In a departure from a centuries-old tradition of conducting ‘terahvin’ – a ceremony organised on the thirteenth day of mourning after a death in Hindu families – residents of Wajidpur village in Harhua block in Varanasi have decided to stop organising terahvin feast in future and save the money for supporting poor families – particularly for education of their children. Also, they will instead do plantation on the 13th day of any death to mark terahvin.
The villagers passed a resolution to this effect in a meeting at Panchayat Bhawan in the village last week. They also decided that if any family organises terhavin and invites people to a feast in this regard, other villagers would boycott the ceremony.
A proposal to do away with terahvin feast was floated after the death of Shyama Yadav, father of current village pradhan Lalman Yadav. Shyama Yadav passed away on June 4.
“Some villagers discussed the idea of stopping terahvin feast when they come to my home to offer condolences. They asked to start it from my home. But the tradition of terahvin has continued for centuries and I alone could not stop this. I appealed to the villagers to convene a meeting at the panchayat bhavan in this regard. A resolution was passed in the meeting at panchayat bhavan with consensus of all to stop terahvin which is also called brahm-bhoj. It was also discussed that organisng feast on deaths especially of youths is not any occasion to celebrate. Nobody opposed the proposal,” pradhan Lalman Yadav told The Indian Express.
Yadav said that following the resolution he decided to not conduct a feast on terahvin of his father on June 16. “Only drinking water will be offered to those who come to pay tributes to my father in shok sabha. I and my four brothers will plant saplings in our farms that day in memory of our father. Other villagers will also do the same in future and take care of plants,” said Yadav, who is associated with the Samajwadi Party and is also the president of the pradhans’ association of Harhua block. There are 80 pradhans in that association. He claimed that other pradhans of different villages of the block contacted him and appreciated the initiative.
On the need for such a resolution, another villager Moolchand Yadav, who is also zila panchayat member, said that organising a feast for villagers and relatives on terahvin would cost a minimum of Rs 50,000. The majority of the people in villages are poor farmers.
“First they spend money on treatment of ailing family members and later on terahvin after death. They arrange money for meals, sweets and other expenses. To bear these expenses, families either borrow money on interest or sell their property. This affects the education and other essential needs of the family. If the tradition of terhavin is done away with, families can use that money for education and better health of children,” he said.
In the same meeting, villagers also decided to collect Rs 20 from each family per month and deposit that in one bank account and that collected money will also be used for supporting poor students in education and marriage of girls in the village.
In the resolution, the villagers also decided to not accept “kafan” which is donated for bodies. “Around 100 yellow-coloured kafans are donated on every death and these kafans go waste as the body is placed on funeral fire in one single white kafan only. Villagers have been urged to donate cash in place of kafan. That amount will be donated to financially support any poor family in the village,” said pradhan Lalman Yadav.
Another villager, Manoj Yadav, said, “Those who are financially capable… They organise terahvin bhoj on a grand scale. That creates a sort of societal pressure on the poor too to organise such a feast on death in their family. It increases the financial burden on their family members. Once this tradition is stopped, it will bring equality among people and children of poor families will be able to pursue education. Hence, like others, I also supported the proposal and signed it.”
Located around 12 km from the Varanasi district headquarters, Wajidpur village has a population of around 2,000 and over 50 per cent of them are Yadavs. There are around 400 Dalits and 200 Thakurs and the remaining are different OBC castes.
On Friday, around 300 people visited the residence of pradhan Lalman Yadav to mark the terahvi of his father. Only drinking water and laddoos were offered to the visitors.
http://bazar.5zszv.edu.sk/user/profile/1513381
https://www.tarauaca.ac.gov.br/profile/effect-of-using-hot-melt-adhesive/profile
https://www.stories.qct.edu.au/profile/effect-of-using-hot-melt-adhesive/profile
https://pimrec.pnu.edu.ua/members/tannerfrench/profile/
https://www.mitmoradabad.edu.in/elearning/profile/carmelhenry/
https://mindvalley.kl.tis.edu.my/user/ginoshort
No comments:
Post a Comment