Monday, September 17

Just what is it that is so darn annoying about Ganesh Chaturthi? Is it the generous splattering of the pandals after every kilometer? Or perhaps the sight of half-naked, drunk men dancing on Himesh songs on most of these pandals? Or the pink water that is splashed on exactly the same men from a system of sprinklers fastened on top of poles? I just have no idea. It’s like it’s impossible to pick the best one. I’ve seen Diwali in most North and West Indian states and it’s nothing like this. Even Durga Puja in Calcutta is civil, Bengalis being themselves. Is this some sort of a phenomena that only happens here? The matter being in question the obscenely exaggerated method of celebrating festivals. Even those that have absolutely nothing to do with one’s own religion. I’ve seen this crap on Durga Puja and Christmas too. I understand that the Shiv Sainiks need a booze party in close intervals but why must it have a religious connotation that makes anyone who has a problem with it look like a racist and secessionist prick?
So you can’t say anything in Maharashtra because oh look this State contributes so much tax and the people are generally intolerant about their Gods and warriors so you better not mess with them. Cool, so if I have an insane desire to discuss Shivaji and his conquests in an auto-rickshaw, then I would do so in English. And Muslims shouldn’t really be blamed for their intolerance because oh look the whole fucking world is scheming against them and there are a few chosen people who have to save the day from infidels. So if they paralyze machinery across countries because someone made a Prophet cartoon in some Danish newspaper, then it ought to be totally understood on grounds of secularism, the number of Muslims reading Danish newspapers being what it is. And if M.F. Hussain desires to paint Hindu goddesses in the nude, then for humanity’s sake let him because he’s the most successful artist we’ve ever had and he can’t possibly be expected to explain himself as those Gods belong to India as a whole and we are just the sort of community that likes to be made a joke of. And why do you ask him if he would dare to paint a similar portrait of the Prophet, considering the artist in question has been a devout Muslim his entire life and it would certainly seem more reasonable for him to think of him as a religious figure at times of artistic inspiration? But don’t you know that Muslims are intolerant of that as they can’t make an image of their God and c’mon..we ought to respect that.
So if everyone’s feelings and faith are so widely acknowledged, then why do Hindus get the raw deal? Now I haven’t been to a temple in years, do not know the Gayatri Mantra and am generally agnostic. This is not a question of ‘my people’ and ‘my side’ being treated badly. But even a person like me is incensed at this whole Ram Sethu controversy. Something like this can only happen if the Congress is in power. Why do you have keep hitting against a section of the population just to see how long it’ll take before they get pissed off? The Ramayana may not mean much to me and I would be doubtful of its entire existence. Just like I don’t believe that Muhammad recited the entire Quran in someone’s ear. But the story is so entrenched in my childhood that I always stop and watch if I pass a Ram Lila during Dusshera because it reminds me of my Grandmother. It reminds me of even when she was close to losing all her sensory abilities, her face would still light up in the morning on the way to the temple. And she would sit with us on Dusshera and recount of all that Ram did, and how Sita was the most perfect wife ever. And how Hanuman actually tore his heart out …. And she would be excited. And that was because she was passing on something to me. This was right up with putting mehndi and oil in my hair. And for an illiterate woman who felt confused with my life beyond the house, it was satisfying to pass on heritage. It doesn’t matter to her if, hypothetically, I do believe the Ramayana, then I would surely be disgusted with Sita’s subservience. And declare Ram to be a chauvinist who took so much out of the poor woman, much less a man worthy of worship.
But this is what religion gives to most people. You cannot question the existence for people who believe in what it does for them. It’s like you cannot imagine life without computers, faith is exactly that for more people than you can ever imagine, and it wasn’t even invented in the near past. And if we are mature enough to give it to most religions, then why not Hinduism? Inviting an American agency like NASA to comment on the veracity of the story that is intrinsic to the faith of so many people? Why the hell should they be allowed to decide if the bridge was actually built or not? Are Indian scientists called to comment on the existence of Christ? Or, are navigators called to comment on that? Now it’s just a sleet of corals and let’s not be agitated over that. This is not about the point of having a huge maritime project on a site like that. Technology and money has altered our perception enough for the project to make a lot of sense and even be accepted. But not when all that you believe in is debunked because it’s convenient to do it.




I’ve started watching cricket again. And it’s so much fun to just sit at home and scream like an idiot and have such a wonderful feeling of oneness with everyone around me. Yeah man, the new team is all killer stuff and all Pakis suck. You just say that and life is all bright again. Am I the only one who thinks bowl outs are friggin stupid? Although it was a lot of fun to scream out loud everytime Pakistan missed it, or alternately when India hit it. Now I know why Sehwag was laughing so much. Oooh, look at these dumb fucks, they have all fast paced bowlers, we got spinners, we know how it works so they are suckers. But its fun in an Indo-Pak match, pretty soon it’s going to get so boring because everyone will figure out tricks and it’ll be pointless. And really, it’s like gulley cricket. At least they should have a batsman there. Don’t make it look like a bad copy of football. But oh wait, I’m a woman commenting on cricket. Aaaaah.

10 comments:

Spider42 said...

oh man.. i hate religion!
...ok, i dont hate it totally, i respect what it was meant to be and what it can do for people... being a cynic i believe in only a few things and understand the strength that faith can give, but religion today is the biggest load of horsec*** i know of.. it puts politicians to shame!
The problem is that religion is now an excuse for messed up behaviour.. repentance and all that shite is something that im not even gonna start on cos then ill keep going like the energiser bunny..
more specifically, relating to your post: we give so much to muslims, not cos we love or respect their faith so much, but cos we're afraid of them! same goes for christians btw.. christian fundies are just as bad and so are hindu fundies..
but islamic goons are the only ones who're blowing innocent people up at the drop of a hat, so...
i dont get that though, killing innocents is just a way of forcing a hand, it doesnt solve anything, doesnt reconcile anything, just makes things worse.
I dont agree with the NASA thing and trying to disprove the legends, but theres any number of reasons besides that to let it be like the fact thats reefs are essential to protect coasts from the dangers of the ocean (tsunami anyone?). the thing is, hindus and hinduism should be more mature then other religions simply because it is a spirituality older than almost all the others, but sadly even hinduism isnt what it was meant to be.. it wasnt meant to have idols, that was just insecure human nature looking for a humanised almighty.. religions should be left alone, and they shouldnt be such a thorn, but they are..
why? because though religion should have matured after all this time, people havent and until we do as people, things will always be the same..
ok, ranted long and hard, thanks for your patience.
cheers..

Renovatio said...

For the longest time I thought I was an atheist, and a positive one at that, those being atheists for who there's no god, but there might be one for you. Someone sent me the only true article on uncyc, This one. I think I've found my faith. I really couldn't give a crap, and sincerely feel if everyone was just happy with their own faiths and not how others portrayed them, we'd be living in a happier frigging place.

Spider42 said...

renovatio man, i used to think i was an aethist too, but then one day i realised that the only spiritual path for me was to follow the way of the cynic and its been true to me ever since..
but your way seems pretty intruguing too... will look into it, the joy of my religion is that it doesnt really care what i do..

LostLittleGirl said...

dude: Fundamentalism in any form is ridiculous. This aggression, which currently is primarily Islamic is because none of them understand that all religions say the same thing and no one is a threat to each other. And they all treated women like shit. So for me, religion and it's baggage doesn't mean anything at all. And just as I would expect people to respect this fact, it makes sense to do the same for them. All of us have really reached another place...in terms of thought and theories. But religion was a thought in a different time-frame for too many people.
Nothing is what it used to be..I just know that I'd rather have faith in things I see.

renovatio: I think a lot of us used to think that we are atheists, but it wears off. The only thing that works for me now is not giving a rat's ass. You can have your ideas, but you really don't care.

LostLittleGirl said...

dude:Faith of a different kind..like the inherent devil of man. Every man. Now I have faith in that. ha ha

Jappy Boy/Man said...

Very well written. But you know the fundamental problem with Hinduism is that we have a couple of B@st@rds like Karunanidhi who himself is supposed to be a hindu and a polygamist, will actually come and speak crap about Hindu gods. "Secular parties" like the left and the congress will say its a personal view. but the same set of Idiots and karunanidhi will be up in arms when somebody in Denmark/Netherlands draws a cartoon remarking the prophet. I mean how many of them actually saw what the cartoon was?? Now we have a case where a demon like ravana is glorified and Rama is insulted and noone is ready to do a thing! The only goons who dared to display their protests in a violent manner are behind bars!!
What apathy of the country's Majority religion!!

Renovatio said...

You really didn't check that link did you, that's exactly what apatheism's all about :p

LostLittleGirl said...

Ya well Karunanidhi is a Dravidian so he has to do everything in his capacity to hit against Hinduism in general. That could be ranting for grants in favour of Muslim universities or refusing the existence of Ram. Funny thing is that he says that Ram is a drunkard as said by Valmiki and at the same time he refuses to believe his existence. So this idiot needs to read his press releases twice. Dravidians are a bit like Bangladeshis in this respect..like running with the Pakistan flag during Indo-Pak matches. At least the Ulfa is angry enough. The Congress obviously won't, vote bank and similar vagaries of Indian politics.

renovatio: Ha ha. You're psychic aren't you. I finally read it..makes a lot of sense. I think I finally found something to reconcile with. Like recently this Bohri Muslim man got over-friendly with me whenever I took my dog out for a walk. And when he invited himself to cook beef in my house I saw floating visions of my family while I asked him to fuck off in the most civil way possible. I didn't understand my reaction then, considering beef is second to pork in my life. But now I do.

Spider42 said...

welcome to the fold then dear heart.. ;)

Renovatio said...

Two muslims and two hindus and I went and got beef steaks for lunch and pork chops for dinner a few days ago. We all believe that if you're gonna eat meat at all, might as well eat all of it.