Being always cynical is no good habit. I have of late put tremendous efforts to kick this habit. I feel I have succeeded in my efforts to a great extent.
Onam came and gone, Id came and gone and Dussera came and gone as if nothing has happened in the world on these days. I fretted and fumed and at times cursed the fate of being left in the lurch, when the kith and kin at home were celebrating the festivals in a subdued way in my absence. But Diwali was a different occasion for us in this desert. Though late, we did have our share of happiness this time.
We got together in one of our cells and celebrated Diwali. It was a typical expat way of celebrating a traditional festival. Symbolism galore. A far cry from traditions. But then who is celebrating the festivals in its traditional ways now a days? Onam is a Malayalee festival that has degraded into Stage shows and Liquor parties long time back. Festivals have become an excuse to have a bash, strictly indoors. Liquor flows without any limit accompanied with non-vegetarian food. Where does the spirit of a traditions go? What will we teach our kids regarding the traditions and the traditional way of celebrating the festivals? Though it is a cause for worry, we need not be overly perturbed over this. Time changes everything. Traditions seem to have no place in this commercialized life.
Our management was magnanimous enough to allocate some fund to arrange a get together in the name of Diwali here. This took place on the second day of Diwali. Chivas Regal and Black Label were the chief guests. In fact they are unavoidable guests in any gatherings. It is amazing to see that how much admiration and adoration they command among all fun loving souls.
We had papads, biriyani, salad and then payasam. Everyone enjoyed. This is a rare commodity in the project site. Who can smile when each one is carrying the burden of project on his shoulder? Poor creatures who do not know how to dodge work, work like donkeys. Take all tension on their heads and raises the blood pressure. By the time they start thinking that enough if enough, they realize one more thing that they are sick. Still, the paradox is that, none of them are sure how much can be called enough.
Diwali went on as a cherishable even in the desert this time. The heartening thing was that our mess staff gave us whole hearted support. They all belong to the Gulf countries. They would never have heard of Diwali. Still they cooked good food, served us with an extra smile and made every effort to ensure that we enjoyed every moment of the occasion. The lowly lives too make their life meaningful this way. Everyone has lessons here.
One minor sound followed by ejection of something upward. It went up a few meters, burst into sparks of different hues. All was over in a few seconds. Fifty rupees had just gone up flames. This was what happened when I bought a cracker for my demanding kid. Fifty rupees for a single unit of cracker. I do not think fifty rupees is a small amount. Even after spending three hundred rupees, what I got in a plastic bag was something ridiculous. How come money has no value when it comes to commodities like this?
Have we ever noticed the glowing eyes of a beggar when we hand out a five rupee note to him/her? I don’t remember to have doled out anything higher than this to a beggar however! I know several of my villagers including my cousins who would never have seen a five hundred rupee note. Honestly, when I was buying the crackers at unreasonable prizes, images of these people just flashed though my mind. Though the purse had not pinched, the conscience got a pinch for sure. But where is time to think about them? The edifice must go up and up. I have no other concern. Gandhi beckons. Let me not be distracted from the aim.
Chinese too have a festival like Diwali. They celebrate it in the month of February. It is around 10 days’ festival for them. Entire China comes to a standstill during this period. I feel, our PM need not risk the Chinese fury, if he visits Arunachal Pradesh during this time! People decorate their houses with designs cut out of red coloured papers. Red is the traditional colour of China. On the first day of the festival people burst crackers from the evening till the next day-break. Crores of rupees go up in flames in a single night. The same follows for another two or three more days. All work places remain shut for almost ten days. Even essential commodities shops remain close for two or three days during this festival. This is the occasion of Chinese New Year. I still wonder how the iron fisted government allowed them to enjoy like this when they succeeded in destroying every signs traditions of theirs through the Cultural Revolution.
Onam came and gone, Id came and gone and Dussera came and gone as if nothing has happened in the world on these days. I fretted and fumed and at times cursed the fate of being left in the lurch, when the kith and kin at home were celebrating the festivals in a subdued way in my absence. But Diwali was a different occasion for us in this desert. Though late, we did have our share of happiness this time.
We got together in one of our cells and celebrated Diwali. It was a typical expat way of celebrating a traditional festival. Symbolism galore. A far cry from traditions. But then who is celebrating the festivals in its traditional ways now a days? Onam is a Malayalee festival that has degraded into Stage shows and Liquor parties long time back. Festivals have become an excuse to have a bash, strictly indoors. Liquor flows without any limit accompanied with non-vegetarian food. Where does the spirit of a traditions go? What will we teach our kids regarding the traditions and the traditional way of celebrating the festivals? Though it is a cause for worry, we need not be overly perturbed over this. Time changes everything. Traditions seem to have no place in this commercialized life.
Our management was magnanimous enough to allocate some fund to arrange a get together in the name of Diwali here. This took place on the second day of Diwali. Chivas Regal and Black Label were the chief guests. In fact they are unavoidable guests in any gatherings. It is amazing to see that how much admiration and adoration they command among all fun loving souls.
We had papads, biriyani, salad and then payasam. Everyone enjoyed. This is a rare commodity in the project site. Who can smile when each one is carrying the burden of project on his shoulder? Poor creatures who do not know how to dodge work, work like donkeys. Take all tension on their heads and raises the blood pressure. By the time they start thinking that enough if enough, they realize one more thing that they are sick. Still, the paradox is that, none of them are sure how much can be called enough.
Diwali went on as a cherishable even in the desert this time. The heartening thing was that our mess staff gave us whole hearted support. They all belong to the Gulf countries. They would never have heard of Diwali. Still they cooked good food, served us with an extra smile and made every effort to ensure that we enjoyed every moment of the occasion. The lowly lives too make their life meaningful this way. Everyone has lessons here.
One minor sound followed by ejection of something upward. It went up a few meters, burst into sparks of different hues. All was over in a few seconds. Fifty rupees had just gone up flames. This was what happened when I bought a cracker for my demanding kid. Fifty rupees for a single unit of cracker. I do not think fifty rupees is a small amount. Even after spending three hundred rupees, what I got in a plastic bag was something ridiculous. How come money has no value when it comes to commodities like this?
Have we ever noticed the glowing eyes of a beggar when we hand out a five rupee note to him/her? I don’t remember to have doled out anything higher than this to a beggar however! I know several of my villagers including my cousins who would never have seen a five hundred rupee note. Honestly, when I was buying the crackers at unreasonable prizes, images of these people just flashed though my mind. Though the purse had not pinched, the conscience got a pinch for sure. But where is time to think about them? The edifice must go up and up. I have no other concern. Gandhi beckons. Let me not be distracted from the aim.
Chinese too have a festival like Diwali. They celebrate it in the month of February. It is around 10 days’ festival for them. Entire China comes to a standstill during this period. I feel, our PM need not risk the Chinese fury, if he visits Arunachal Pradesh during this time! People decorate their houses with designs cut out of red coloured papers. Red is the traditional colour of China. On the first day of the festival people burst crackers from the evening till the next day-break. Crores of rupees go up in flames in a single night. The same follows for another two or three more days. All work places remain shut for almost ten days. Even essential commodities shops remain close for two or three days during this festival. This is the occasion of Chinese New Year. I still wonder how the iron fisted government allowed them to enjoy like this when they succeeded in destroying every signs traditions of theirs through the Cultural Revolution.
Hi All,
ReplyDeleteAnd the sequel goes on...
Speaking of traditions, we the malayalis are always adept at changing them to suit our contemporary needs! Onam is an occcasion to booze and have fun and frolic. Agreed. But look at our hindi bhais, North Indians as we call them, who celebrate their festivals. Holi, Diwali, Id, Dussehra, Ganesh Chaturthi. You name it and I'm sure the pictures of true celebration comes alive to our minds. Our close neighbour Tamilian still celebrates his festivals as it was centuries ago. How much have the Dravidian culture changed?
Sadly, Onam sells. And it spells money.
Ratish
Andamans.