“YES, MUMMY”

BY SANJEEB KUAMR SAHOO

Respected citizens of India, recently, my mother asked me, “Who is she?” I told her, “Mummy, she is beautiful with black eyes, and you can always see smiles on her face, and it appears that her smile is a permanent blessing from God, as if He wanted that smile to be on her face forever.” When she further asked, “Hasmukh chehra hai kya (has she a smiling face?), ” I replied, “Yes, Mummy.”

In this editorial, I’m going to talk about how much wives love their husbands. There are two women who are married to two top Indian politicians‐-one is the current Chief Minister of Delhi, and the other, the former Chief Minister of Jharkhand.

Their names are Sunita Kejriwal and Kalpana Soren. Sunita and Kalpana’s speeches reflect their deep love for their husbands, which I have elaborated on in a story and may be
read along with the INDIA alliance narrative. Both protested strongly against their husbands’ arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in money laundering cases.

So, ladies and gentlemen, there is nothing wrong when they rallied behind their husbands as the bride and groom promise each other at the Saat Phere of Hindu marriages. In the following paragraphs, I will elaborate on what husbands and wives vow to each other during the Fifth and Sixth Pheras of Hindu marriages.

So, what other politicians say about Sunita and Kalpana’s comments at the March 4 and March 31 rallies is irrelevant. However, if Arvind Kejriwal and Hemant Soren are proven guilty in a money laundering case, the law has the authority to take action against them.

I would like to make it clear that I’m not qualified to comment on the ongoing legal proceedings against them because I believe in love. I stand firm with Sunita Kejriwal, who is like my mother, and Kalpana Soren, who is like my elder sister, as well as all husbands and wives who believe in strong love.

I feel that in order to become a decent person, you should try to understand and help others.This allows you to become the best person in God’s eyes.

Sunita and Kalpana addressed an opposition bloc INDIA rally for the first time on March 31 and made a strong pitch for voting out the BJP, indicating their larger political role following their husbands’ arrests. Two chairs were left empty for Arvind Kejriwal and Hemant Soren at the ‘Loktantra Bachao’ (Save democracy) event at Ramlila Maidan, and their spouses blamed the arrests on the BJP-led central government.

On March 4, Kalpana made an excellent political debut for the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) by addressing as the chief guest at the JMM’s 51st foundation day celebration in Giridih district. She started her first political statement with tears in her eyes, expressing her feelings to the crowd. “I had intended to hold back my tears, but in witnessing your love and support, I found myself unable to contain them. Today, I am being infused with a level of strength that surpasses even my wildest dreams,” she said.

The Saptapadi ceremony, also known as the Seven Pheras, is a crucial part of Hindu weddings. After tying the holy knot (mangalsutra), the newlywed couple walks seven steps together, or seven circuits around a holy fire, to solemnise the marriage. Following the seventh step or circuit, the couple’s marriage is considered irrevocable.

But it’s not just going around a holy fire seven times that ties them together as husband and wife, it’s also the promises they make to each other during these walks.

Each phera has a different promise that the bride and groom make to each other so that they can have a happy marriage. The priest says the promises in Sanskrit and gives the couple a chance to repeat them. After that, he leads the ceremony and talks about the importance of each of the seven vows.

As stated in the fourth paragraph, here I shall discuss the fifth and sixth Pheras of the Seven Pheras.The fifth phera is used to have obedient and noble children, as well as to pray for the couple and the wellbeing of all living beings in the universe.

They also make individual promises to each other to lead a loveful life. The groom recites, “Om Prajabhayaha Santu Jaradastayaha” and declares his wife as his best friend and his dearest well-wisher. He expresses gratitude for her enriching presence in his life and hence seeks blessings for her from God. On the other hand, the bride promises to trust and love him until her last breath. She also pronounces that his happiness will be her happiness. In the fifth phera, the bride takes, “Arte Arba Sapade Vadet.”

In the sixth phera, the groom says, “Rutubhyah shat padi bhava,” that translates to “You have filled my heart with immense happiness by taking these six steps with me. Will you fill my heart with happiness by walking with me like this forever?” To this, the bride replies, “Yajna Hom Shashthe Vacho Vadet,” ywhich means “I will stand by you forever and always keep you happy.”

Let’s now talk about this edition. NPM has written only one story but covered NDA and INDIA alliances events on March 31 rallies that happened at the Potato Research Institute Ground in Meerut, but the Congress party had uploaded pictures from the Ramlila Ground rally in New Delhi and added Election Commissions of India (ECI) announcements related to 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

So this edition is also part of my creativity, as whenever I do creativity, I am over the moon. So, believe me, to prepare this cover of National Political Mirror, the world’s only weekly political magazine, I spent hours developing the thoughts in my head, but now I am happy that we have created the best cover and stories that tell what happened on March 31.

Since I am discussing the political situation of the country in this edition, I wanted to put a photograph of the PM. Surprisingly , I had a hard time finding it. Finally, I got it from somewhere else , but it wasn’t there because the BJP hadn’t uploaded any pictures from the rally but the Congress party had uploaded pictures from the Ramlila Ground rally in New Delhi. Now, it’s time wives come forward and help their politician husbands to fight against all odds.

Note: On March 31, 2024, this piece was originally printed in a weekly magazine of National Political Mirror.