"Ganpati Bappa Morya"
Yes, you people are right , the festival season is around and this time I am gonna write about the notorious but extremely intelligent God in Hindu mythology, Lord Ganesha and his day Ganesh Chaturthi . It is among the numerous festivals which are being celebrated by millions of Indians throughout the year with utmost devotion and holiness. But, this time I want to ask one simple question which demands to be answered by the readers if not here in comments then, at least to your inner voice. So here it goes ....
Once in a while , lazy lads like me take a break from our so called busy life ( we all know where we spend most of our time :) :P) and show reverence and adoration for our deity. So, today was one such night . On the auspicious occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi , I along with my friends decided to visit a nearby temple ( to seek forgiveness for all our past sins, apparently).
Just like any other festival , the temple authority had left no stone unturned to make the place look like heaven on earth. It was looking completely different from any usual day. Flower decoration had enhanced its beauty by leaps and bounds, tiny light bulbs on the walls and corners were dazzling like fireflies , millions of them at the same place emitting incandescent light. The marvellous efforts of the Temple authority earned great appreciation from almost every devotee present.
Lost in the serenity of the place , one thing which hit me hard was the long queue outside the temple which, at least some of us who had been to the temple on any festival in the past, were quite aware of . Since there was no shortcut or turning back to home , my friends and I decided to join the queue. Just like everyone around, we all started talking and deliberating on random stuff. My ears were buzzing with sounds from all directions . People were talking about everything but Ganesh Chaturthi or any healthy stuff related to the festival . Everyone was laughing , busy in conveying stories of what their neighbours had done the previous day or their office colleague had done to his wife and what not. But, nobody would try to keep the piousness of the place intact and enjoy the ambience around. Praying was the one last thing everybody around me was thinking about at the moment .
After the fatiguing wait of half an hour or so, we got to step inside the main "Dwaar" and I noticed everybody taking out their cameras or phones. My friends also started clicking pics of everything they found good enough to showcase their photography skills. Since we all want to get hundreds of likes on our facebook and Instagram pictures, therefore nobody wants to miss this opportunity . Not everyday temples glitter like stars and idols dress up with ornaments and dresses so endearing and mesmerising.
And I, being a little god-fearing and stereotyped guy in the crowd tried to convince my friends to stop taking pics and put their cameras back in the pockets, thankfully they did it without arguing. Few steps ahead, we reached the place where the gigantic idol of Lord Ganesha was placed. We were spellbound the moment we saw the colossal image. Dressed up with shimmering clothes, loaded with jewels from head to toe, surrounded by flowers which were making the entire place smell like heaven. It was inexplicable.
I closed my eyes and started demanding certain things and requesting to forgive me for all the bad deeds I did intentionally or unintentionally ( rather than thanking what we have got, we start asking for more which I believe is a human nature, nothing to be ashamed of ). While praying, I heard a voice of the woman standing right behind me saying to another person "Oye SELFIE Lele" (take a selfie ).
What the hell man, you are in a temple right before the God who is meant to worshipped today and what you are asking for ........ Girl, you are more interested in selfie ........ I opened my eyes and saw a heartbreaking scene around me. More than half of the people were busy in taking pictures than praying and I was stunned at the scene. I asked myself ....." dude, you stopped your friends but how could you stop everyone else here ... what difference did you bring by making your friends stop clicking pictures, many more are still doing same".
I'm not saying that I'm some saint or a guy who is rich in values and morals. All I'm trying to imply here is one simple thing "This isn't what defines us " and now I want to ask you people "What are we doing, what are we really up to, where have all our values gone, Is taking a picture more important than praying or self-introspecting for few seconds, what are we gonna make just by getting 100 likes on facebook" .
It's not just today but everyday we do so many things that reflect how shallow our values have become now. These superficial things are taking over the whole world. Earlier we used to capture moments to cherish them in future but now we click them to flaunt our talent and get some false pleasantries.
Once in a blue moon we thought of praying and that too we wasted in clicking Pictures.
