Points to Ponder — Page 29
— 29 rupees for every laddu eaten. The Pānda s start practicing overeating many months in advance. A family or clan that has had more deaths related to overeating is considered more respectable. There is a well-known story about a Brahman mother-in-law who said to her daughter-in- law, “Your husband and your father-in-law are coming back from Sharādh. They will not be able to sit due to overeating. Therefore, make their beds for them so that as soon as they are here, they may lie down. ” Hearing this, the daughter-in-law started wailing and praying, “O God woe onto my father that he demeaned me. ” The mother-in-law tried to silence her and tired to ask for the reason of her crying but she kept on crying and wailing harder and harder. The mother-in-law entreated and besought her in most humble terms saying, “What did I do to upset you?” But the daughter- in-law would not reply. She continued crying. Hearing the noise, the neighbors started gathering. They also asked her the reason for crying. After much pleading, she explained, “M y fate is destroyed. I am wed in such a family that their people come home walking from Sharādh while our people cannot even walk after eating. They are carried home on cots. ” Though Sharādh s now have reached this state of affairs among Hindus, it appears that they really originated from the same source. At one point their