Mahalaya: A Morning to Remember Those Who Came Before Us
For many Bengali families, Mahalaya begins before dawn. The radio is on low, the house is quiet, and someone makes tea. It is a morning set apart from the rest of the year.
A morning of remembrance
Mahalaya falls on the new moon that ends Pitru Paksha, a fortnight traditionally set aside for remembering ancestors. Many families offer water and a few quiet words in memory of parents, grandparents and others who are no longer with them. It is a gentle practice, and it asks very little: to pause and remember.
The voice before dawn
For generations, many households have also marked the morning by listening to a pre-dawn radio programme, a tradition that for many people is bound up with childhood. Families describe waking in the dark, a grandparent already awake, and the sense that the day was beginning before the world was.
What we hand down
Remembering those who came before us tends to raise a quiet question about what we are handing down in turn. It might be a recipe, a way of treating people, or a habit of paying attention. These things are rarely written anywhere. They are passed on by being lived.
We think the same is true of anything built to last. The things that endure are the things people care enough to look after, and to hand on to the next person.
Wishes for the day
To everyone at SystemOnSilicon and in our wider community who is marking Mahalaya, we wish you a peaceful morning, and the company of the people you hold close.
Subho Mahalaya.
