The upbringing my family provided me in Dubai and my experiences in Kuala Lumpur gave me a certain lack of concern over the apparent bad luck derived from walking under ladders or a black cat crossing the road. Nor do I understand the strange correlation between fighting siblings and snipping scissors and all other superstitions. Which made me believe that such folk lore may have long been dead (probably because they didn't look at both sides before crossing the road, one of the deadliest superstitions in the book). But here, in Hyderabad, they are alive, and very much too.
Here, I can't clip my nails at night, neither can I read a book lying on my stomach, nor can I show affection to a new born by touching its nose, among a list of other things I can't do on a full moon night and can do on a sunny afternoon. And this blind belief in pointless drama is not helped by the trust we put in witch doctors. I met one who claims the blood of a sacrificed goat can solve marital trouble. Superstition is to religion what astrology is to astronomy: the mad daughter of a wise mother, or so said Voltaire. So why not synchronize our watches right now and see how many of what follows will be accepted as traditional reactions in the year 2020.
If you see a man picking his nose at a traffic signal : Roll down your window and tap the roof of your car thrice to drive away evil spirits a good dig will release. If a red car overtakes you from your left chant multiplication tables from six to nine. If you see a friend you have been avoiding for years walking towards you, and this is real bad luck, rub your chin and talk gibberish till he or she walks past. If a black cat walks under a ladder touching wood on a moonless night on Friday the 13th : do nothing. If you have had seven years without bad luck, break a mirror. If you see a dog getting itself acquainted to a lamp post in its uniquely original way, grab hold of the first person you see next and lock your little fingers. In some cultures it is bad luck to see your wife before the wedding, in others, it bad luck to do so afterwards. In any case throw a pinch of rock salt over your shoulder.
Here, I can't clip my nails at night, neither can I read a book lying on my stomach, nor can I show affection to a new born by touching its nose, among a list of other things I can't do on a full moon night and can do on a sunny afternoon. And this blind belief in pointless drama is not helped by the trust we put in witch doctors. I met one who claims the blood of a sacrificed goat can solve marital trouble. Superstition is to religion what astrology is to astronomy: the mad daughter of a wise mother, or so said Voltaire. So why not synchronize our watches right now and see how many of what follows will be accepted as traditional reactions in the year 2020.
If you see a man picking his nose at a traffic signal : Roll down your window and tap the roof of your car thrice to drive away evil spirits a good dig will release. If a red car overtakes you from your left chant multiplication tables from six to nine. If you see a friend you have been avoiding for years walking towards you, and this is real bad luck, rub your chin and talk gibberish till he or she walks past. If a black cat walks under a ladder touching wood on a moonless night on Friday the 13th : do nothing. If you have had seven years without bad luck, break a mirror. If you see a dog getting itself acquainted to a lamp post in its uniquely original way, grab hold of the first person you see next and lock your little fingers. In some cultures it is bad luck to see your wife before the wedding, in others, it bad luck to do so afterwards. In any case throw a pinch of rock salt over your shoulder.
Hilarious!
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