Jathra
As a society how have we progressed (or regressed) to the point that we need to be in contact at all times? Is a Blackberry necessary? Do we really care/need to update our “status” on facebook? What in the human condition has created this need for information and accessibility into each others lives? Last time I checked, the Earth still rotated at 90mph, the moon completed its orbit every 30 days and there is still 1440 minutes in the day. What has happened to American culture?
While the internet has given us access to a near infinite amount of information it has created a generation of zombie like children that are more in tune to video games than to what season it is outside. Why bother playing tag with your next-door neighbor when you can talk to them on IM?
The IT boom has given the Indian economy and culture an infusion that it never was prepared for. Everyone from peasants to politicians can be seen chatting on a cell phone; whether they’re riding their motorcycle or waving for their driver to speed up. MTV is in every household with a television, satellite dishes can be found on roofs of huts in slums.
More than ever Indians don’t want to be Indians anymore, they want to be Americans. They want Dominos, KFC and Pizza Hut while Americans want yoga, spiritual clarity and to wear a Bindi (a la Gwen Stefani) or Henna.
Why does a culture that’s been around for 7,000 years want to imitate a culture that hasn’t even been around for 600 years? Are they ashamed? Are they bored? What is so special about American culture that it is being imitated from Bejiing to Bangalore? They say a man loses his path when he forgets where he started, what is in store for the youth of India if they continue on the current path of imitation?
Jathra is anything but American, its India at its finest. At any hour there are people urinating in the gutter on the side of the street, lines of people around the block lining up for a meal, teams of cooks beginning their work at 5 am stirring massive vats of rice, drummers pounding kick drums that make John Bonham sound like New Order, people gathering around a fire in the morning in the same field they slept in. If look down long enough you can see women withstanding smoke for hours straight, just so you can pledge your love to God in the form of a rupee. This is Jathra, this is India, this is Hinduism, take it or leave it, the religion and culture has been here for 7,000 and many more to come.
This sleepy village is normally home to a couple hundred residents. During Jathra it hosts nearly a quarter million people and subsequently explodes into a smorgasbord of food, color and music for 5 days. The music only stops for 3 hours a day so the musicians can take a break and get ready for their day. People line up for 100’s of yards to eat with their brothers, sisters and whomever they meet along the way. No one fights for his or her position in line (they know everyone will eat in due time), no one is sneaking in booze and there are enough smiles to equal the streets paved with dust. Everyday the cooks prepare on average of 10 tons of rice give or take 2 tons. Rarely do you see a plate wasted and you would be searching to find a complaint or unsatisfied belly.
