“India is land of Cultural Diversity…”
“Unity in Diversity…”
“India is land of Festivals…”
“In the heart of every Indian, lives at least one God…”
These are some of the clichés you must have read while studying in school. Every History and Geography book must have described the diversity prevalent in India and how big India is and how every festival is celebrated in India with gusto.
Well, I personally have no grudge against any of the festivals celebrated in India, in fact I enjoy celebrating most of them, but I am irritated by the way it is celebrated and the way the festivals are used by certain section of our so-called society to show their power.
We count the year from January-December and the first festival that we celebrate is Holi which comes in the month of March. Holi is supposed to be a light-hearted festival and people enjoy the phase of end of winter and beginning of summer by celebrating Holi. It is a 2 day festival where, on the first night people burn the holy bonfire and on second day, they celebrate by coloring each other. Now certain sections of the society (called as local political parties) try to misuse the festival. Traditionally, these bonfires are burnt within the premises of a building/society but these people have brought it on the roads now. They burn the bonfire on open roads causing major disruptions to the traffic. I should mention the influence of drunken people on the roads at times like this which makes it unsafe for normal people to venture on the roads at nights…
After this, let me come to the favorite festival of all the local political parties and all the Aamdars & Khaasdars… Gokulashtami… In school, I used to enjoy breaking the matki in our building. I was the tallest guy around and always used to be the part of the dahi-handi gang. But now, they have made this festival as a commercial festival. Every corner of the road has a high-end matki with prize money in thousands and lakhs… They matki is 10 story high, 20 story high etc. and they use cranes to get the required height. Where do they set up these matkis??? On the middle of the road. So prominent roads like the highways, link roads, SV roads etc. are blocked entirely because of this. People try to leave offices early so that they don’t have to mess with the traffic, schools and colleges declare half day or are shut completely, so that even they don’t have to suffer. On this day, we actually see most of the hooligans on the roads drunk and riding their bikes (triple seat) and most of them stuffed inside the trucks making a pass at every women walking on the road or watching the festivities through their windows. The cops on the roads watch all this drama and still, they don’t take any action against anyone just because all these drunk drivers use the name of some local leader to get out of it. Again on this day, major portions of roads are blocked. And Lakhs of rupees are wasted on a single day.
After this we see celebration time with Eid & Ganeshotsav. Normally both the festivals come on same days. The sacred month of Moharrum begins a month prior to Eid celebrations. Here too people are out on the roads at nights creating ruckus and blocking certain parts of the roads. Moving on to Ganeshotsav, it is the favorite festival of most of the Mumbaikars. The pandals on the roads occupy more than half of the road width creating very little space for people to drive on. People start walking on the roads rather than the footpaths which cause many accidents during this season. And during visarjan times, the local political parties block both the parts of the roads and the traffic is completely disrupted behind it. People have no space to move and the frustration limits of the normal public is at its peak. I was stuck in traffic for more than an hour on the 10th day of visarjan. And after the visarjan, who takes care to go clean the beaches??? You can read the state of the Ganpatis aftervisarjan here (http://itsmeanagha.wordpress.com/2011/09/11/ganesh-chaturthi-a-different-outlook/)
Similar things happen during Navratri too. The pandals block more than half the road width and the remaining half is occupied by the bikes and cars of the pandal authorities. If you try using the road, they ask you to take a detour which again increases your frustration levels. And when they do that, they do it with utmost Dadagiri as if he owns the road and you are committing a crime or trespassing his own property…
Life is a little calmer during Diwali though. The only thing that can disturb you is the sudden or the continuous sound of the crackers, the smoke which can cause multiple inhalation disorders, the rockets hitting you out of nowhere.
To all this, add the irritating sound produced by the loudspeakers which are a must for them to play loud music, announce the sponsors, felicitate some or the other leader. These loudspeakers run late into the night disrupting the peaceful sleeps of the ever running and ever working Mumbaikar…
This post is not meant to hurt anyone’s religious feelings or not directed at any individual. This is just an eye-opener for people who know what is happening around them but intend to keep their eyes shut all this while. I saw the youth of India supporting Mr. Anna Hazare for his cause, but I see the same youth indulging itself in all these activities which are not needed to celebrate the festivals. I was always taught to celebrate festivals at home with family and close friends, go out to visit relatives, take blessings from elders, have a great time. I was never taught to go on the road to disrupt traffic or burst a cracker outside the building premises.
The most irritating part of all this is, when I discuss about the disruptions caused to the normal lives because of the above mentioned Faltugiri on the roads, I get a reply that you should not use the road during festival times. They say when you know there is going to be traffic, why do you venture out? My point to them, just because this people are all out there to disrupt the public life, I should not lead the normal life of mine & stay indoors all the while???
Some months ago, I heard a line from a friend of mine which says that, “Only 3 things can move the entire nation of India – Cricket, Bollywood and Religion…” I completely agree with this…
Yes, I drive a car regularly (daily) and I suffer because of all these activities, but so does half of Mumbai. If you don’t drive a car, you use public transport. Even they are affected by the same. If you have any females in your family or group of friends, you are going to suffer the same trouble. Already the rains cause enough potholes on the roads and these activities on the roads add up to it. Sometimes are wonder if there are more POTHOLES on the roads or more ASSHOLES on the roads???