With these inherent fixations, these commentaries can't be directed for the due consumption of the native people, as in that case empathy, compassion and an inherent commitment for change & transformation would have been reflective than mere satire and an all round attack on the very civilizational foundations of the natives. If these prophecies are simply meant for the consumption of the foreign alien interests, which can never be wholesome or harmonious in nature, then it's a different subject matter altogether.
Sagarika Ghose is one such Oracle of Gloom whose imaginations run far and wild. In her latest commentary published in Times of India titled 'Santa ki Jai' she goes on her journalistic best to advocate that Christmas is a thoroughly Indian Festival.
If Ms. Ghose would have been a little sympathetic to the Indians at large and would have been a bit more of an insider, she would have better used her gift of the gab to champion a more worthy cause rather than spending her creative energies to put forth an article of gloom for an issue which just doesn't exist.
For a celebrationist civilisation which boasts of 'Saat Vaar and Nau Tyohaar' (7 days and 9 festivals) Christmas is already an integral part of Indian way of life duly recognized and assimilated in the national mainstream like that of Good Friday, like that of Id, Muharram, Guru Parb and all others.
The birth of Christ is a cause of great applause and a source of jubilation for the Indian masses who celebrate the birth and death anniversaries of a large number of gurus, saints and seers. There are ekadashis, pooranmasis, amavasyas, chauths, ashtamis, saptamis and what not bearing their philosophical and religious connotations which are all celebrated in the Indian Households.
There is enough space and accommodation for all celebrations in the Indian way of life that it outsteps the extreme of affecting the productivity of a modern economy at times. Where there is already so much abundance, accommodating a single day should not be and interestingly has never been an issue.
The inherent gloominess of this piece is either an outcome of a mischievous plot or is probably a result of the sheer lack of comprehension emanating from utter ignorance about the machinizations of the Indian mind.
In the Indian tradition, there are layers of festivities. If on an important festival, someone in the family dies, that festival turns into remorse. It's not celebrated in the family till another occasion of joy like the birth of a child supplants the same. It's a fine tradition of locking in and locking out a social occasion.
The aforesaid was a binary case, so easy to understand. Now going a bit deeper, there are festivals over festivals superimposed on each other as layers of design on a Corel Drawl or a Photoshop file. There are mere 365 days in the year, but innumerable number of social occasions which mark the same day. So what you would do? You would simply create a layered framework giving every occasion it's due space.
Now depending on the priority and inclination people choose and celebrate in their own ways and means without getting into the unwarranted discourse of 'Christmas Day as Good Governance Day'.
It was probably not the conspiracy of the stars following the dictum of the marauders of Hindutva that Pt. Madan Mohan Malviya and Atal Bihari Vajpayee were made to share their birthdays with Jesus Christ. To add insult to this injury, these two individuals grew out to be the charismatic mass leaders of the Indian people by their sheer hard work and commitment to the public cause.
We do have many in our extended family whose birthdays co-incide with Janamashtami, Ramnavami. This poor author too shares its birthday with Ramanujaharya as per the lunar calendar. What we then do is to synthesize the large occasion with that of the personal one. My mother never wailed as Ms Ghose seems to be in great slumber that you have capsized the birthday of the great stalwart like Ramanujacharya. It rather amused her that I got to born on the same day as that of a great Vaishnav acharya. The latest always used to take precedence over the old.
If my daughter shares the same birthdate as that of MHRD minister, I would naturally prefer to be in the birthday bash of my little sweetheart while would obviously greet the minister and an elder sister duly as well. I don't see any contradiction or controversy in this modus operandi.
Why can't the Good Governance Day superimpose on the Christmas festivities? Why can't the Indian kid be tuned in to this glorious tradition of synthesis whereby he is made to celebrate not just one, but 3 birthdays in one go. He would get inspired by the life and times of these stalwarts in their own spaces and would somewhere create a differentiated impact through his well led life.
The life and times of Malviya ji and Vajpayee ji are a great source of invitation for the Indian people. By juxtaposing the celebration of their appearance day, with the core central mission of Good Governance of the present disposition should be a cause of great satisfaction rather than remorse to these observers of Indian Public Life. We can always dilute the intention and integrity of an action, but as a refresher why can't we see the immense beauty and effectivity of the entire proposition?
School kids or for that matter, citizenry of a knowledge civilization harboured in a sovereign nation state having a democratically elected majority government should not be treated like an imperial sheep. Their innate intrinsic inclinations and aspirations need to be respected and adhered to.
I have no qualm in being one with Ms Ghose in accepting the fact that all the colors of India are represented at Christmas. Then why not add a couple more.
Ms Ghose, let's shed off this gloom and gear up to celebrate the Good Governance Day on Christmas. You certainly would do a great piece on that.
Can there be any better service to Christ who always worked for the poorest of the poor?
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