The religious dimension has gone missing. We seem to have reduced it to commerce, chaos, and the fog that envelopes the city. Most Indians, living on the margins, are excluded from this bonfire of consumption.
I love lighting my house on Diwali, the daughter tried her hand at rangoli, the maid was delighted with her gifts, mithai boxes were distributed, I prepared and lit traditional oil diyas at a friend’s house, lost a modest sum of money at cards, and developed a respiratory allergy by the time the evening ended.
It was Diwali as usual.
But watching the fire-crackers light up the sky, the wanton manner in which noise and air pollution continued in Delhi (all in the spirit of the festival of course) I have come to the conclusion that if we were industrially as advanced as western countries we would be one of the worst polluters in the world.
We are getting all indignant and self righteous about the climate- change debate and the idea of putting a cap on Indian industry. Good luck to our negotiators who must protect what they see as the national interest, but I do believe that we are not at the forefront of polluting the world only because we can’t do it. We just don’t have the power capacity and are not a developed society. But hey, we are trying our very best!
Our sloth and general lack of civic values would make us terrible polluters if we were a truly industrialized nation. And we would do so without taxing our conscience and not carry any burden of guilt. The entire climate- change debate is based on saving the globe for future generations. We are people who do not bat an eyelid before dumping our garbage in front of the neighbours home. We do not look beyond our own front porch, let alone the world or the future of the globe.
As for Diwali, besides the fact that it mucks up the environment, I also believe that we have devised an entire festival that is based on wanton consumption and destruction. Don’t get me wrong, I mostly enjoy festival season and the great sense of community that comes with it. But let’s look at the manner in which the so called celebrations have evolved. At one level, isn’t Diwali a wonderful cover to give and accept bribes, small and large, in the form of gifts?
The economy is supposed to be down, we are all bearing the brunt of the slow-down, yet there were traffic jams across the city in the week preceding Diwali as people shopped and zig zagged the city delivering gifts. With my own resources depleted and prices hitting the roof, I must confess to thinking resentfully: Who are the people who have so much money to shop?
In Delhi, the huge hike in government salaries would certainly have dramatically improved the purchasing power of the large community of bureaucrats and government employees. But the main reason for the crowded markets, I suspect, is black money. There is still so much of it going a round that it has kept the economy afloat. In a country where a parallel economy thrives and no deal is signed without a kick-back, is it not in the natural progression of things that we have evolved a festival that legitimises bribe-giving and taking?
I know there is a religious dimension to the entire celebration. But, ultimately, shouldn’t all religion be about compassion? Most Indians still live on the margins and are excluded from this bonfire of consumption. Doesn’t true faith and devotion only come from simple living and high thinking? Surely not from a wild shopping spree followed by a reckless bursting of crackers?
I love shopping, getting gifts and celebrating with friends and family. But see no higher purpose to the entire tamasha. There is only commerce, chaos, and the fog that envelopes the city.