Beyond the lights of Diwali

It is Diwali time- the time of the year when majority of the Indians living in India or abroad are on a festive spirit. The festival of lights, it is said, although the cacophony of crackers piercing the night shows it is not only light, but sound as well.

Whether it is the awareness drive on pollution, or the exorbitantly high price of the crackers or some other unexplained reason, it is a fact that at least in Mumbai, we see a drop in the noise level this year, which is welcome as the city on any given day is not exactly a Silent Night, Holy Night spectre anyway.

This is the time for festivities , of gifting to loved ones. The stores are doing roaring business, online and brick & mortar alike, with people buying in a frenzy as if tomorrow does not exist.

This is the festival of lights- with darkness to be kept behind as the light of happiness and wisdom pierces through the dark dreary night and Goddess Lakshmi showers her blessings. Amidst all these lights, we have the following headlines staring at us. Somewhere in a village in this country , the folks are amused and puzzled at the SC ruling of marital sex before adulthood being a crime as almost all the girls born and living there are married when they are minors. Somewhere else another know-it-all religious edict comes out that posting photos on social media is against religion. In another headline, we have a few self styled historians re-writing history to suit their selfish benefit so that the masses can be fed on some dogma for some more time. Someplace else , a son butchers his parents to death for money. 

All this and much more also happened in this country amid the flash of lights and sparklers as we ushered in another Happy Diwali, as we celebrated the festival of lights. 

What light , I wonder ? Is it only the light of phosphorus and zinc that we hanker about ? Or is it that light that the great bard had dreamed of when he wrote those magical lines : 

"....Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way 

Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit 

Where the mind is led forward by thee 

Into ever-widening thought and action 
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake...." 

When will we wake up to see this light , if ever at all ?

But let us count day by day as we say Happy Diwali !

How much more bizarre can it get ?

The Taj Mahal vanished for the second time. The first time it vanished , it was in the hands of the great PC Sorcar, one of the greatest magicians of our times, only to reappear reassuringly after some minutes.

This time it has vanished (or has it been banished ?) from the brochure of UP Govt Tourism booklet, apparently for not being Indian enough !!

A monument, often called poetry in stone, whose photo adorns almost all picture postcards and posters foreigners first have a look at when they start reading about India; a monument which symbolizes love; a monument which has drawn more tourists to the country from the world over than perhaps any other; a monument which becomes the topic of discussion whenever an Indian meets a foreigner outside India and discussion veers toward India and its touristic appeal; a monument which is standing in its place , right in the middle of India, undivided, colonial , sovereign alike, is not Indian enough ??? Just how lame is that as an excuse ?

Within the country , we do not have Indians. We have Punjabis, Biharis, Bengalis, Marathis , North Indians , South Indians, Tamils, Gujaratis etc etc etc. Within that we have Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs , Christians etc etc. Within that we have Bhrahmins, Shudras, Dalits, et al. 

As if that is not enough, now we do not want to own what the history and heritage has given us ? How much more narrow minded can we get ? Why do we want to rewrite history ? Will it change my future or my present ? Will it feed the poor ? Will it educate the masses ?

We get what we deserve, goes a saying. If we have got politicians (and here I am not referring to the party in power only, the opposition parties by no means any better) that we have got, it is solely because we as a country have always agreed to be divided. It feels more secure to be identified with a language or a religion than as a citizen ? Why ??

Essence of a Durga Puja

The Durga Puja, the most important event in a Bong life is just over. Although essentially a festival originating from religious roots, it has long ago surpassed the narrow boundaries set by religion and transcended to a festival of humanity, while maintaining its religious fervour and roots. 

The Sarbojonin Durga Puja , which essentially means a celebration for all,  is a celebration of mankind and I have seen few events that encompass the celebration of human life better than this. In this festival which essentially celebrates the triumph of good over evil, there is no narrow boundary limits of caste, creed, colour even religion. I have come across people practising other faiths also embracing this celebration as their own, part of Puja committees in Kolkata, rising above the narrow dogmas of faith. 

In a community Durga Puja, it is not only the Puja or the worship of the Goddess which is the point. Although the worship is done with all piety and religious rules, there are many events and happenings surrounding it for weeks together which encompass human beings irrespective of caste, creed, religion. When in a community Puja, lots of devotees queue up for the Bhog (lunch served after offering to the God), no one has ever encountered a question as to what the person being served is following as a faith, what is his/her roots etc. It does not matter whether the person is a Hindu, a Christian , a Muslim or a Jew or an agnostic or even an atheist. Or whether he /she has come there on foot or in a Cadillac. It just does not matter ! What matters is that the person is a human being.

Revolving around the celebration is a melting pot of cultural events, not always linked to Bengali language. So while there would be the usual dash of Rabindrasangeet or the Bengali music bands, there would also be Hindi songs of Bollywood or other language depending upon where the festival is being held. 

The fun fair extending around the pandals would be a gastronomic paradise with a melange of offerings to tickle the palate of everyone. It is not unusual to see people gorging on fish fry or jhalmuri at 1:30AM. 

The best part about this festival is that no one really is kept out because of religious dogmas. Without doubt, the Bongs have one of the most accepting nature and have risen above the narrow boundaries of ritualistic practices which divide rather than unite. Lot is being written nowadays contrary to this but I dismiss the same as ramblings of narrow uninformed minds , to whom the well that they live in is the ocean. Alas !

Long live this spirit of Sarbojonin Durga Puja- long live this spirit of humanity !