The clan of cousins!

This photograph is in honour of Jane, the newly added member of the clan of cousins. 

At the wedding of Jane to Abhishek, one thing was evident that there was a spontaneous ambience of cordiality and celebration. We often hear that the family ties are never the same with physical meetings declining and the social media replacing the mutual visits and togetherness. 

However it occurred me that although the formal occasions of being together would decrease even more in the coming years, the sense of nearness is still maintained through social media. It is common for most families to form cluster groups in the social media and be in touch with news and views.

The familiarity between the family members can be at two levels. One is at the social level, where the relationships get updated by sharing with each other all the family events and news.  The other is at a volitional level where members of the family can be engaged in a formative relationship which takes the dimensions of accompaniment, caring and mentoring. It is this which can get displaced when the relationship swing towards being largely social. 

What distinguishes the heritage of any family is its legacy of love towards each other in the family. This is vulnerable to fading to the background if families do not protect their calling with devotion to each other!

Anna and I returned from this family gathering rejoicing over the prospects of family ties getting even more stronger with the younger ones in the family bringing a new quality and depth to relationships.

M.C.Mathew  (text and photo)