Energy Follows Meaning

Today was Day 2 of the ceremonies before my son’s wedding.

The day of Haldi and Mangala Snanam.

In a Vedic wedding, this is one of the rituals that prepares the groom for marriage. Turmeric is ground and applied by family members. Oil is placed on the head. Songs are sung. Then comes the ceremonial bath, an auspicious cleansing before the wedding. From the outside, it may look like a custom. But when you are inside it, it does not feel like custom at all. It feels like the whole family blessing him, one pair of hands at a time.

Everyone gathered around my son, applying haldi, accompanied by ritualistic songs.

My mother is 88.

We brought her from Bangalore for the wedding, and at her age, every movement is an effort. Sitting, rising, walking, all of it takes something out of her. Most of the time she watches from the side, resting, preserving what little energy she has.

But today, she got up.

She made her way to her grandson and applied the haldi herself. Then she stayed there, in the middle of the music, the noise, and the laughter, lit up in a way I had not seen in a long time.

She was not alone. Her sister, my aunt, on the other side of 90, did the same. Two ladie

s who move slowly through most days found their way to the centre of the celebration, fully in it.

Nothing about their bodies had changed since yesterday. They were no stronger.

What they had today was a reason.

I keep thinking we run out of energy because we are tired. Maybe that is only half of it. Maybe we run low when nothing in front of us feels worth rising for.

Give a person something that truly matters, and tiredness waits.

My mother and my aunt reminded me of that today. With turmeric on their hands.