I agree that we need to be careful whom we are directing our anger against.
While smaller pandals run by children and in villages around Bangalore have just been that - small, am seeing a larger face showing up - large pandals, speakers and crackers through the night, processions that linger in front of mosques for no good reason. There has been a weaponisation of Ganesha this time, at least in Karnataka. I do long for the smaller festivals from decades ago. Hopefully we can get to a stage where we can share the prasad and the festival with people of other faiths instead of using it as an occassion to provoke them.
Yes, you are right about the provocation. The ones who provoke have similarly bought into the notion that if we bully the littlest we are building something big. Yes, most festivals are weaponized- with chants to Ganpati or even Durga Maa being accompanied by JSR.
Well nuanced, thank you!
I agree that we need to be careful whom we are directing our anger against.
While smaller pandals run by children and in villages around Bangalore have just been that - small, am seeing a larger face showing up - large pandals, speakers and crackers through the night, processions that linger in front of mosques for no good reason. There has been a weaponisation of Ganesha this time, at least in Karnataka. I do long for the smaller festivals from decades ago. Hopefully we can get to a stage where we can share the prasad and the festival with people of other faiths instead of using it as an occassion to provoke them.
Yes, you are right about the provocation. The ones who provoke have similarly bought into the notion that if we bully the littlest we are building something big. Yes, most festivals are weaponized- with chants to Ganpati or even Durga Maa being accompanied by JSR.