MUMBAI,Febrauary29,2012: Despite its singular status in the Gregorian calendar, February 29 stands solemnly alone as far as auspicious rituals go. Old superstitions revolving around marriage and childbirth on leap day have ensured that few ceremonies or Caesarean sections will take place on Wednesday.
Unlike 10.10.10 and 11.11.11 when wedding halls and labour rooms were booked weeks in advance, this unique date brings no sound and fury. Of the 100-odd marriage halls that TOI called, only two-Arya Samaj in Vashi and Sopariwala Hall in Grant Road-had weddings scheduled for February 29. Gynaecologists are only expecting to handle natural births this day, for all planned deliveries have been either advanced or deferred.
Several communities believe it is best not to get married in a leap year. While all of 2012 is taboo for some, most see the actual date of February 29 as completely avoidable. Two choir members of St Anne's Church in Mazgaon chose to tie the knot in the last week of December 2011 to avoid the "unlucky" year while a senior editorial staffer of The Examiner told TOI that his friend's daughter also had her wedding delayed by both her and her boyfriend's family for this reason. The journalist, interestingly, was married in a leap year himself. "I went ahead with my wedding because I did not see any reason to wait a whole year," he says. Fr Errol Fernandes SJ, parish priest of St Peter's Church, Bandra, admits that this superstition is prevalent among most Indian communities, including Roman Catholics. "It is true that there are fewer weddings in a leap year," he says. "However, please write in bold letters that there is nothing in the Bible to suggest that a leap year is inauspicious." This year, the Hindu almanac too does not actively support February 29 weddings. The last of the wedding mahurats for the month ended on February 26. "The period of Holashtak or eight days before Holi is a time when no auspicious tasks, particularly weddings, are performed," says Acharya Mithilesh of Arya Samaj Goregaon. "Holi falls on March 8 this year so Feb 29 is too close for comfort." Rationalists, who laugh away the bad luck superstition, joke that all those born on this day actually advance in age only once in four years. However, would-be-mothers in Mumbai say they would rather their children did not have that privilege. Gowalia Tank resident Neha Pandit was well past her delivery date of February 22 so her gynaecologist, Kekin Gala, called her for a consultation on Monday. "I didn't remember that it was leap day when I suggested that she undergo a C-section on February 29," Dr Gala says. "However, the couple did, and they requested me to advance the surgery to February 28 or delay it to March 1. Anything but leap day, they said." Dr Gala did as they asked, and around 2.15pm on Tuesday, Neha delivered her first child, a baby boy. Speaking from her hospital bed, the new mother said, "My husband, Nikhil, and I decided to avoid February 29 for a practical reason-that our child would get to celebrate his birthday only once every four years. I have seen how excited my nephews and nieces are each time their birthday comes around, and I would not want my son to miss that. It would be worse when he started going to school and couldn't give his friends a treat on his special day." Gynaecologists and obstetricians around the city report similar experiences. Dr Rishma Pai rescheduled two planned deliveries-one was performed on February 28 and the other deferred to March 1. Dr Anita Soni, another gynaec, laughed when she recounted the case of one of her patients who went into labour on Tuesday and was hoping desperately that she gave birth before leap day arrived. All companies that maintain birthday registers find that February 29 makes the most anaemic list. Rakesh Goswami, chief of bureau of a popular news channel in Jaipur, figures on the leap year roll call. "I cannot help marvel at the coincidence of being born on February 29. I do celebrate each year, of course, either on February 28 or March 1. Incidentally, March 1 happens to be my wedding anniversary so it becomes a double bonus. This year we will have both," he laughs. And while on the subject of weddings, one last popular belief: in such years, it's the woman who has the privilege of proposing marriage. It's a pleasant superstition that those who dread a leap year might do well to remember.
Unlike 10.10.10 and 11.11.11 when wedding halls and labour rooms were booked weeks in advance, this unique date brings no sound and fury. Of the 100-odd marriage halls that TOI called, only two-Arya Samaj in Vashi and Sopariwala Hall in Grant Road-had weddings scheduled for February 29. Gynaecologists are only expecting to handle natural births this day, for all planned deliveries have been either advanced or deferred.
Several communities believe it is best not to get married in a leap year. While all of 2012 is taboo for some, most see the actual date of February 29 as completely avoidable. Two choir members of St Anne's Church in Mazgaon chose to tie the knot in the last week of December 2011 to avoid the "unlucky" year while a senior editorial staffer of The Examiner told TOI that his friend's daughter also had her wedding delayed by both her and her boyfriend's family for this reason. The journalist, interestingly, was married in a leap year himself. "I went ahead with my wedding because I did not see any reason to wait a whole year," he says. Fr Errol Fernandes SJ, parish priest of St Peter's Church, Bandra, admits that this superstition is prevalent among most Indian communities, including Roman Catholics. "It is true that there are fewer weddings in a leap year," he says. "However, please write in bold letters that there is nothing in the Bible to suggest that a leap year is inauspicious." This year, the Hindu almanac too does not actively support February 29 weddings. The last of the wedding mahurats for the month ended on February 26. "The period of Holashtak or eight days before Holi is a time when no auspicious tasks, particularly weddings, are performed," says Acharya Mithilesh of Arya Samaj Goregaon. "Holi falls on March 8 this year so Feb 29 is too close for comfort." Rationalists, who laugh away the bad luck superstition, joke that all those born on this day actually advance in age only once in four years. However, would-be-mothers in Mumbai say they would rather their children did not have that privilege. Gowalia Tank resident Neha Pandit was well past her delivery date of February 22 so her gynaecologist, Kekin Gala, called her for a consultation on Monday. "I didn't remember that it was leap day when I suggested that she undergo a C-section on February 29," Dr Gala says. "However, the couple did, and they requested me to advance the surgery to February 28 or delay it to March 1. Anything but leap day, they said." Dr Gala did as they asked, and around 2.15pm on Tuesday, Neha delivered her first child, a baby boy. Speaking from her hospital bed, the new mother said, "My husband, Nikhil, and I decided to avoid February 29 for a practical reason-that our child would get to celebrate his birthday only once every four years. I have seen how excited my nephews and nieces are each time their birthday comes around, and I would not want my son to miss that. It would be worse when he started going to school and couldn't give his friends a treat on his special day." Gynaecologists and obstetricians around the city report similar experiences. Dr Rishma Pai rescheduled two planned deliveries-one was performed on February 28 and the other deferred to March 1. Dr Anita Soni, another gynaec, laughed when she recounted the case of one of her patients who went into labour on Tuesday and was hoping desperately that she gave birth before leap day arrived. All companies that maintain birthday registers find that February 29 makes the most anaemic list. Rakesh Goswami, chief of bureau of a popular news channel in Jaipur, figures on the leap year roll call. "I cannot help marvel at the coincidence of being born on February 29. I do celebrate each year, of course, either on February 28 or March 1. Incidentally, March 1 happens to be my wedding anniversary so it becomes a double bonus. This year we will have both," he laughs. And while on the subject of weddings, one last popular belief: in such years, it's the woman who has the privilege of proposing marriage. It's a pleasant superstition that those who dread a leap year might do well to remember.