Pallod Pariwar’s Journey through Blood, Bonds, and Blessings

BY IRA SHARDA

(Have you) ever heard of a family of 155  people gathered from all across the globe, across four generations, going on a two week pilgrimage and sightseeing tour of a state?

My friends hadn’t, my dad’s colleagues hadn’t, but my mum had; it was her blood that linked me to the Pallod Pariwar as a granddaughter, niece and older sister.

Our tradition of going on these family trips together to visit The Char Dhams was forged by the cherished Raj Gopalji Pallod (his genuine/insightful advice and heart-felt words were treasured by all generations), him being one of my five great grandfathers; however, the journey was first initiated by Padma Gattani to fulfill a promise of going to Badrinath by her brother, my maternal grandfather, the late Jaiprakash Palload. Since then, these trips  have spanned all over India from Jagannath Puri in the North East, to Rameshwaram in Kerala. They have been continued through the advice and experience provided by my mother’s beloved uncles: Kamalji, Raviji and Vijayji and kept modern and lively with the assistance of two of my many Mamajis, Kunj and Ansh.

It was my per Nanaji’s vision, to connect our personas and hearts like a handmade array of paper chain dolls, to bind us physically, mentally, and emotionally. He made a huge impact in the lives of everyone who was lucky enough to meet him, he was our constant source of support. I was too young and naive to appreciate his genuine advice, but I long for it now, in times of stress and sourness. He touched everybody with his warmth and kindness, and I’m sure that rest of the Pallods would agree that we are, and always will be, ever grateful to have had someone so wise and true in our family. He planted a seed that would continue to grow and help us express our love for one another across the age range of 78 years and four generations. 

As children, we were enthralled and entertained when listening to the stories our aunts and uncles told us: about their visits to traditional temples or road-trip excursions to Goa, but most of all, we were hooked to the fascinating tales of our elders: Briju Nanaji’s family values and knowledge of world news, Shankar Nanaji’s faith in Hinduism and the belief in power of Sanskrit chanting, Vallabdasji’s understanding of trade and commerce, Raju Nanaji’s wisdom and eagerness to listen, and Uttam Nanaji’s intellect as well as his generosity and affection towards others. My mother learned valuable life skills of vast variety from each of her elders. This, till date, allows her to express her knowledge, unconditional love, care and concern to those around her.

Four generations of Pallods were present in this trip: the eldest, most senior member was Purushottam Nanaji of 81 years, and the youngest was aged three, my baby cousin, Shiven. This shows that no matter the age range, connections passed on blood or bonded by marriage remain strong by interacting with another in the form of a game’s night or dancing the inclusive art form of Garba collectively, channeling divine energy and inviting all, regardless of age or skill.

The  interconnected web network of a family such as ours, allows us to gain the collective support of one another whether it’s tying us together in celebrations, or sharing our grief and staying brave when we are at our lowest. In both our highs and lows our values of being a joint family are maintained and strengthened. Being exposed to these unique experiences allows for increased learning across one generation to another, allowing our ethics and life principles to be passed down along the family tree. 

We began our road trip from the bustling city of Baroda, and soon we were in Ektanagar, standing before the breathtakingly powerful Statue of Unity and eye-softening at the sight of the vivid Valley of Flowers. The rest of the trip was a beautiful amalgam of precious moments in the form of darshaans and aartis to museum, monument and factory visits which enriched both our spiritual and intellectual understanding, not to mention our emotional growth by discussing our feelings with another.

Our 10 day visit to see Gujarart’s Final Dham was jam packed with temple visits: the queues didn’t feel as long as they would have if family weren’t alongside, waving at each other amongst the crowds helping each other find the sandals that we deposited in the landfill of shoes. Our collective faith in the power above channeled through pilgrimage, gave us strength and courage to face the individual obstacles in each of our lives.

One evening, when asked in our panel discussion event, one of our latest additions to the family quoted, “I was close to my grandfather, and my fiance was to hers. This allowed us to bond beyond our general base expectations of one another and helped her adjust to my family with ease.”

Another evening, we were given the unique opportunity to learn skills from one another to improve our mindsets, habits and strengthen the values of community service and mental wellbeing in our moral compass. Moreover, the youth were enriched by the guidance of the Masajis on the basics of financial literacy, so as to help us adolescents in paving our paths in the vast world of money, stocks and investing. These relationship-building activities create a powerful sense of community amongst us and help us foster shared joy.

It was beautiful how the elders showered blessings upon us youth, and we looked at them for inspiration and admiration. The long bus hours translated to antakshari for the boomers, poker for the middle-aged, bluff for the teens and role-play for the kids.

Whether it is through devoting time to visit the auspicious places that help us channel and connect with the divine powers above or celebrating New Year’s Eve with so many loved ones, it is our respected elders who have helped us build this incessant road of love and generosity, in the form of family trips. (This walkway, if it continues to be nurtured, will last forever, thanks to the giving nature of the Pallod family.)

I am, and will be ever grateful to this tightly-knit, loving family that showers blessings and kindness on everyone they meet. Thank you Pallod Pariwar, for giving me the opportunity to saddle along in this beautiful journey, providing our youngsters with fruit for thought and scope to write about – I’ve been on two trips and hope to be a part of more in the future!

My final words for this lengthy, heart-felt and genuine article would be, please be inspired to bond with your brothers and sisters along with other relatives and close friends. This doesn’t need to be carried out in the form of an elaborate, extensively-planned family trip, something as small as sharing meals together, to quote Raghav Masaji’s words, three generations at once, is more than enough to strengthen your family ties and circulate the sense of belonging between one another. 

Ira Sharda is a first-year undergraduate at Mc Master University, Canada, pursuing Biomedical Engineering.