment. Maybe I’ll do it more often now. With your eidetic memory (hey, I learned that word from you) I’m not surprised you remember.
As to the Big B incident, I don’t recall that at all. I have no idea as to why the even numbered one is considered bad luck. The first time I heard it was when my neighbor mentioned it. Since it was and is the only diamond I have, I have not much experience on this matter.
Nee: I was in the 6 th standard when Big B had the accident. I remember reading a snippet in the news paper about the blue Saphire ring Big B had that might have caused the accident. I don’t know if Big B really wore a blue saphire ring or was it the newspaper was spinning a story.