Driving back to my parents' house today, the festivity in the air dawned upon me... A little belatedly, one would think. Th festive season has been around for quite some time now - Navratras, Durga Puja.. and finally tomorrow, Dussehra. The fact that my last few visits home have been in mourning for my grandmother explains the absentia of festivities in my family. But what really struck me was the its insignificance in my life. As I drove through a massive traffic jam, presumably people going to visit their families and friends, I wondered if I would ever do the same. Or would I be going home from work on Dussehra or Diwali or Holi all my life, celebrating only the fact that I have a holiday from work... or perhaps not even that. I don't say this with a sense of loss. For me, Psychology is my religion, and I would rather spend my day working, or reading rather than burning effigies. But in our country, religion has been a necessity... for some an escape from the disappointments of reality, for some their impetus, for some a defence against their own morbid thoughts, while for others, only a matter of convenience. But to be an atheist in India, or even a non-practicing theist is a rarity. If not on one's own will, everyone is forced into some or other form of religious rites and rituals as a social obligation.
But today, I see a whole generation that is renouncing the traditions and customs. Each one does it in their own special way... each with its good and bad. The educated, urban Indian is no longer superstitious, doesn't believe in extravagant havans and pujas, or the dispensable customs and traditions that have been followed blindly for many generations. Call it lack of time, or just a lack of belief, religion is taking a backseat in everyone's lives. Dussehra, Diwali and other festivals are no longer celebrated for their mythological significance, but only in the spirit of a respite from the hustle - bustle of city life. At a personal level, this is perhaps a progressive change. We are moving from being a collectivistic nation to an individualistic nation. But this metamorphosis comes with the price of loosening of family values, a very high vulnerability of the propelling generation to various stressors, with compromised coping mechanisms, the development of a huge schism between personal needs and wishes, and social duty. The big price, however, that we have to pay for this is the departure from being social animals to becoming schizoid. Although reversible, this repurcussion is the weightiest for the ones who are actively living this change, practically split between multiple roles - of a professional, of a homemaker, a friend, a sister... And how does one cope up with this? By building a whole universe that is very private and too sacred to share with anyone, thus widening the gap between oneself and others... The Advent of The Sole Warrior!
2 comments:
you are mixing religion and tradition...
perhaps. this post was written in a conundrum... so it might not make too much sense to you... but to me, it makes complete sense. perhaps it needs to be elucidated a little bit to get across to other people...
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