Happy New Year!
I am not an atheist, nor am I a pious lady. Just a simple believe-in-God kind. Someone who tries to pray every morning, but misses more often than should. It is not a part-of-life like it is for my parents.
But my praying habits are not like those who mentioned in the Hindi doha "dukh mein sumiran sab karein, sukh mein kare na koy.." [everyone remembers God in sorrow, no one thinks of him in times of joy]. My prayers have been in all times- sad/happy/neutral.
Some in family pray first thing in the morning, some twice a day, others during the day (in between a commute or in the waiting rooms with praying beads), some by scribbling Lord's name in notebooks and a few towards the end of the day before lying down for sleep. Schools had morning assemblies, which means that for 12 years, I prayed every morning. Most of it was just singing, but it was consistent. A routine.
Now my prayers are less songs/hymns/mantras and more words. Words, that change with time, and which are either a request or gratitude for a request fulfilled. Words about wordly affairs like work, visa, marriage, travel etc. Occasionally about bestowing 'sadbuddhi' (loose translation=good brains) to my flatmates :P (funny but earnest request).
Elders say that praying leads to feeling positive. Never prayed so fervently to feel much but anytime I see my baby niece folding hands and flashing all of her 8 teeth when someone says 'jai jai', there is a sudden wave of positive that flows all across me. I admit I'm drawn to a gurudwara for the halwa (prasad) & to a church for the architecture and whenever I go to mandirs, jumping up to ring the bells draws maximum of my focus. But a quiet chat with God, after dressing up in the morning, is very concentrated amount of feel-good I feel.
And now, since my brain is not able to end this post in any other way, here's a true story-
Class I, age 6: my teacher had asked me if I knew what my name means. My reply was that Vinti means prayer to God!
