DRESS CODE IN RELIGIOUS PLACES The idea seems to be to maintain the sanctity and religious decorum of the sacred precincts By in itself it appears to be a worthy exercise to enforce what is believed to be appeasing to the resident Gods People enter the places of worship for a darshan , meeting and glimpse of their favourite God In some places their is an entrance fee and at other places there is strict code of dress emphasis. Some said that God can be reached from outside, as all religious places are not the real abode of God`s It is only a human approach and system devised to make it practical The Gurdawaras require covering of head and removal of foot wear The service of free polishing is undertaken as a voluntary penance and sacrifice. In the south the temples need to borrow their apparels totally, depositing valuable including purses and in some places it can cost as much as Rs500/ depending on the popularity of the house of worship Every item deposited is priced. Many an unwary visitor to sacred places have lost their foot wear causing embarrassing situation leaving a feeling of disgust, that things are not safe even in the house of God One cannot but feel it is indiscreet method of generating sizable revenues. In such cases those who cannot afford the price are left out in paying obeisance and for others it is awkward situation forced to change in uncomfortable attire Most of the visitors have religious motives but a few maybe drawn out of seer curiosity. The popular catholic places of worship, pilgrimages of historical significance, world over, normally do not have restrictions of entry and absolute dress code any where One definitely would discourage showing disrespect during services through photographs,talking, moving etc.All places of worship must be respected with dignified self imposed decorum and notice to that effect be displayed prominently with ushers cautioning visitors People of different faith specially in India have different sense of religious practices. The catholic church in Goa has been in the news recently for loud thinking and is fortunately not aiming at generating revenues Some churches in Goa enforce dress codes for mariage ceremony and receiving Holy Eucharist . But the limits of vulgarity and indecent exposure like beauty lie in the eyes of the beholder Nevertheless any distraction that deviates the worshiper is unwarranted Policing all such acts,identifying and enforcing the conduct can result in friction It is very difficult however, to enforce our standards of morality in a tourist dominated scenario Our absolute belief that God dwells only in Churches ,Temples, etc must be reavaluated Nelson Lopes Chinchinim 9850926276
