The daily Hindu prayer ritual served as a way to reconnect with the narrator's father and find strength during a challenging period.
Reciting the prayers became a means of channeling the narrator's father's love and support, leading to the restoration of their voice.
Deep dives
Childhood Memories and Hindu Traditions
The podcast episode explores how childhood memories and Hindu traditions shape and influence the narrator's life. The narrator's father performs a daily Hindu prayer ritual called poja, which leaves a sacred mark on their foreheads. The father's dedication to preserving Hindu traditions inspires the narrator, who eventually learns the translated prayers and recites them in their daily life. However, a life-altering event takes away the narrator's ability to speak, and they undergo a transformative journey to rediscover their voice and reconnect with their father through the prayers.
Losing Voice and Finding Strength
After losing the ability to speak, the narrator experiences significant challenges and losses in their life. They go through a breakup and notice friends distancing themselves. However, the narrator finds solace in practicing the Sanskrit prayers that their father taught them. The prayers become a form of treatment, helping the narrator regain their speech. Gradually, the narrator realizes that the prayers served as a conduit for reconnecting with their father and finding strength during this difficult period.
The Power of Prayer and Connection
The final part of the episode delves into the significance of the prayers and their impact on the narrator's relationship with their father. The prayers were initially viewed as representing a religious connection to a higher power. However, the narrator comes to believe that the prayers were a means of connecting with their father, who couldn't be physically present during their illness. Reciting the prayers becomes a way of channeling their father's love and support. Ultimately, after months of practice, the narrator records a final prayer, celebrating the restoration of their voice and the emotional connection with their father.
Five years ago, Leena Sanzgiri was living her childhood dream... New York city apartment, job at Vogue, and a boyfriend she planned to marry. Until the July day she woke up in the hospital, and everything changed. Support for this episode provided by Charles Schwab: https://www.schwab.com/.