Thursday, April 28, 2011

Pastes, Pumpkins and Paranoiac Excesses

Caution: This blog is not for the silent, suffering spiritual slaves who are likely to find its contents offensive!! This article reflects my personal views and must not be construed as “anti-religious”!

Festivals are fun –but it’s also a time when our carefully –crafted world takes a turn for the bizarre!
On a certain pooja day, a colleague rushed into my room with a bowl of sandal wood paste and proceeded to smear it on the bookshelves, furniture and other inanimate objects with formidable fervor! Having nearly completed her task she came to my desk, stood menacingly, and was about to resume her smearing when I decided to protest.
She gave me a startled look, which soon gave way to a condescending snigger; translated it meant that sometime in the future she would be watching from Heaven while I gnashed my teeth in Hell in retaliation for the sacrilege ....!!

Another community act that evokes rash behavior is the pumpkin act.” It is customary to see innocuous-looking pumpkins being used to ward off the “evil eye” after which they are ceremoniously smashed on the roads outside shops or homes. This has often led to fatal and near-fatal accidents, forcing the cops to ban the “act”! What a sorry state of affairs for a nutritious veggie originally created to serve a far nobler cause..!
At this point I need to draw your attention on to a religious sect whose members are constantly on the look -out for lost sheep. Once such a sheep is identified they trail him until he threatens them with dire consequences or, alternatively, decides to enter their fold (for want of anything better to do!!).
I happen to live in the same neighborhood where members of this sect meet every week and take immeasurable glee in bringing the roof down with their religious excesses. This went on for a while until tired neighbors with frayed nerves notified the police. Now the decibels have lowered, but the show goes on!
Yes, we are a secular land where everyone has freedom to express. But I personally believe that religious ‘expressions’ must never spill on to roads, offices or other public places and clog our lives, but must be confined to the precincts of our homes or other allotted premises !
Any public display of religious emotions, acts, symbols, verbiage or bravado must be strongly condemned. Zealots must be encouraged to practice the irrefutable doctrine of
“mind-your-business-mend-your-soul-first” !
Given our current scenario there is no such thing as religious harmony—at best there can be religious tolerance which is akin to skating on thin ice!!
I am not saying that there should be no public places of worship---all that I’m suggesting is “please make them sound-proof”!