In the name of God

Politics and religion are two of the most touchy issues one can write about. From ages long gone to eras to come, these two subjects have been fodder for mayhem; even throwing so called 'stable' societies(if they ever existed) completely out of gear.

There is a reason why God is written with a capital G. Whether or not you happen to be believe in Him (notice the capital H), it is undeniable that the Good Lord's (pay attention to the G and the L) name is never taken in vain. At-least not in the land of milk and honey. As I vacation in my home town of Bengaluru (alas!), I just can't seem to ignore the fact that He (the H) is being invoked for everything from driving away way side 'urinators' to making a living. Call it cashing in on fear, guilt or anything that works for you, but it all ultimately boils down to the fact that dropping Names (N is intentionally made capital) works in India.
As I begin walking from 10th cross Malleswaram, a little girl walks up to me with a framed photograph of a God in her hand complete with a little lamp in a plate that's lit in the bright of the day. She's not begging, mind you. She's 'collecting' money. Or that's as lenient as I can be with my judgement. I spare her a buck, in the holy name. 'She's not begging, she's not begging', I keep telling myself after she's gone. At-least the Gods won't be crazy at me. As I walk further down towards 9th cross, I see this: a lady whipping herself while the man with her is dressed as a God and actually has a metal stick pierced through his cheeks playing a distant cousin of the snare drum. Again, they aren't begging.I have not much for them. By the time I am at cross number 5, just when I think He has had it, I spot a bunch of kids dressed as mythical figures from Ramayana making noise as they are going around from shop to shop. At first I'm forced to think that this is a bunch of a fancy dress event escapees. But the coins in their little hands tells me that they are not begging.

I need to pick up groceries that evening. I head to cross 8, Malleswaram's shopping heaven. What I see there takes the wind out of my sails. At regualr spacings on either sides of the road along the footpath are men holding a plate of burning camphor (aarthi) ringing away the bell continuously. While this activity is common in temples, it normally lasts for a couple of minutes at the max. But I stood there watching this go on for a complete 15 minutes, and then I had to force a quit as I could not get myself to watch the show any more. But hey, they weren't begging. It's all in the name of God!

On the 4th cross, a narrow by-lane leads to the bonda angadi from the main road. This was the pee-heaven. This was the Nirmala of Malleswaram. But guess what the BMP did? They swooped in, cleaned the place and to prevent this pee sport from continuing, they put up photos of Gods on tiles along the entire stretch of the street! Call that a smart move. I'm yet to hear of a man who has summoned up enough courage to empty it on that street ever since.