Festivals- Private and Public

What exactly is the purpose of a festival? I am not really a religious guy, but this is not about religion anyhow. It is about the festivals, traditionally celebrated by us.

To my mind, it is to bring joy and peace to ourselves, and maybe to others. Whatever we want to practice in terms of rituals and diet etc. is our business, and no one else's. Similarly, what other people practice at home as their rituals, diets, etc. is their business, not ours. That is not only fair, it is also a sensible, common-sensical approach.

Why the State wants to get into this and muddy the waters for people, giving a chance to all kinds of strife, is what beats me. The State must endeavour to maintain peace rather than stir things up, in my view. If it is not doing that, it is a failure of Governance, however small. Something to think about.

Formulas and Controversies

Yeh Formula 1 kya cheez hai bhai? P.T. Usha of Olympics' just-missed-the-bronze fame has criticised Formula 1 in India as a waste of money. But then, except for some roti, kapda , makaan, and admission fees for kids, everything else is- a waste of money.

We as a culture believe in the formula. We have a formula for everything under the sun-and the moon. From suhaag raat to karva chauth, everything has a formula. Even though the grandmas who seem to know the formulas have mostly migrated from homes to Ekta Kapoor serials these days, come the event, they seem to reappear out of the woodwork and start dictating how things should be done. Gaddafi would feel slighted (if he were alive) at the absolute authority they wield at such times. For example, Indian Gods have to be appeased with 5 fruits at each Pooja, it appears. No wonder fruit-sellers make hay every time a Pooja is around the corner- and one always is.

We have a formula for Hindi movies, where a happy ending is a must. No harm in that, because after paying hard earned money to rich multiplex owners, the least you should expect in return is a happy ending, no? Therefore, tearjerkers are out, and it is happiness most of the time. But the art of copying never dies, however much we try. So we must also copy some tried and tested formulas from Hollywood, like Supermen. Krish and Ravan. Rather, Ra.One.