so! i had planned to write an entry about the auspicious hindu month of shravan (approx july 18-august 17 this year), when married women pray for the health of their husbands and unmarried women pray for a decent husband, but my friend, the articulate and charming ajnabee, beat me to it.
i'll add that i was equally clueless a few weeks ago when presented with green bangles by a friend of mine. i, always the awkward bideshi, immediately broke two trying to get them on. the next night i asked the same friend and her husband why i was wearing bangles all month, and subsequently accused her of tricking me into matrimonial aspirations. her husband laughed and tried to soothe me by offering a slightly different (if totally unorthodox, foreign feminist friendly) explanation. the month is holy to shiva, who's consort is parvati. shiva and parvati are among the most important manifestations of the male/female divine, and so their love/consortship is supposed to represent a sort ultimate, divine balance in a relationship. so, when you're praying during shravan, you aren't (or don't have to be) asking to find a traditionally "good" husband (with its hints of patriarchy and heteronormativity), but to find someone, like shiva and parvati, who will balance and empower...a complement and life partner.
i sort of thought i could live with that.
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