Seven has been a favourite number for generations. We believe in seven being a lucky number. We speak of crossing seven mountains and seven seas to overcome hurdles. Princesses lie on beds made of seven mattresses and feel a pea underneath. In India, marriages are made for seven generations and does it really take anyone to the seventh heaven. We are so obsessed with the number seven that when one accumulates wealth, it is remarked that even seven generations would not be able to exhaust it even if they were not in any gainful occupation.
This led me to think on the front as to whether we could meet any person who has met persons of seven generations. That would indeed be a feat considering the fact that after having met my great grandmother, grandparents, parents and contemporaries as well as a spate of nephews and nieces, the boast ends at five generations. With not much time left on hand would I make it to see two more generations that would be entirely dependent on the pace of procreation by the present generation.
Looking back, I find that my paternal grandparents had the opportunity of contributing to the rearing of their great grandchildren but were probably not fortunate enough to meet their own great grandparents. Thus, at any given point of time they only made upto six generations. Seven indeed is a tough number and my ruminations continued.
One of my friends had shown us an invitation card for the centenary celebrations of this grandfather. As I pen this blog, I feel he may come closest to my find for a person who has seen seven generations. But....
Yes !!! the doubt remains. In mythology one of the greatest characters is Bhishma but he too missed the mark. He had never met his grandparents but if one were to consider Sathyavathi's father then upto his own generation one could reckon three. Pandu's generation was the fourth, Arjuna's the fifth, Abhimanyu's the sixth. He did not live long enough to meet Parikshit the one of the seventh generation.
The only one who remained was Ved Vyasa himself who went on to not only see Parikshit but also Janamajeya therefore making it eight generations at one go. But considering that Pandu and Dhritarashtra are his children, this looked in a different perspective reduces the number of generations he could vibe with.Are there any competitiors for this great feat?
Incidentally, it appears penning the golden jubilee blog is easier than traversing seven generations.
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5 comments:
My best wishes to you to make it !! It must be possible for you as you have already seen 5 generations and the sixth must come shortly and later the 7th and if possible make to the 8th generation also! My prayers to GOD for making it possible.
well i believe you are in the line to see seven generations.. dont ask me why .. a gut feeling .. no reasons :)
I like the seven days in a week anyway. Beyond that the number has mattered little to me until now when you point out so much significance :)
thoughtful interesting post sharing
Very interesting post.
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