Sunday, September 03, 2006

This is Ganpati time in Pune. There's a lot of fun and pomp in the air. Ganpati means a lot of tradition. Because of all the things you don't do, right on top is that you do not piss off the Elephant God. People shall follow the tradition to a T. So much that if there's so much as a missing lotus leaf, it's anathema. Kids are taught right from childhood the aartis and shlokas that go along with the festival. The discipline is such that if you offer someone prasad, the right hand automatically comes forward, because you do not (under any circumstances) take prasad with your left hand. Even Muslims who do not believe in idol worship know that you do not take prasad with your "southpaw".

 

If matters related to God can bring about such strict discipline in us desis, why is it so tough for them to wait the few extra seconds at a traffic light? Why does one need to pee on the road? Do we need a new God who can instill the fear (of God) in them to get some discipline in their public behavior? What happened to all those supposed godmen, swamis, imams, reverends and other men of God? Where are they when we need them? How can Fire be anti – Hindu but breaking traffic lights is not? Why do you need to enforce singing of Vande Mataram but have no qualms urinating on it? How is the length of Sania Mirza's skirt un-Islamic, but bombing your fellow people while they are at work not? People often told me when we were in the US, that I might get very disappointed with India.

 

India is fine. It's the Indians that are making a mess of it.