Thursday, November 12, 2015

Lights and dreams


Racing down the AJC Bose Road flyover on top of an open truck offers some unique opportunities.
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For example, the chance to produce some very rude noises. Using the long tube balloons freshly bought from Prinsep Ghat, looping them into a U and pinching together just right so that the rushing air in the gap produces some inappropriate soundtracks generally heard after heavy meals. Alongside the ear splitting toots of the dozen odd horns on the trucks and the thrumming of the dhaki's beats, it is a grand/hilarious way to return after our para's Kali Thakur visharjan.
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Having been volunteered, out of the blue, onto the visharjan party while I was busy chomping on a chicken roll, I had no reason to complain. Religion is not my kind of thing but festivals, especially visharjans, are a different matter. Riding, open-top, through the heart of the city, raising a ruckus for no particular reason feels like a prize which I had no part in earning. When requested, by the organizers of our neighbourhood Kali Puja to join in the goodbyes, there was no way I could refuse. Plus, I knew that there was mutton & rice to be served after.
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The city is alive this evening, the annual intersection of Diwali and Kali Puja on full display, even more so from my present mobile vantage point. Tired old houses lining Central Calcutta's roads are decked up in lighting, glittering with their original glory, despite the chipped walls and decaying doors, hidden away by the magic of this night. The teeming pedestrians, dressed to the nines, wander about under a spell of happiness, some in search of the ideal fireworks, others in the more immediate craving for some sort of tasty food. Their movements, chatter and smiles produce a happy hum, clear and distinct and impossible to mistake for anything else. 
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But for a brief moment, I take a step back - tune down the noise of the whistling rockets, gray out the showers of colours in the night skies and mute the turbulent social activity of Diwali - and something even more beautiful shines through. Something far more ancient. Something far more wise.
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It's really basic, the concept of Diwali. At its simplest, it is a diya in the dark, a message that there is no need to fear the unknown that surrounds it. For wherever it goes, the light will show the way. For however far you may be, you cannot ignore that brave little speck of hope. For no matter how cynical and practical and logical you may be, you believe in your heart of hearts that the force of peace and wisdom and goodness will eventually prevail.

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[http://virtual-inksanity.blogspot.in/2015/11/lights-and-dreams.html]

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