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How old were you when you first heard & #39;Hey I& #39;m no Sati-Savitri okay don& #39;t expect ...from me& #39; or & #39;Why are you acting like such a Sati-Savitri,come on!& #39;?? I was 10 when I heard some older girls,women saying this to mock & poke fun at each other-using "Sati-Savitri" as an insult. 1/
Today the festival of Vat-purnima was celebrated in Maharashtra. Married ladies (I know couples where both the husband & wife fast) fast for a day & pray for a prosperous,long & a healthy married life for the couple; for abundance & overall success & happiness of the family. 2/
I was 14 when I actually read the story of Savitri & Satyawan;it moved me to tears. Savitri, a woman who chose to marry a man despite forewarnings & doubts cast over longevity of his lifespan;with sheer indomitable will & perseverance fought relentlessly with Yama-dev himself! 3/
A woman who with her grit & ingenuity interceded & succeeded in fighting for her husband& #39;s life, lost glory of her in-laws & for progeny from the God of death himself! This is one of the greatest love stories I have ever read! I realised that Shakespeare& #39;s Romeo & Juliet or 4/
Portia & Bassanio from & #39;Merchant of Venice& #39; are taught in our schools with pride as greatest (love) stories & works of literature ever written & are also cited & quoted often in real life. The stories of Savitri-Satyawan,Nala-Damayanti,Aja-Indumati etc are never taught to us 5/
Neither are they ever referenced as romantic ideals in real life by people. While all works carry their own beauty & readers are free to like/dislike the same;why is it that Shakespeare& #39;s works are glorified & stories from our history as used as analogies to chastise & mock? 6/
The Vat-purnima puja is performed by offering prayers & circumambulating around a Banyan tree because it was under a banyan tree where Savitri won her husband& #39;s life & her family& #39;s glory back from Yama-dev! Ever since I read this story from our history I swore to never use/try 7/
my best to prevent Sati-Savitri being used as a term of mockery. In fact, this in my mind is one of the best love stories I have ever read & I look forward to upholding the tradition of celebrating this festival alongwith my future husband in memory of Savitri & Satyawan.
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