The spectacle of riches followed by the embracing of austerity by a child has brought the focus back to the much-debated practice of bal diksha, which is the introduction of minors - sometimes as young as eight years old - in a monastic order. Now a Jain sadhvi, she walked into the grand venue with a smile on her face. Nine-year-old Devanshi, now known as Sadhvi Digantpragnashreeji | Praveen Jain/ThePrintĪt the same ceremony, Devanshi shed her lehenga and jewels, cut her locks, peeled away all the glamour and donned a white cotton robe. Devanshi, on some days, sat in the middle on a throne, dressed in a shimmery lehenga choli and the finest of jewellery - bangles and earrings to stone-studded neckpieces and even a diamond tiara. At another venue, under a giant white and purple tent, lit with crystal chandeliers, crowds gathered to witness felicitations, religious speeches, and rituals on an elaborately decorated stage. People crowded on the roads and bridges to watch the spectacle. Elaborate and grander than many Indian weddings, it was a five-day celebration that included a procession with an elephant pulling the carriage, with horses and performers escorting Devanshi and her family. In January, when Devanshi got initiated into the Jain monastic fold, her family, which owns a prominent diamond business in Surat, organised a big ceremony attended by thousands of people. The conversation flowed between the two, switching seamlessly between Gujarati and English till the teacher conclusively answered the question: “Just like a bubble is sure to burst after a short time, the world is also temporary.”
The young girl answered that the bubble is “something round like a football”.
The profound question was put forward to nine-year-old Devanshi Sanghvi, who has been known as Sadhvi Digantpragnashreeji since she became a Jain nun. Surat/Gujarat: As the sun set in the Surat sky, a teacher asked her student, “What do you mean by the bubble of sansaar?”
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