Remembering ancestors of 200 years

I was vacationing over the past 10 days, and this involved a series of trips around my hometown attending a marriage in the family and a couple of functions around my native place, near Karaikudi in Tamil Nadu. This was hectic in its own way, with chauffeuring the family around, connecting with friends, baby-sitting two hyper-active kids, apart from routinely trashing my diet-watching with a daily feast thrown on each occasion.

A memorable function that I got an opportunity to participate in was an offering to ancestors,  called 'Padaipu' in local parlance. This was my first-time to such a ritual and it was fascinating to learn about how this was done. Paying homage to ancestors is something that's practiced in several cultures world over and is considered very significant in India as well. However, the ritual and specific customs vary across the country.

I've learnt that the offerings are generally paid to one's parents and in several cases also to ancestors who could be from 3 to 5 generations back, or earlier. This ritual was on my maternal grandfather's side in a village called Nachandupatti, near Trichy in Tamil Nadu. The offering was to 4 ancestors from 4 generations back. The preparations were elaborate, starting with buying new clothes for each of the ancestors, and to their taste. Then, jewels and ornaments, some of which were ancestral and rest from the descendents were collated. Meanwhile, a feast was prepared with customised menu based on culinary preferences of each of the ancestors, while also accounting preference for vegetarian food versus meat. 

Offerings in place for our ancestors

Finally, against the pictures of ancestors or earmarked places (for those who lived in the pre-photography age), the clothes, ornaments and banana leaves were neatly laid out. People took turns to serve the complete menu, with all hospitality accorded to a special guest of the home. Dessert was a rich assortment of fruits including some exotic and imported ones. Unlike the formality of a temple worship, the air was light and cordial with relatives joking about things like moderating the sugar intake in the food to factor in the possibility of diabetic ailments for any of the ancestors!

With the offering consummating in a prayer, the 30 odd members gathered from an approx family count of a few hundred, concluded the ritual and enjoyed the feast. It was interesting to learn about how the ritual and specific steps have been passed down over the generations, including documented manuscripts and drawings of the procedure.

Adaikkammai appathal

While I was in awe of this practice, I heard of another popular offering ritual in the same village for an ancestor, Adaikkammai appathal who lived 4 centuries earlier. With about 10 to 12 generations spanning the 400 years, the total family size can be approximated to roughly over 10,000 members, which would be the size of a large village. This is a once-in-2-years affair, where thousands of descendants and relatives participate in the offering and its celebrated like a mini-festival. Interestingly, this ritual has its own website that documents the history and proceedings, while also having its active social channels!

Germany after Hitler - an interesting history

While visiting Bonn recently, the erstwhile capital of West Germany, I made a stop at the Museum of Contemporary History, a highly rated local attraction. The museum had free entry, but the real surprise and relief was to find an English audio guide! Perhaps because of the historical western influence for this part of the country, most boards were in English too.

The gallery entrance was setup like a rubble from the bombings of war, with signs proclaiming the allies' final push towards capturing Berlin in the Second World War. This, was the theme of this museum - to trace the history of Germany from 1945 until present day, covering all aspects of the final Nazi defeat, surrender treaty, reconstruction efforts by the victors, division of Germany and the eventual unification, while also abundantly covering the economy, culture and people aspects of the past 70 years. I thoroughly enjoyed the museum, spent my entire day there, learning quite a bit about these oft-missed aspects. 

Enough has been written about the world war, Nazi atrocities and the various battles, but the trials and tribulations of picking up a country that was all but destroyed in a major war, and tracing the path of its recovery back to world dominance is a commendable topic that needs detailing. Germany is promoting this museum to let its people and tourists learn this checkered past, and it was heartening to see a lot of families and locals spending time educating their kids on their national history!

Collection of interesting pictures & cartoons

Here, I share some of my favorite pictures & brilliant cartoons split across 3 key phases of this history:

1. Culmination of WWII and the Nazi defeat

This shows the final days of war & internal deep discontent on Nazi rule. Actual bomb shells, bricks and recovered household items are used to recreate real war scenes, combined with posters of the joint rule established under Soviet-US-UK-France. Heart-wrenching is the gallery on millions of missing civilians & the re-tracing efforts. The actual TV clippings of orphaned kids shown on TV, in an effort to trace the parents is poignant, where most kids are so young that they just smile innocently at the camera.

Entrance with actual vehicles used..	Partial structures built with actual bricks
...and a lot of war rubble & bomb shells	Map with occupation areas after Nazi defeat

2. Germany's Division & twin diverging paths of reconstruction

The stark contrast in the reconstruction efforts of West & East Germany under the US and Soviet rules is highlighted. Interesting stories about the controversial Marshal plan, Candy bombers, rigged elections and historic events of nation building are covered through excellent articles, videos & samples. The events leading up to the Berlin wall and massive casualties suffered therein are captured too.

Cartoon showing different approach of US & USSR	Germany's Rulers
Creative setup of 2 zones showing conditions in the East & West	Cartoon on policies

Cartoon shows East Germany starving & isolated	Powerful cartoon on Hitler vs Stalin

The Berlin wall & the Geographic division

3. Socio-economic progress, Economic miracle and resurgence of a unified Germany

This is a heart-warming section on setting up of a social market economy and the Economic miracle led by German scientific progress & brand building - Beetle, Braun, Zeiss lenses, Adler typewriters, Steiff toys, Bayer pharma and hundred others are shown with earliest products. The impact of reconstruction on culture and everyday life is tracked through changing nature of day-to-day objects & actual posters. And yes, there is also a separate gallery celebrating Germany's miraculous 1954 Soccer world cup triumph!

Brilliant cartoon on lowering of post-war restrictions for Germany

Early products of the brands that made Germany..	Why Balance of Trade?

Artifacts on scientific progress..	Interesting twist in the 'logo' tale