It matters to me
http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/mar/07up.htm
http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/mar/07up1.htm
Blasts in Varanasi. Multiple blasts. On a Tuesday, a few minutes before the aarthi at 6:30 PM in Sankatmochan temple. My aunt decided not to wait for that aarthi because the temple was very crowded, there was a wedding going on in the community hall as well. Missed it by a few minutes. The blast I mean. It scares me every time I think about it.
It enrages me. It pains me. Sankatmochan is not just another old Hindu place of worship to me. Its so much more. I have childhood memories of going to the temple, with the entire family. The smell of tulasi garlands, the aarthi in the evening, the orange pillars, of the old well in the center, the chants of Hanuman Chalisa, of us kids running around the courtyard, of waiting in line for one of the older members of the family to bring the prasad (laddu and channa) and trying to grab fistfuls of it. Memories of monkeys running around in the temple and on the huge trees, of them trying to grab the prasad from us to stuff it in their jaws.
It is the place that I think of when I say the Hanuman Chalisa each day, the old idol, the sticky orange tilak and the aarthi.
It is my faith. It was violated and it matters to me. It irritates me no end to know that as an immediate measure, all the temples nearby (there are so many of them) were closed. For 'security' reasons. There is no confidence, no assurance provided by the government that you will not get your head blown off if you do make the mistake of going to a temple. Pray at your own risk if you happen to be a Hindu who likes to go to temples.
The callousness of it all is a different angle of anger all together. How can anyone do that? It was a Tuesday and the temple is most crowded on Tuesdays. Government figures say 12 people died. I find that hard to believe.
I dont know what course of action justice will take. Frankly speaking, I dont have too many expectations. Simply because it was an act of crime against the Hindu. We have a 'secular' set up. Which is not to be confused with 'whats sauce for goose is sauce for gander'. It translates in to, 'you are better off being a minority'. We will appease you till we die. And we will win the election.
Sometimes I feel its better of not having faith in any religion. Because then none of these acts seem personal. A temple is just another building and deaths are just statistics. And you dont have to 'feel' that it really is not fair anymore. Its all just a sensational headline that you can forget and get involved with your life when you wake up the next morning....or maybe it doesnt stay with you even that long! So what if a bunch of Hindu worshippers lost their limbs? Its an even better arguement. Where was your God when you were being targetted?
Why is it so difficult to be a Hindu in India in today's times?
http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/mar/07up1.htm
Blasts in Varanasi. Multiple blasts. On a Tuesday, a few minutes before the aarthi at 6:30 PM in Sankatmochan temple. My aunt decided not to wait for that aarthi because the temple was very crowded, there was a wedding going on in the community hall as well. Missed it by a few minutes. The blast I mean. It scares me every time I think about it.
It enrages me. It pains me. Sankatmochan is not just another old Hindu place of worship to me. Its so much more. I have childhood memories of going to the temple, with the entire family. The smell of tulasi garlands, the aarthi in the evening, the orange pillars, of the old well in the center, the chants of Hanuman Chalisa, of us kids running around the courtyard, of waiting in line for one of the older members of the family to bring the prasad (laddu and channa) and trying to grab fistfuls of it. Memories of monkeys running around in the temple and on the huge trees, of them trying to grab the prasad from us to stuff it in their jaws.
It is the place that I think of when I say the Hanuman Chalisa each day, the old idol, the sticky orange tilak and the aarthi.
It is my faith. It was violated and it matters to me. It irritates me no end to know that as an immediate measure, all the temples nearby (there are so many of them) were closed. For 'security' reasons. There is no confidence, no assurance provided by the government that you will not get your head blown off if you do make the mistake of going to a temple. Pray at your own risk if you happen to be a Hindu who likes to go to temples.
The callousness of it all is a different angle of anger all together. How can anyone do that? It was a Tuesday and the temple is most crowded on Tuesdays. Government figures say 12 people died. I find that hard to believe.
I dont know what course of action justice will take. Frankly speaking, I dont have too many expectations. Simply because it was an act of crime against the Hindu. We have a 'secular' set up. Which is not to be confused with 'whats sauce for goose is sauce for gander'. It translates in to, 'you are better off being a minority'. We will appease you till we die. And we will win the election.
Sometimes I feel its better of not having faith in any religion. Because then none of these acts seem personal. A temple is just another building and deaths are just statistics. And you dont have to 'feel' that it really is not fair anymore. Its all just a sensational headline that you can forget and get involved with your life when you wake up the next morning....or maybe it doesnt stay with you even that long! So what if a bunch of Hindu worshippers lost their limbs? Its an even better arguement. Where was your God when you were being targetted?
Why is it so difficult to be a Hindu in India in today's times?