Diwali, bombs, fundamentalism, gay rights et al

Seems like the recent lack of catharsis has been mounting pushing me to disgorge what is sure to be a load of well...mostly caustic observations about this place we call the world..this desolate, cynical, world. Yes this is going to be morbid..where do I begin:

- Fundamentalist Diwali: It seems like festivals in India are a good way for people to escape the essence of the places we live in & also for politicians to be seen distributing awards, handing out sops to the underprivileged & to be seen as noble guardians. Ok...lets put the politicians aside for now. Diwali for me has always been about renewing goals & a new beginning. But it wasn't to be this time around. For starters, my city lay literally in tatters before the start of the festival. Ravaged roads, chaotic traffic & a blustering, idiotic, bumbling old fool of a politician who the newspapers & media brand as a "supremo" ejaculating nonsensical opinions about one of the few things my city does right, only went on to increase my ire.

I digress now but bear with me. I have to date never voted in an Indian election thanks mainly to the fact that I have been abroad but I am sorely disappointed in the electorate of the state for having this clumsy, rudderless coalition government in place.

Coming back to the focus of my frustration - how can one celebrate anything when each time one ventures onto the roads, being seriously maimed is almost a certainty? What am I supposed to celebrate? The fact that every trip on these hellish roads for me is akin to Lord Ram's return on the dark night after having vanquished the demon Ravan? Some sort of divine message I am not sage enought to see?

Right, so as is evident my festive spirit was not at its best and to exacerbate matters came these other fundamentalist idiots calling themselves the Inqilab something or the other who decided that "Hey its Diwali & Eid next week...so lets give the people of Delhi a gift by killing a few of their friends & relatives".

After I hear about the fundamentalist idiots' vain attempt at trying to win whatever it is they are exploding bombs in shopping areas for, I call my aunt & uncle to check in if they're ok. My uncle laughs wryly and says "we're used to bomb blasts in Delhi now...we get at least one every few months..." and in the same breath he says "Happy Diwali"...I didnt miss the irony in that....Happy Diwali..? you bet!

So Diwali dampeners didnt enable me to go mad with joy at the coming of the new year. I probably ate a lot less "mithai" than I would have otherwise..so that's at least one thing I must thank the fundamentalists for...
Oh but I must say this...one bright spot was despite the acts of idiocy in Sarojini Nagar and other places, not many of the morons from the beloved fundamentalist faction that exist in our country stood up and made statements along the lines of "kill 'em all!" or brandished their trishools and caunchs echoing a battle cry. For this I thank you with my entire heart...maybe this country might just survive democracy without another Godhra.

Moving onto other news of irrational things lately which further dampened my festive spirit...a commission appointed to review the Indian Penal code of laws has recommended that a section stating that homosexuality is illegal be removed from the code. The section roughly states that homosexuality is an offence under Indian law and persons found indulging in homosexuality will be arrested, convicted, punished etc. (my first reaction was..."ok! finally Indian lawmakers are wising up! Note that there's no mention of stopping lesbians doing anything he he) but after the initial euphoria, I realised how archaic this law is, that too in a society where several prominent celebrities are openly gay and many ordinary people are "coming out of the closet" so to speak. Dont laws need to evolve with society? Laws are meant to protect society and not persecute it, correct? I'm sure my good mate Vijay could put this more articulately but to me as a layman..that's always been the understanding. But heck, in India we arrest young couples for pecking each other in public so why should homosexuals be treated any differently right??! Bring on the fundamentalists yet again...and add the moral police to boot...and lets turn the world into Eurasia & Eastasia....

Happy Diwali & Eid Mubarak everyone!