LET'S CELEBRATE SARCASM

DUSHEHRA- A Hindu festival which marks the victory of good over evil, a day when Goddess Durga defeated Mahishasura and Lord Rama defeated Ravana. "Dash hara" is a sanskrit word which means removal of ten bad qualities within you. The ten of them being- ego, cruelity, injustice, lust, anger, greed, over pride, jealousy, attachment & selfishness. So celebrating Dushehra means analysing your evils and removing them keeping in mind the lessons of the past (well theoretically it means so!!!). Dushehra also happens to mark a holiday in most parts of India.

Today it is Dusherhra. In the morning when I checked my  accounts in social websites, I found them overflowing with Vijayadashmi wishes. Lengthy messages which people usually forward without reading, seemed strange to me. It made me wonder how we can criticise someone like  Ravana when the imperfections and sin within each one of us has increased manifold of what he had.

Ravana was a mage having some qualities which even Rama lacked. He was someone whose greatness in knowledge, glory, force & devotion were unmatchable. Even after holding hostage the wife of his enemy he treated her with utmost respect. If we think logically he was someone who died for his sister's pride. He is still worshipped in parts of India, Sri Lanka & Indoneshia. He is considered to be the most revered devotee of Shiva.

Later when I went to market I could see numerous effigies of Ravana being made which will be burnt in the evening. Those effigies are usually made of fodder with snaps at places within. I realised that how in the evening they will  burn & the smoke will make the sky almost invisible. What a way to celebrate end of evil !!!

I noticed how some people had arranged loudspeakers for music while they worked on the figure. Those loudspeakers played typical Bollywood songs and only some of them played devotional songs. The irony wasn't lost on me when I heard songs like "Munni badnam hui" and "jumma chumma dede" being played.

That is what we have come to, in some way- we burn the effigy of evil but fail to realize that the evil within us continues becoming stronger and if we compare ourselves with the one who is being burnt we will know how ahead we are of it in terms of evil.
HAPPY DUSHEHRA