Navratri - The Art of Dancing

 

As fall descends upon the east cost of United States and makes people cringe at the thought of summer getting over, there is a community that is waiting all year just for autumn to begin. For autumn means Garba season is about to start. Garba is one form of Indian folk dance that has kept up with the times and have added flavor from the present era. From heart surgeons to hip hop kids, all ascend to the area school gyms or convention centers over the weekend to dance at the beats of the Dhol. 

Navratri is nine nights of garba, but we non-resident Indians have adjusted Navratri as per our schedule. Instead of nine successive nights, we celebrate it over four weekends. The working women and men, dressed in business casual clothes from 9 to 5, toss them aside as soon as they get home to garb themselves in stunning ghaghra/choli, kurta/pyjamas and head to temples, school gyms and arenas. Navratri is a medley of dance, fun, festivities, bonhomie and religious devotion. The resounding drumbeats, the chimes of the bell, the synchronized claps, everything comes in the perfect rhythm.

Garba’s are so electrifying, and mood is so contagious that spectators become performers. Being an ardent garba fan, I manage to shake a leg or two whenever I get a chance. It’s unfortunate that my passion for garba doesn’t reflect on my steps. A few of my friends & family have tried to teach me over the years and have lost hope. There is a famous Amitabh Bachchan dialogue, “Hum jahan khade ho jaate hain, line wahi se shuru hoti hain.” In my case, it’s the otherway round…”Hum jahan khade ho jaate hain, line wahi pe samapt ho jati hai.” But I don’t let my Sunny Deol syndrome stop me from enjoying the beats of the dhol.

This Navratri, let’s all bask in the glory of music and dance. Let the nine nights of Navratri pulsate with positive vibes and high energy.

Time for India to Bite the Bullet!!

Japanese PM was visiting India to lay the foundation stone for India’s first High Speed Rail (HSR) or Bullet train project. Does a country that can’t even maintain its 150 year old railway infrastructure, need an ultra-luxury, super-fast train?

I was struggling to find a justification for this project and then I read about a comment made by Chairman of Railway board in 1969 – “India does not need a Rajdhani Express. In a poor country such air conditioned trains are luxuries, best avoided”. Have Time brought us back to the same crossroads where a nation has to decide on a path breaking project to lead the way for the following decades? Thankfully the Chairman was overruled, and today we have Rajdhanis, Shatabdis, Durontos, Gatimaans and many other AC express trains.

That was not an isolated incident, Delhi Metro project was criticised for being very expensive and elitist. But today ridership of Delhi Metro is at a record level and it is world’s fourth largest network. It will jump to second, after completion of Phase IV. Advent of Metro has expanded the reach of Delhi by creating jobs and development of the whole NCR (National Capital Region). Even the Maruti Suzuki project and the Bombay-Pune Express highway was seen as an elitist project during the inception. But today both those projects are seen as a turning point in their respective sectors.

Expectation from Bullet Train project is to see an entire ecosystem come up around manufacturing of bullet trains, creation of value-chain, with thousands of suppliers. Most significantly we will be able to climb the value chain for infrastructure projects and in future might export the same knowledge to other developing countries.

Just as an Aam Admi is riding on a Delhi Metro for a daily commute and travels cross country on one of the AC trains, in a few decades, we hope they will be riding one of many high speed trains crisscrossing the nation.

Business of Faith

In Hinduism, Heart is declared as the resting ground for Faith. Faith, has a great significance in Hindu culture. Faith, also known as Shraddha in Sanskrit is the central pillar to spiritual practice. Faith depends upon neither proof nor reason but belief in something that you feel is true. May be this aspect of faith or blind faith creates an enduring fascination for hordes of people in India towards Godmen and their miracles.

Blind faith, as proven many a times in India, knows no religion or class. Pop up dargahs under trees, a saffron cloth tied to an idol in the middle of nowhere are the symbols of flourishing business of superstitions in India. Even India’s upper class are obsessive followers of Godmen, as if they need constant re-assurances of their wellbeing - fingers full of rings, adding vowels to their name and dropping them at an astrologers scare.

India’s politicians are again at fault here. They are the ones who legitimize this Godmen by bringing them in the public domain by taking their blessings and attending there extravagant shows. Politicians have right to follow their faith but it should be kept private. The moment it becomes public, the faith turns into superstition, the followers become vote banks and devotion becomes a lucrative business.

I don’t feel bad for the elite class who spend their fortune at a jeweller or donate it to a Godmen, but it hurts when poor become victim of this heinous crime. It feels even worst when women and underage girls are raped in the name of religion. It’s a pity that modern, globalized, educated, cultured India is still obsessed with a fellow human being, who portrays him/her selves as a supreme being by doing outlandish things.

We are a nation that prides in its culture, heritage and education but all of this comes with a caveat…we are ridiculously superstitious!! It’s high time we find faith within over selves instead of immature spirituality based on superstitions and rituals offered by Godmen.