Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Indian idiosyncrasies

Busy bustling road, a banyan tree unnoticed, coffee shop bursting with ever-so-boisterous teenagers, office goers slamming cab doors to vent out what they went through during the day. Amidst all this, an ordinary looking man, (could belong to any profession, really!! Listing ones most popular in that area, broker, RBI clerk, church gate staff, just anyone!), takes out this idol and photograph of a saintly looking man (read heavily bearded) and guess what! He begins performing poojas and singing bhajans for it with incense sticks and all the paraphernalia, looked like he was absolutely prepared to pull off this stunt…. Soon, people started gathering around him, hopeful street children started clapping, ever-so-inquisitive firangs who looked in amusement (everything in India seems to amuse them !!!!), the youth leaving the coffee shop looked skeptically, all the office-goers seemed to offer their salutations, and all of this WITHOUT once questioning who was being worshipped or who began the whole charade ! tsk-tsk !!