Germans have words for every situation. Grübeln for instance German verb; To ponder. It’s derived from the word Graben (to dig). Grübeln it’s quite literally, to dig within ones own mind. It’s a little more aggressive than just a ponder. To ruminate for instance to run over the same point in circles or to brood, like a mental nag.

Ich grübelte ein ganz Woche. Meaning I pondered a whole week. The week before last, it was sleep. Dani has never been a long napper. She takes small sleeps but many. Last week it was her ear piercing and this week it’s a new tooth.

I failed to recognize when it evolved from a simple worry into something so desperate. At 9 months there’s so many developments it’s difficult for the little baby to wrap their head around it. A new tooth waiting to peep out doesn’t help. I was terror struck by the idea of getting her ears pierced.

I was so nervous, when time came I threw in the towel. Handed the baby to my mother and scooted. I was aghast! Dani was such a brave girl and didn’t cry for the piercing but was untrusting of the one operating on her. I bet this will surprise you, I opted for a traditional Indian piercing.

“Adapt or perish, now as ever, is nature’s inexorable imperative.”

HG Wells

My parents live on a farm, deep in a village almost 70kms from Bangalore city. Population around here is predominantly Hindu. And as HG Wells rightly said one has 2 choices; my parents found it intelligent to adapt. Although we are a faithful catholic family; my family has often extended itself to friends who have become family and crucial to the adaptive process. I’m almost always learning fascinating things. As I confide, understand that I have nothing but respect for practices of faiths and stand uncritical.

The Karna Veda (an adulterated version)

We first bought the gold wire and a couple of spare earrings. Then a silver platter was prepared with bananas, whole dried coconut(kobri), a fist full of roasted bengal gram, a few beetle leaves and areca nut. The piercing was done by an expert everyone in the town seemed to have visited him with their babies.

The silver platter was offered to the man, who then picked the gold wire piercing it into the dried coconut flesh before he pierced the left ear lobe. And gently twisted the wire to make a cute little ring. The same was repeated for the right ear. He did his job so well and swiftly, Dani didn’t even realize she was pricked. She cried only because she’s suspicious of new faces.

For a girl they begin with the left ear. The reason, because it corresponds with the halves of our body’s identity. The right side is masculine and the left feminine. These points hold great importance to the reproductive health and flow of energy. Although it may seem insignificant I choose to believe the people/communities gone by followed these with very good reason and applied practicality with the limited resources available to them.

I was thinking about the practice of piercing into the flesh of coconut, it blunts the ring a bit but I realized virgin coconut oil has antibacterial and antimicrobial properties and back in the day this probably why it was done. There’s religious sentiments to this as well, which I’m not fully aware of.

As an antiseptic to the piercing wound we were asked to dab with a swab some kerosene. Back in the day this wasn’t unheard of. I heard stories of a big wound, one would run to pour kerosene to disinfect before treating it. Every home was sure to have enough affordable kerosene to burn fire wood for cooking & heating water. This was practical.

I was nervous; hoped my baby would heal without additional help.