October 22nd is the day of 'Puja' in India.
Puja means worship. On this day, what ever one's religion, is the day we in India give thanks to our working tools.
Even if one has no religion, giving thanks to one's tools is still done.
It is a custom of Hindu origin, yet Christians, Muslims, ......we follow the custom.
The tools are cleaned up and laid out and depending on your religion, they are laid out before one's Deity
Since I am a one man show, and a Christian, I had a small layout before a crucifix.
My brother runs a couple of shops so his layout was more elaborate and he even had the parish priest come over to bless the tools and pray over them. He has christian, hindu and muslim staff, who gather together for the common prayer.
Other than making you aware of the respect we give to our tools in India, I want to also make you aware that at a level free of politics and fanatics, where machines are the common factor, we are a very secular lot
