Last night's spectacle proved my point about the coarsening of Narakasur night.
I took a spin through Panjim, Ribandar, Chimbel and a few other areas. The only locales without eardrum-splitting music were the Ribandar Patto and Chimbel. Ribandar Patto had on display an impressive (from an artistic pov) Narakasur. A couple of minutes away, the traditional Narakasur of Chimbel was equally compelling. Part of the celebration there involves a beautiful procession of Sri Krishna wending through the village with people making offerings along the way, to the accompaniment of soft devotional music and bhajans. This is how it was meant to be. Everywhere else it was an abomination. As an unapologetic Hindu fundamentalist, Hindu traditionalist, and a Goan nativist, the crassness was appalling. There is NOTHING Hindu about beyond-tolerance thudding amplified noise. The music itself had absolutely no connection to Hindu tradition or even to India. I have held in contempt the efforts by Muslims to commandeer public spaces on a regular basis for their namaaz, in India and in the West. Same with the nuisance of their loudspeakers from the mosques. Some will justify last night’s uncouth show by saying it is a once-a-year event. No. There is no justification for that volume FOR EVEN ONE SECOND. I am not a killjoy. For those young folk desirous of an adrenalin rush brought on by high amplitude sound waves, a limited concession can be made subject to two clauses: modest volume capped with a specified limit and only until midnight. After midnight, no amplified sound. How many Goans are going to step forward and demand this from the administration? My guess - not even a handful. Most will only bitch about it on social media. These savages have fouled the nest and killed the spirit of Deepavali. PS: I will make a post on my Photo Blog in a few days. The Narakasur images featured will be from the eardrum-splitting-music-free zones. Rajan Parrikar
