Open secret of Joint Family

 Open secret of Joint Family

Somehow, I feel   usually emphatic about this blog.
I feel like 'not to bother about any concurrence from any reader'. Not an ideal thought. Not a healthy sign for a blogger 😓

But, I am genuinely receptive to any well considered disagreement with my views, to ensure that I keep my learning curve vertical, not horizontally flat alongside aging 😜


Reverence towards well-deserved-Elderliness (not related to age) was the only factor that sustained a Large family.
We coined the word "Joint" family, only when families broke/shrunk. Otherwise, the "Large" had a wider scope of inclusiveness without bounds 🤣Not just a joint-family within blood-relatives. Almost any reverential person around was considered+treated as a part of one's own family! 

My personal experience:  In 1967, a huge number of uninvited villagers congregated themselves at a private ritual conducted for-me. The formal invitees were less than 20% . The ritual itself, (I realised only-decades later,) is supposed to be the most important one in my life! But the by-product was of no lesser significance, in as much as that, it opened my eyes to a mega manifestation/display of 'what a Large family used to 'look like'(not exactly "was") in the ancient days !!!!"  The body language of the elders of the village looked like 'they were all a part of my/our household itself'. Their activities assumed an air of "we are privileged to do our part in this ritual". Much to the surprise(and a little disappointment too) of the 'elders in our family', my dad ordered me to present the token-fee of Rs5/- to the entire gang of local musicians who rendered a highly-charged emotional performance on their musical instruments(mind you, quite un-solicited) for an hour during the auspicious chant-hours.  I cheerfully obeyed my dad's instructions, in prostrating fully before the chief musician, before submitting the 5 rupee note with the traditional betel leaves and areca nut. That man was in tears of gratitude at this unexpected display of reverence from a freshly initiated-lad of just 13 !

I realised experientially, the distinction between eastern(Bharat) culture and western(modern) culture. Ours 'was' a reverential culture. Theirs 'is' a freedom culture. We have adopted theirs, forsaking ours. Reverence, obviates the need to look for freedom and independence. From a distance, reverence and slavery 'look-alike' 😉 Can't help!

Emphatically yours,
psn(26 Feb, 2026)