Momento judaeorum

As many of you know, I am a Very Bad Jew. I wasn't bat mitzvahed, I celebrate Christmas and more often than not do not celebrate the Jewish high holy days, I sometimes make up plausible answers when asked about Jewish traditions that I'm not aware of and I LOVE eating bacon. While I certainly identify as being Jewish (at least culturally, as I can't say that I follow Jewish religious dictates) it is very rarely something that comes up in my daily life back in the USA. Here I bet that most people assume I'm Christian. India is a pluri-religious state, with Hindus, Muslims, Siks, Buddhists, Jains, Christians, etc., all rubbing up against each other with varying degrees of friction, yet it may be interesting to note that, though I had to fill in a "religion" column on my visa application, "Jewish" was not one of the choices.

Yet here, more than anywhere else I've been, I'm constantly being reminded that I'm Jewish. Why? Because there are swastika's effing everywhere. On ornamental gateways, rickshaws, hospital signs, food products, even on the the door to the bathroom in my yoga studio.

Now, before anyone freaks out and assumes that India is secretly harboring Adolf Eichmann's doppleganger, I should mention to the unawares that these are NOT the Nazi swastikas.  This swastika is actually an ancient symbol of good fortune in the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain religions. I do know this intellectually, but I have to tell you that a little jolt goes through me every single time that I see a swastika here--which is literally dozens of times a day. Maybe I'll get used to it in time, but maybe not.

And, by the way, it's not just the swastikas that remind me that I'm Jewish--Indians are also big on the Star of David, which I've normally seen embossed on vehicles. I still haven't figured out what this one means, though, so if any of my enterprising readers know, please tell me!