Decoration - Tradition or a Foolishness??

People think that just because they gave birth to a baby, it is their possession, and they can do with it whatever they want. They may be driven by the prevailing mythical practices/ their own obsessions, but the sufferer is their baby. Or does it also affect the entire society??

When a baby is born, beginning from the first minute itself, they start destroying its life.

1. Honey / sugar water to celebrate its opening innings. Honey is a reservoir for botulinum toxin. The child will get fever, diarrhea - usually resolve on its own, but sometimes may become fatal.

2. Kissing the newborn. Well, you may be having an overwhelming urge to prove your surrounding people that you love babies. And you may feel you might not achieve it unless you lift the baby / kiss it. You are now satisfied. But, the baby is going through hell every time you spray your oral bacteriae and viruses into its cheeks, mouth and nose. The combination in saliva is considered as a worst mixture of pathogens in the world(truth, not an exaggeration).

3. Sweeping the your mouth with baby's fingers is another disgusting and potentially infectious habit. Get yourself a lollipop and leave the baby alone.

4. Applying Kajal under eyes, in the forehead and cheeks to ward off the devil which has no other work, but to eat babies 24*7. It is not only an irritant, but potentially carcinogenic. Also it creates a habit of decoration of the body, which the child may not be able to overcome in its future.

5. Lipsticks and makeups. You scold your 3 yr girl for using way more make up than you are. But how did the child caught hold of the make up kit? Remember beauty is not in painting the face.

6. Some people say decorating is their culture. To break your myth, its not. The piercings, tattoos, types of bindis were used by primitive humans as a means of identification of their tribes within a country. Eg. some tribe has a tattoo of bamboo tree in their back, they get to know the fellow member by looking at the tattoo. Similarly ear studs, nose studs were means of identification.There is no meaning in following the same in this era. Because it does not serve its purpose, but just a waste of your money and time. 

7. Araignaan ( a long string in silver/gold/thread tied around the hip)- it is still celebrated as a ceremony for the baby in many community. Why do we do it? Don’t know the reason, but have lot of financial benefits by forcing the maternal uncle to provide gold/money for it.
The actual use in olden days was there were trees and farms all over the place, so there was a threat by poisonous snakes and other creatures. In case of any bite ,the string was used to tie the limb to prevent spread of poison(tourniquet). And the second use is since most of people were farmers, the string is used as a support for tying their kovanams(undergarments) when working in the field.
Both of these practices are non existent nowadays and hence no reason to use an araignan, unless we go on to participate the “man vs wild”.
One indirect use it monitoring the growth by checking the tightening or loosening of the thread.But it only a qualitative assessment without any guidance values.Instead you can check your weight quantitatively for 1Rs.

8. “Thayath”- a small tube of copper/silver/bronze filled with grains/ashes/divine scripts tied in arms/around neck / along with araignaans. People previously considered it wards off evil spells/black magic. When these were considered laughing materials after the advent of science, they tried to rationalize that these thayaths /dollars are scientifically beneficial by changing the effects of earths’ magnetic field or ionizing radiations in the atmosphere.
This may be a great thinking, but proven to be not having any effect on human systems. So sorry to break the myth.

People try to rationalize all their mythical belief,and falsely give some explanations and claiming that "scientists proved these beliefs". In a way the parents actually do all these believing that they protect the baby. But in reality, they do not.
 Any of these practices will not help your child to cure appendicitis(side sickness- which was thought tobe the will of god and hence should never be interfered)

9. Applying hot rods/ hot coins over hands & feet to repel the bad spells that caused the jaundice. But u are not treating the child, but creating a septic abscess which will probably kill the baby. When the baby dies, they simply say "The spell was too powerful to be broken by the hot rods. Should have done a sacrifice of an animal/ first born male child of a family in the village". Though Human sacrificing has been reduced in city areas, the practice of creating a third degree burns is still prevailing.

These are just tip of icebergs of irrational practices prevailing in India(and many other countries). You can call yourselves as cultured, developed ,civilized,evolved etc, but think once again. Are u really civilized???
Before waiting for the dawn of some seventh sense to best your life, just use your sixth sense. The world will be better.