South Jordan • For most people, living to 80 is a reason to celebrate — especially if they still can swing a 9-iron, schuss down a mountain, scarf down a spicy meal, or simply see the typeface (OK, with readers) on a favorite novel.
Hindus, however, revere this octogenarian marker as a religious milestone.
Having lived to see 1,000 full moons, it is time for these aging devotees to offer grateful prayers to the gods and to unite the entire community in symbolism and ceremony.
“It is a chance to rethink the past, and plan for the future,” says Indra Neelameggham, who worships at the Sri Ganesha Hindu Temple in South Jordan. “It’s also a time to atone for mistakes of the past.”
Indra’s husband, Neale Neelameggham, hit that big birthday earlier this year so the couple were feted recently with a historic celebration by the Hindu community.
(Bagi Chandrakasan) Friends and family bring in a procession of seer varisai, many special trays of sweets, fruits, flowers and gifts, signifying the reiteration of bonds of kinship and friendship, during a celebration of Neale Neelameggham’s 80th birthday on Aug. 24, 2025.
Normally, a couple’s children and grandchildren plan and host the festivities, but Indra and Neale have no progeny, so their youngster friends — who call them “Neale uncle” and “Indra mami” — organized the elaborate rituals.
Hundreds of men, women and children dressed in richly colored silk saris and slacks were on hand to watch and participate in the choreographed rituals that have been handed down through the generations.
The event was a chance for young Americanized Hindus to get a taste of their ancestors’ priorities, including their patriarchal perspective. These elaborate birthday parties are mostly done for men, usually married men (socials for widowed or single men are much less elaborate; the norms are just emerging for divorced men). Women get a party when a grandchild produces the first great-grandson.
The choreographed rituals were similar to what the community did on Neale’s 60th birthday.
Hindus view the number 60 as auspicious — a birthday not about the end of active living but rather a midpoint of a 120-year cycle.
It’s cause for joy and thanksgiving. The drive to make money is over, Hindus believe, family obligations are on the wane, and there’s time for more spirituality. Rather than longing for their youth, they relish the increased respect afforded to elders.
This rings even truer, they believe, for those living another two decades.
Honoring rebirth and wisdom
(Bagi Chandrakasan) Family members come together to light a sacred wedding fire, welcoming the Hindu deity Agni to be a witness for reaffirming the wedding vows of Neale and Indra Neelameggham, pictured right, on Aug. 24, 2025.
The day began with a priest chanting in Sanskrit, followed by purifying prayers to cleanse minds and hearts, and prepare for the next phase of living.
Wearing purple and gold-tinged robes, respectively, Indra and Neale sat on a raised platform in a tent outside the temple, facing a fire, while worshippers brought forward platters of fruit, grains and herbs, then flowers, jewels and other gifts.
And bowed to them.
“They bless the community with good health,” Indra explains, while honoring the couple “for having lived this long.”
The couple then moved to a bench in the temple gardens, while hundreds of community members lined up, carrying water in sacred pots. One by one, worshippers poured the blessed water through a sieve over their heads.
“It’s almost like a consecration,” Indra says, “like a rebirth.”
They ‘walked together’
(Bagi Chandrakasan) Family members hold a golden sieve and pour water to drench Indra and Neale Neelameggham during a ceremony on Aug. 24, 2025.
So if it’s his birthday, why is she drenched with water, too?
“Though it’s the husband’s milestone, usually both are around the same age,” Indra says, “and they walked together on this spiritual journey.”
The Neelamegghams married in India on Sept. 15, 1983, in a small ceremony with immediate family, she recalls. “The 80th birthday used to be such a significant achievement. Even 40 years ago, life expectancy was just 60.”
But here they are.
After the couple were finished with the water, they dressed in their finest silks to renew their marriage vows.
(Bagi Chandrakasan) Water pots are positioned as a shrine for a ceremony honoring Neale and Indra Neelameggham on Aug. 24, 2025.
They exchanged chrysanthemum garlands and added an extra knot in the sacred thread Neale gave to Indra at their wedding.
They tossed rice to the crowd, while a group of women sang a 1,000-year-old wedding song in Tamil, the language of southern India.
“Everyone comes to be blessed by the couple,” she says. “Part of this ritual is to give away all of our family wealth and to start focusing on a spiritual life.”
This was followed by a giant feast inside the temple for more than 200 people at a time, 450 in all.
Both Indra and Neale were pleased with the day, and the turnout for this landmark occasion.
(Bagi Chandrakasan) Neale Neelameggham in the traditional white and gold attire of a bridegroom on Aug. 24, 2025. The celebrations mark the 80th birthday of Neelameggham and included many rituals of a wedding ceremony as well as a special drenching by water.
“I feel just myself. I still feel young. I have never felt old,” says Neale, a soft-spoken engineer, adding with a laugh, “I just had to stay awake during when I usually take my afternoon nap.”
It was, he says, a “highlight of my life.”
Next up? 100.