This is being written with a deep regret. The festive season is ongoing. Merriment, enjoyment and fun and frolic and everything else is okay. But the spiritual impact of the occasion has been totally forgotten. That invoking the God/Goddess is primary and all the other things are incidental has slipped from the memory of the vast majority.

An average, middle class Tamil household looks forward to Navratri. Dolls are brought out from wooden trunks (grandma’s legacy), dusted out and a traditional “Golu” (display of dolls in a wooden-stair case) arranged. Female members of the household exhibit their music and singing skills. Children recite and chant all devi-slokas and hymns with “Mahishasuramardhini Stotram” by Adi Shankaracharya, being the eternal favourite. The whole household is surcharged with a spiritual atmosphere. One can feel it palpably. The evenings are marked for social calls. Ladies and young ones attire themselves in their best “Kancheevaram” and become a mobile gold-ornament stand, proudly exhibiting their jewellery. “Sundal” (boiled pulses) is distributed along with “Manjal Kumkum”.(betel leaves, betel nuts, dry turmeric, coconuts and other things signifying auspicion).Most of these practices are being followed albeit in a diluted manner. Synthetics have replaced Kancheevaram;”City gold” has taken the place of traditional gold”; Singing sessions have given way to CD music’. No regrets for these sociological changes. What hurts is that the underlying essence of spiritual enhancement has also become casuality. In its place we find ostentatious and vulgar exhibit of money and affluence.

I can dare comment on the practice of another Indian community- the Bengalis- with whom I have spent the better part of my 4-decade life. The Tamil Navratri coincides with the Bengali Durga Pujo (not Puja!). Beautiful bamboo structures ((Pandals) are erected where craftsman and artisans show their skills. Clay-idols of Goddess Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati and Gods Ganesh and Kartick are exhibited in these pandals.Puja organizers let loose their imagination and topical, histrorical and mythological scenes are recreated. The festivities begin on the 6^th day (following the Amavasya) Shashti, continue through Saptami, Ashtami, reach a crescendo on Navami and comes to a conclusion with Bijoya-signifying the triumph of good over evil. Khola-Khuli, exchange of sweets and pleasantries, new clothes, happiness, joy and festivity is the order of the day. There are 2 angles to it. One is the Barori or the Family Pujas.Originally there might have been only family pujas (the Sovabajar Debs, the mallicks of Bhowanipore, the Bardhans of Central Kolkata bear testimony to this fact).Subsequently a few community or Sarbojanin pujas might have been organized. This has ultimately led to the present day scenario where community pujas far outnumber family pujas. Thus what was essentially a family ritual was converted to a community/social function. Here also I find that that the religious fervour has given way to pomp and grandeur. Learned Bengali netizens, please correct me if I am wrong.

I am finding this change unpalatable and I know lot of readers may not agree with me. Our life-style has changed and so the way to celebrate festivals has to change also. But should we compromise on the basic/core values? I do not know whether readers will agree with me. I feel that we should keep the traditional fire burning by adhering to the same age-old practices. Certain things are not subject to review. Period. Imagine how nice it would have been, had women folk dispensed with their designer and made-to-order churidars and settling for the heavy Kanjivaram. Young adults discarding their jeans-Tshirts-midis- and choosing “Pattu Pavadai/Dhavani” (with twin-pleats to match) and Veshti-Angavastram.We would at least be letting our young-ones know that these traditions existed.

Finally I am reminded of a famous OSHO story. There was a saint in a tiny village. Monsoon failed the village, whereupon the villagers went to the saint for remedy. The saint went into the forest, offered his prayers and rain came down. After sometime, the monsoon failed for the second time. The villagers knew the remedy this time and went to the same saint. The saint had breathed his last by them. His disciple agreed to oblige. But he confessed that he did not know what his guru chanted-nevertheless went into forest –mumbled something- again rain gods obliged. Then after few years again there was a dry spell. Villagers again rushed to the hermit. By that time, the second generation disciple had also perished. The third generation disciple agreed to oblige. But he said – I do not know the chanting- all that I know a cat used to cross the path of my predecessors when they used to set-off for the forest. A cat was brought and made to cross his path. The disciple went to forest- muttered something and again rain befell the village. Thus while the central message is lost, the paraphernalia continue. Should we fall prey to this phenomenon? Of course some may argue that since in the 2^nd and 3^rd cases, there were only mutterings and no chanting and still it produced the desired result,(rain in this case) why not continue with the same tradition. I am however not arguing along those lines- tradition for tradition’s sake. I wish the basic values are kept in tact. I leave the decision to the readers.