Yet, we have no national festival, only national holidays on I-Day and R-Day. Even Diwali, which many think is pan-Indian, is not celebrated in several corners.
As a child who grew up in central Kerala, I knew Deepawali only as the day on which my grandfather had his birth star of Chithira (Chitra), a day plus or minus. I would bet a million banned notes at a Diwali card party that most revellers don't know the panchang month and tithi on which Diwali falls. Leave it, let them have fun. Nor do I know.
We have a national festival, but it comes once in five years. It can be celebrated earlier, if our rulers will so. It is our elections, the festival of democracy.
Indians love elections. Most people do, but none of them has the kind of colour, melody and medley of an Indian election. The earth turns divine territory. Our ruling gods, as also the aspiring Asuras, come to the earth with folded hands, promise the most, smile the most, meet the most and fete the most.
This story is from the January 14, 2024 edition of THE WEEK India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the January 14, 2024 edition of THE WEEK India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?
IT IS ASKED, year after year, why Delhi’s air remains unbreathable despite several interventions to reduce pollution.
Trump and the crisis of liberalism
Although Donald Trump's election to a non-consecutive second term to the US presidency is not unprecedented—Grover Cleveland had done it in 1893—it is nevertheless a watershed moment.
Men eye the woman's purse
A couple of months ago, I chanced upon a young 20-something man at my gym walking out with a women’s sling bag.
When trees hold hands
A filmmaker explores the human-nature connect through the living root bridges
Ms Gee & Gen Z
The vibrant Anuja Chauhan and her daughter Nayantara on the generational gap in romance writing
Vikram Seth-a suitable man
Our golden boy of literature was the star attraction at the recent Shillong Literary Festival in mysterious Meghalaya.
Superman bites the dust
When my granddaughter Kim was about three, I often took her to play in a nearby park.
OLD MAN AND THE SEA
Meet G. Govinda Menon, the 102-year-old engineer who had a key role in surveying the Vizhinjam coast in the 1940s, assessing its potential for an international port
Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets
THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET has delivered a strong 11 per cent CAGR over the past decade, with positive returns for eight straight years.
Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay
AFTER A ROARING bull market over the past year, equity markets in the recent months have gone into a correction mode as FIIs go on a selling spree. Volatility has risen and investment returns are hurt.
