I think I am a bit of an oddity. All around me I see people excited about Durga Puja in Kolkata. There are people right outside my parents house walking, from one pandol to another, wearing new clothes, make-up and holding umbrellas and kerchiefs and wearing shades to shield themselves against the sun, there are friends on FB excited to be in Kolkata after years or mourning about being away during Puja and there are folks at Aparna Sarovar in Hyderabad excitedly trying to recreate the Puja atmosphere there... I am unable to resonate with these sentiments so I mostly stay quiet about this... To me what shows up is an over hyped outlandish celebration with the true objective not very evident. While I am here in Kolkata, in the thick of things, I see waste of massive resources across the state that could be used for the benefit of the underprivileged, excuse for some people to get drunk at others expense, huge pollution in the Ganges due to numerous immersions, massive traffic jams rendering the roads innavigable by car. I also see peer pressure at all levels to wear new clothes and accessories as a display of affordability, an additional excuse for teenagers making out in public, tasteless garish makeup somewhat unsuited to the weather, etc. In an ideal world (per me), the city would still have Pujo, but a little more subtlety in all quarters would be awesome! 1) There could be fewer pandols.... If the objective is to worship the goddess, fewer isolated pujos would be more effective and economic 2) There could be bigger efforts towards using public money for noble causes...each year could be dedicated to one cause 3) There should still be celebrations (meeting, greeting, food, drinks in moderation) and display of talent, and opportunity for business for many... and there should still be vacations... That to me would be victory- of a forward looking mass against cliché, of good over bad, and a mark of true service to humanity... Worship of God could come through worship of the fellow man... All this is wishful thinking and I know I am speaking against public sentiment here...but heres why I am unable to comprehend the joy and participate wholeheartedly.
Posted on: Fri, 11 Oct 2013 20:01:35 +0000
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