While I woke up to the Halloween event in the US and over
parts of the world, I had already got enough of it on the English soaps that I followed.
But I didn’t know that it was not the end there. As I opened my door to the society
via the most famous social networking website, FaceBook, I not only found
people posting their Halloween get ups but also updates about how much fun they
had in the Halloween theme parties.
Halloween, a time when western Christians take out time and
spend it with their family while remembering the faithful souls who departed
them. As a part of tradition, they have certain kind of vegetarian foods and
spend quality time while the children dress up and go around playing Tip or
treat.
Halloween literally means holy evening. While we Indians not
only fail to understand the true essence of Halloween, but at the same time we
change the whole concept. The traditional celebrations of the Christians is
changed into a party where people dress up like their favorite zombie from The Walking
Dead and drink their senses off and by the time they go back home, they end up
walking like zombies themselves.
I am not protesting celebrating a festival from the west. In
fact I say it is wonderful to be embracing the customs of others. But there are
a few things that have been bothering me since today morning. While we consider
celebrating their festivals as cool but we disregard their social norms such as
casual sex, women liberation, respecting the divorced or the old and so on. Why
are we such hypocrites about all of that?
At the same time, what bothers me even more is that I never
see a Chatt(festival of the North) theme party, nor a Karwachauth theme party. As
a matter of fact, Diwali and Holi theme parties are also on a decline. Why? What
is wrong in our festivals? Is it not cool enough for us? Or maybe the shifting
of the axis has had an effect on our minds as well and we have turned into
westerners ourselves? I sincerely hope not.
This is coming out of me when I saw government and public
outcry of celebrating Diwali without bursting a cracker because it creates a
lot of noise and because the people making the crackers are made to work
against their will. Why not make better employment laws for these workers and
make their life better? Oh no, that takes too much of work.
I call out to all those converted westerners who consider Linkin’
Park as music but Jagjit Singh as noise, who would love to have an aloo tiki
burger at a McD but a Vada pav is too middle class. I call out them to take a
moment and introspect, to understand that when you embrace a new culture, you
do not forget your roots.
Give utmost importance to the place where you come from
because if it weren’t for that place you would have never tasted a pizza,
burger, red island long tea and you would not have known these cool festivals
of Halloween and Thanks-giving. This place is what made got you so far, the
least you can do it give back the due respect.
With this message, i would still like to wish all my friends a Happy Halloween.
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