How to Drink Water: A Cultural Parallelism

Every now and then, a concerned aunt or a health-conscious friend posts on social media groups about how many glasses of water we must drink each day and why. 

Thanks to these wellness-minded people, I now start my day with two glasses of lukewarm water tinged with turmeric, ginger, and lemon. 

The questions ‘what’ and ‘how much’ being answered,  I seek answers to the question - ‘how ’.

From vaguely remembered TV programs, I know a saffron-clad guru who advised people to sit down to drink water. 

So every morning, I pull a kitchen step-stool and sit on it to sip water. 

One day, S saw me and mentioned in passing that he had seen his devout Muslim friends sit in a particular way to drink water. 

Intrigued by the congruity in these customs, I do some research and come across a cultural parallelism.

According to Ayurveda, this is the method to drink water:

1. Sit down and drink water.
   (Here are the reasons given: If you drink water while standing, it flows down with pressure and damages the internal organs.  It also passes without filtration and the impurities settle in the bladder. Arthritis and joint damage may also occur because of the high-pressure flow of water.)
2. Avoid gulping down large volumes of water in a single breath. 
3. Drink room temperature water. Warm water is even better.
4. Drink only when you are thirsty. 
5. Know the indicators your body gives when you are thirsty. 
6. Drink water first thing in the morning. 
7. Drink water stored in silver and copper vessels.

The Islamic Sunnah prescribes the following seven steps on how to drink water:

1. Take a clean glass and fill it with water according to your requirement.    
2. Praise God for providing water. 
3.  Drink water with the right hand.
4. Sit down and drink water.
5.  Drink water while taking three breathing pauses.
6. While drinking water, do not blow or exhale your breath into the glass.
7.  Praise God after drinking water. 

There is an apparent similarity in teaching from two diverse cultural traditions on something as mundane as how to drink water. 

A more comprehensive study of convergence of different cultures could, perhaps, provide a rich historical basis for the formation of a world culture.

Two Souvenirs from Oman

They say that if you live in a place long enough, it grows on you.

After eleven beautiful years, we are taking a living part of Oman with us as we prepare to move on to our next adventure. 

The very ethos that defines Oman as a peaceful nation in the midst of Middle-Eastern strife is something that leaves its mark on every visitor or resident who comes here.

The philosophy of life of the Omani people is simple – Trust in God. Period. 

I have picked two lexical souvenirs from this philosophy to take along with me.

1)   Inshallah

In those early days, when we were setting up our new home in Muscat, our air conditioner stopped working. In some parts of the world, this is no big deal, but here it is a question of survival. Even more so if you have a toddler in the house. 

I called the phone number listed in the ‘Home Guidelines’ manual provided by the company. 

“Inshallah, I will come to fix your AC at 10 am” said a polite Omani male voice. 

At 10 am, I stand outside the front door, waiting.

The AC mechanic arrived at 12.30 pm. 

“Is everything ok?” I ask.

“Yes” he answered. 

“Then why the delay?”

“Oh, that....” he proceeded to give a long explanation. 

The AC could not be fixed that afternoon. A part needed replacement.

“I will bring it by 5 pm, inshallah” he said as he left.

The doorbell rang exactly at 5 pm. 

The AC was fixed soon after. 

I looked up the meaning of the word ‘inshallah’ and found out that it means ‘if God wills’. Since then, I have been using this word almost every day. 

It is such a stress-buster, this little Arabic word of four syllables. It releases us from the expectation of doing, reaching, achieving certain things in the stipulated time.  A lot depends on fate and the way divinity plans to chart things out in this world. 

This word encapsulates the essence of belief in the power of God. 

2)   Alhamdulilah

There was a time when Swine Flu brought grief to many families in Oman.

We were at the medicine-dispensing counter at the clinic waiting to collect some fever medication for our daughter. 

An Omani gentleman in blue overalls walked in, greeted ‘Salam Aleykum’ to all in the room, and proceeded to deposit some medicines on the counter. 

“How are you?” asked the chemist.

“Alhamdulilah, all is good” replied the gentleman. 

“Why have you brought back these medicines?” 

“These were for my little son. He doesn’t need them anymore. He passed away.”

A heavy silence descended in the room. 

“I am so sorry to hear that. My condolences ... ” said the chemist. 

“Alhamdulilah” said the gentleman. 

I searched and found out that ‘Alhamdulilah’ means ‘Praise be to God’. 

This incident imprinted on our minds the fact that we must offer praise to God in whatever circumstances we find ourselves in because that is divine will. 

There are several questions that come to us when faced with tragedy but the quietude of acceptance is the only path to peace and hope. 

In a few weeks, we will be at the Muscat International Airport reminiscing about all the places and people we have known here. It is not a pleasant prospect right now to think about these things. 

Inshallah, we will be able to visit this wonderful country again in the future. 

Till then, we wish peace and prosperity continues to reign in this blessed nation. 

Alhamdulilah!

Some more souvenirs from Oman for Art lovers

In Memoriam: Mother

An aged mother lay counting her final breaths in an Indian town.

Miles away, I comforted her son in an Italian town. All day long we had walked from one airline office to another trying to change our travel plans and expedite our way to India. 

However, when my mother-in-law passed away in the last hours of 2018, we were not by her bedside. She had said she would wait for us but it was not to be. 

A woman of few words, she fulfilled her karma on earth, and quietly proceeded onwards. Never did she seek attention or ask for favours. That is the reason why I have not posted her picture here. She would not have liked it.

My mother-in-law always called me ‘Puta’ – interestingly, in our dialect of Marathi, it is a term of endearment for a male child. 

She was the one who lit a candle at the altar when I wrote my Masters exam. 

She was the one who cooked soup for me when I lay ailing in bed. 

She was the one who taught me to make cauliflower bhaji using vindaloo masala. 

She was the one who plucked lilies from the garden to offer to Our Lady.

She is the one who smiles through the eyes of my husband. 

She is the one who lives on through my young daughter. 

Our mother, Teresa Lemos, has only passed away corporally. 

Life has changed, not been taken away. 

Maple leaf, drifted. Milan, December 2018

Gaia

"Gaia, Gaia" called out a middle-aged Dutch lady as she stepped out of her villa in the garden complex. 

"Gaia, come" she shouted, glancing left and right.

No response. 

Manju and I were sitting on a low wall nearby waiting to pick up our daughters after Kathak class.

“Have you seen Gaia?” the lady asked us.

“No” we said.

The lady walked around looking for her dog.

“How did you know that we knew Gaia?” I asked her.

“Everybody knows Gaia” she replied. 

Just then we spotted Gaia in the central garden area. She was playing with two fat cats. With her tail curled in a circle, she was chasing them. 

When she heard her name called out, she walked towards us, tail wagging. Her beauty is regal - thick spotless white fur, gentle eyes, sharp pointed ears, and a graceful gait. She has the majesty of the Greek mother goddess, Earth, that she has been named after. 

Gaia befriends everyone she meets and never loses the opportunity to scoot into a Kathak lesson in progress, much to the amusement of the girls. 

As she's mostly outdoors, she understands the languages of all the people of various nationalities who speak to her. 

Gaia brings a smile to every face and lights up my day whenever I see her. 

I will miss Gaia when we leave Muscat for good next month.