Saw OMG! a few days back.2nd October to be specific,the birth anniversary of the Great Mahatma Gandhi.A very good film with an interesting message,though it would be even more interesting to see how much the audiences carry the message to their homes! The Plot revolves around a guy named Kanji Patel(Paresh Rawal,terrific as always!) who is an atheist and doesn't mind fleecing his customers in his idol-gift shop in the name of God. But due to an earthquake his shop(n by the way,'only' his shop) is devastated,reduced to rubble in the event.After his insurance company refuses to compensate him by saying it was an 'Act of God',he drags God to court!
The script of the story,though not path breaking or extra-ordinary,offers an interesting perspective about our blind faith in religion.When the case of Kanjibhai is accepted by the High court,the notices are sent to whom?God? No,the people who claim to have direct connections with God ! The Baba's,the Sri's,The Swami's..the so called God-men -"Salesmen" as Kanjibhai puts it !The film then highlights how religion is effectively used by such people to further their own business interests,amassing huge amount of lands through donations of ardent devotees hoping to please God.The important question is how literate and even well qualified people fall in this trap? It would be forgiven if you think such blind acts of following are done only in remote areas presumably by illiterate or poorly educated people,but how can you explain that in a city like Navi Mumbai,where I stay and which has a literacy rate of 98%, has Baba's who claim to be "vashikaran" specialist? There are at least 3 such baba's and how am I aware of them? Courtesy the cable TV advertisements complete with their contact no.s and "shop" address! One in Vashi,Nerul and the other In Panvel with some weird names like Baba Bengali,Baba mirza ali and Baba Kabir Shah. Whats even more disturbing is the fact that they all use the picture of Sai Baba in their commercials!
The answer is not really surprising.Superstitions have not really vanished from even the urban India.How many of us actualy know what the pandits are actually saying while chanting the mantras & shlokas during yagnas or some other rituals? The urban middle class are very characteristic people in India.After all,where do the most cases of female foeticide happen?? I guess most of us have seen Satyamev jayate,and we know how the 'literate' use their knowledge of modern technology for such acts,and yet switch off their minds when responding to call of their religion,thereby abandoning all logic or common sense or even certain virtues taught to them..!Again which makes me wonder whether there is any use of all the moral education imparted to us during our childhood.
Take these few questions for example-
- Diwali : Lots of firecrackers creating huge noise pollution,not to forget the air pollution itself!Was any of it actually written in the religion? to disturb the natural clock cycle of animals and birds like pigeons and sparrows(who actualy are on the verge of extinction now!)
- Holi : Wastage of water resources(fresh water at that !).
- Dahi Handi : Same as above.Wastage of water(n wastage of some energy too apart from some breaking of bones,and in certain cases-death!) Did Lord Krishna fight or compete with the other guys in the neighbourhood to create a taller human-chain?
- The Monday's : The pouring of millions of litres of milk over the Shiv linga !
- The Saturday's : The 'tel'-paraffin poured in Shani temples!
Is any of these actually written in the religious books? Forgive me,& I dont even claim to have read any of the books or be an expert about it,but is any of the above actually compulsive according to our religion? Your comments are welcomed !
According to recent govt reports,over 40% of the children born in India below the age of 5 are malnourished.Why?because even their mother's are malnourished who did'nt get the right amount of proteins and other nutrition during their pregnancy.Even after knowing this,is it justified to waste million litres of milk in temples,when it could have been directed to where it actually is needed ?!
The criminal wastage of water(which happens most during the festival of Holi,right before the summer season!). Shouldn't we be a little more considerate about our Mother earth? Why not direct our energy and resources a little more towards ideas like Rain water harvesting ?
This long (and a bit preachy too I admit!) blog of mine is not actually about despair,rhetoric about our people and hopelessness.The ray of hope I saw while watching the movie did effuse positivity within me,not by the film,but by how the audiences were reacting to the movie,on how they were cheering every dialogue directed towards the God men.The crowds were clapping in the scenes where our protagonist kanji bhai brought the big bad business of such God men out in the court!Even more pleasing is that how Indian people,perceived to be thoroughly conservative appreciate the message of the movie and were ready to accept a new idea instead of being rigid in their age-old beliefs!The box office success ought to validate my point here.Let us be ready to open our minds about everythning and accept something which appeals to the rationale side of our brain! We as a nation,surely are evolving with time.The gruesome rituals of sati,or animal sacrifice are not much visible in our culture(though it still happens in certain places!) today.We dont need only economic reforms,but reforms everywhere where it is needed instead of blindly following traditions and rituals! "Religion is the opium of the masses"-that's how one God men played in the movie quotes Karl Marx,expressing that this 'enlightening' brought among the masses By Kanjibhai would be short-lived !
That's the confidence some people with vested interest still have in the common masses who would still be in the trap of such blind acts of faith! Lets hope such awakening is only the beginning! Finally,we all need to be rethinking about how we sustain our nation and mother Earth in this ever-warming World ! And from the signs of it,at least we are taking some baby steps in the right direction ! :)