Burn your demons this Dusserah

The last few days have witnessed hectic festivities across the whole country. The Muslim community celebrated Eid-ul-Fitr with lavish feasts after fasting during the month of Ramadan. The whole of India is currently celebrating Durga Puja and Navratri, which will culminate in the grand festivities around Dusserah. Diwali is also around the corner. I sincerely hope the farmers bring home bumper harvests so that they can celebrate in style. I also fervently desire that nothing mar these celebrations across India.

In the last week one saw a few newspaper stories that brought out India’s truly secular ethos like no amount of bombastic speeches by politicians can ever hope to achieve. Three stories stand out which I found very motivating:

The first was about a small hamlet with a mixed Hindu-Muslim population called ‘Bakshi-ka-talab’ on the Lucknow-Sitapur highway, about 15 kilometers from Lucknow. In 1972, a local Muslim trader started a Ram Lila, an enactment of the life and accomplishments of the Hindu Lord Rama using locally available talent. The Ram Lila usually lasts three weeks leading up to Dusserah when Lord Rama slays the evil king Ravana. This Muslim trader played the part of Lord Rama while he was alive. After his demise, the family continued to organize the Ram Lila with family members playing key characters. This year the month of Ramzaan coincided with the Ram Lila.

On a particular day last week the audience of the Ram Lila grew restive when there was an unscheduled break in the proceedings. The audience was unaware and thus started shouting and booing. In a bid to control sentiments the organizers had to announce that the break was needed because Lord Rama had to break his fast and was partaking of the Iftaar, the ritualistic evening meal. The audience was immediately silenced and waited patiently for Lord Rama to finish Iftaar before Ram Lila resumed.

The Second story is about the Muslim community in Bhubaneshwar, the capital city of the eastern coastal state of Orissa. In one colony of the city every year a Durga Puja is arranged by the Muslim residents since last over 40 years. This Puja celebration has witnessed increasing number of mostly Hindu visitors each year to make their offerings to Goddess Durga over five days of festivities with no untoward incident ever reported.

Most of the artisans who create idols of Goddess Durga for these festivities in Orissa and Chattisgarh states are Muslim.

The third story is about the Muslim artisans from a village near Amroha in western Uttar Pradesh who come to Delhi each year to make the simulacrums of King Ravana, His son Indrajit also called Meghnad and his brother the mighty Kumbhkarana. An actor playing Lord Rama in the local Ram Lila destroys the effigies on the day of Dusserah to epitomize the victory of good over evil. On Dusserah Goddess Durga also slayed the demon Mahishasur after nine days of battle.

All the above stories symbolize the secular culture of India. India has over centuries built it so as to make communities inter-dependent and thus avoid skirmishes of any sort. Let no shortsighted political force ever destroy this cherished secular fabric of our society. Let every Indian pledge to burn the demons of communal hatred as we burn the effigies of Ravana, Meghnad and Kumbhakaran and immerse ourselves in love and fellow feeling as we immerse the idols of Goddess Durga so that India can awaken to a new dawn of harmony and peace.

I am sure there must be many more stories of this kind that need to be told. Any reader who knows some similar story, which highlights the secular tradition of our great country, can write in his comments.