Mr Bhowmick
Steven Stoffel
Professor: Dr. Francis Ngaboh-smart
English 302
10 March 2012
Hinduism: Prayer for a son
Kali defeats Raktabija by sucking the blood from his body. Kali then enjoys her victory by dancing across the battle field, prancing on the corpses of her slain. (David R. Kinsley 118-119) Kali is the goddess of wrath and vengeance, also the patron goddess of Mr. Bhowmicks’ family in the short story A Father written by Bharati Mukherje in 1985. Mr. Bhowmick is a Hindu Indian who migrated from Ranchi, Bihar India to Detroit Michigan. Most Americans, especially in the 80’s, did not have much understanding of Hinduism, and still do not today. This could be because Hinduism itself is a very vague religion made up of many denominations. …show more content…
Hinduism in fact is a melting pot of religions with four main denominations Saivism, Shaktism, Vaishnavism and Smartism. All denominations of Hinduism share the believe of worshiping one supreme being, but diverge in guru lineages, religious leaders, sacred literature, and pilgrimage centers. The denominations of Hinduism in essence are all complete separate religions, what combines them is their heritage of culture and belief in Karma, dhama, reincarnations, all pervasive divinity, temple worship, sacraments, manifold deities, the guru-shishya tradition and the vedas as scriptural authority. …show more content…
Bhowmick then is a Saivas or Shaivite. Shaivism or Saivism is one of the most widely followed denominations of Hinduism and is the world’s oldest religion. (Himalayanacademy.com) Saivas believe that Shiva is all and in all, the revealer and concealer of all that is. Essentially Shiva controls everything in the universe for a specific purpose, and that there are no coincidences. Saivas are known to stress high discipline along with high philosophy, which can be seen in Mr. Bhowmick in the very first line of the story. “One Wednesday morning in mid-May Mr. Bhowmick woke up as he usually did at 5:43 A.M., checked his Rolex against the clock’s digital readout, punch down the alarm (set for 5:45), then nudged his wife awake.” (Mukherjee 403) Mr. Bhowmick is a very superstitious, and this can be seen throughout the story. “A sneeze at the start of a journey brings bad luck.” (405) “His daughter grinned at him. He saw her tongue, thick and red, squirming behind her row of perfect teeth” (410) The second quotation is Mr. Bhowmick personifying Shiva in his daughter who had betrayed him and the family. To Mr. Bhowmick and other Hindus the presence of the gods in everyday life is extremely real. Bharati Mukherjee being from India herself had a great understanding of this and can be seen throughout her
Professor: Dr. Francis Ngaboh-smart
English 302
10 March 2012
Hinduism: Prayer for a son
Kali defeats Raktabija by sucking the blood from his body. Kali then enjoys her victory by dancing across the battle field, prancing on the corpses of her slain. (David R. Kinsley 118-119) Kali is the goddess of wrath and vengeance, also the patron goddess of Mr. Bhowmicks’ family in the short story A Father written by Bharati Mukherje in 1985. Mr. Bhowmick is a Hindu Indian who migrated from Ranchi, Bihar India to Detroit Michigan. Most Americans, especially in the 80’s, did not have much understanding of Hinduism, and still do not today. This could be because Hinduism itself is a very vague religion made up of many denominations. …show more content…
Hinduism in fact is a melting pot of religions with four main denominations Saivism, Shaktism, Vaishnavism and Smartism. All denominations of Hinduism share the believe of worshiping one supreme being, but diverge in guru lineages, religious leaders, sacred literature, and pilgrimage centers. The denominations of Hinduism in essence are all complete separate religions, what combines them is their heritage of culture and belief in Karma, dhama, reincarnations, all pervasive divinity, temple worship, sacraments, manifold deities, the guru-shishya tradition and the vedas as scriptural authority. …show more content…
Bhowmick then is a Saivas or Shaivite. Shaivism or Saivism is one of the most widely followed denominations of Hinduism and is the world’s oldest religion. (Himalayanacademy.com) Saivas believe that Shiva is all and in all, the revealer and concealer of all that is. Essentially Shiva controls everything in the universe for a specific purpose, and that there are no coincidences. Saivas are known to stress high discipline along with high philosophy, which can be seen in Mr. Bhowmick in the very first line of the story. “One Wednesday morning in mid-May Mr. Bhowmick woke up as he usually did at 5:43 A.M., checked his Rolex against the clock’s digital readout, punch down the alarm (set for 5:45), then nudged his wife awake.” (Mukherjee 403) Mr. Bhowmick is a very superstitious, and this can be seen throughout the story. “A sneeze at the start of a journey brings bad luck.” (405) “His daughter grinned at him. He saw her tongue, thick and red, squirming behind her row of perfect teeth” (410) The second quotation is Mr. Bhowmick personifying Shiva in his daughter who had betrayed him and the family. To Mr. Bhowmick and other Hindus the presence of the gods in everyday life is extremely real. Bharati Mukherjee being from India herself had a great understanding of this and can be seen throughout her