Aw Ganesh, Ganesh, Ganesh ! You missed the most obvious and important parts. But I can guess why :-)!
Anyway, just in case, you really did not understand, the following are the points: c-da At 2:49 PM -0800 2/14/06, Ganesh C Bora wrote: >C'da: > >I was trying to find what message the writer wants the >reader to get. Is it >- The Shabari Kumbh mela should not be there? >- The only backward place in India? >- The organizer is RSS or affiliated organizations? > >Have the writer ever visited 'Sahitya Sabha Odhibexon' >in Assam? It is the same case. The place gets a >face-lift. That is the reason why a place wants to >organize such a MELA. > >Ganesh > > > > > > > >--- Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >> When It Comes To Power The RSS Knows Its Gods >> >> Why this hostility around an inspirational story >> from a great epic? >> >> By Dilip D'Souza >> >> Dilip D'Souza >> The road to Ahwa gets worse as we get closer to the >> little town. We >> can tell as much by the light of a full Sankrant >> moon, playing >> peekaboo as we wind through the hills; brilliant >> burnt orange when we >> first see it low on the horizon, gleaming silver >> high into the sky as >> the night wears on. Though really, I don't need the >> moon to tell me >> how bad the road is. The bumps suffice. >> >> On the right along one stretch, there's nothing >> between us and the >> dull gleam of a river. But wait, what are those >> flickers of orange >> just beyond the road's edge? Small fires. We've seen >> plenty of those, >> clumps of people huddled around them warding off the >> January Dangs >> chill. But here the fires seem...well, constricted. >> These are fires >> inside small shacks. >> >> These are labourers working on the road, living >> beside it for the >> duration, as migrant labour does. Labourers, come >> 'home' for the >> night. Shacks like these, all over the Dangs. >> >> So what's cooking here? The Shabari Kumbh mela, >> 500,000 pilgrims >> expected. Roads are being improved, but there's >> more. Long tracts of >> empty fields have sprouted poles, by the thousands, >> for tents to >> house pilgrims. Troughs have been dug and lined with >> multi-coloured >> toilets. Large plastic water tanks stand on concrete >> platforms. >> Electricity is making its way all over the district. >> The Purna river >> has had 22 check dams built on it to form >> Pampasarovar, where >> pilgrims are supposed to bathe. >> >> All this, because for years, tribals in the Dangs >> have quietly >> venerated a spot on top of a hill near dusty Subir. >> Kumbh organisers >> say this is where Shabari sat Ram and Lakshman while >> she fed them >> berries. So they are building a temple here, and >> decided to hold this >> celebration. >> >> >> Hyper-reality: Shabari Kumbh poster >> >> Witness this inscription: We will remove >> conversions and jehadi mentality from this >> world...What does such >> hostility have to do with >> a tender story from a >> great epic? >> February 11, 12, 13, 2006: likely the most crowded >> days the Dangs >> will ever see. Yet, if faith is to be served, if >> pilgrims are to find >> spiritual fulfillment in the gentle waters of >> man-made Pampasarovar - >> why the things you hear about the event? An RSS >> activist at the mela >> office, Mahesh Daga said, "The main objective is to >> put a full stop >> to conversion of tribals." >> >> The Kumbh mela's website, shabarikumbh.org, has a >> section, 'About >> Kumbh'. The second paragraph there is a denunciation >> of the Christian >> church. You learn that the slogan Hindu jagao, >> Christi bhagao has >> become 'popular' in the Dangs. You learn that Swami >> Aseemananda, one >> of the moving spirits behind the mela, told >> Christians here, "I have >> come here to drive away those who have come here to >> serve." >> >> What does such hostility have to do with a tender >> story from a great >> epic? 'About Kumbh' has more of interest. >> "Organising a Kumbh in a >> remote, heavily forested area is a nightmare," it >> says. "The 352 > > villages in Dang district had no electricity or >> roads ... There are >> no medical facilities or eateries in the vicinity. >> ... Realizing the >> importance of (the Kumbh) the state government of >> Shri Narendra Modi >> has extended full cooperation (and) has undertaken >> construction of >> roads on a war footing. All the 352 villages of Dang >> have got >> electrification." >> >> Good. But consider: if the state government has >> done so much since >> the idea for the Kumbh, why was the Dangs deprived >> before? After all, >> Modi has been in power for several years. Why did it >> need a Kumbh for >> his government to bring electricity here, to >> construct roads "on a >> war footing"? >> >> The irony goes deeper. We drove between the >> Navsari border and Ahwa >> one night, between Pampasarovar and Ahwa the next >> night. If you >> discount Ahwa, the number of electric lights we saw >> could be numbered >> on two hands. Oh, but plenty of village homes were >> lit by fires and >> oil lamps. Some families used to have electricity >> and meters but >> could not pay their bills. Why? One farmer told us >> that bills only >> came once in two years, thus for large amounts like >> Rs 12,000. Unable >> to pay - they could have managed smaller monthly >> bills - their meters >> and supply were taken away. >> >> So I have no idea what shabarikumbh.org means by >> claiming that all >> 352 villages have been electrified. >> >> What is electrified, of course, is the temple. >> Sited on top of a >> hill with a magnificent view of forested slopes, the >> Shabari Dham >> temple promises to be a spectacular tribute to a >> charming story. Yet >> here too, there is hostility. To one side is a large >> concrete water >> tank, with this inscription: Dharmantran aur jehad >> ke vichaar ko >> vishwa se nirmool karenge (We will remove >> conversions and the jehadi >> mentality from this world). >> >> And later, as we drive past dark villages like >> Mukhammal and Jarsol >> where meters were installed, then ripped out, we can >> see brightness >> on that hill. Yes, the not-yet-finished temple has >> lights at night. >> The villages don't. Welcome to the Kumbh mela. >> >> >> The writer is a Mumbai-based journalist >> >> >> Feb 18 , 2006 >> >> _______________________________________________ >> assam mailing list >> [email protected] >> >http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org >> > > >__________________________________________________ >Do You Yahoo!? >Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around >http://mail.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ assam mailing list [email protected] http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
