http://www.centralchronicle.com/viewnews.asp?articleID=30623
Garland graduates to political lexicon Category » Editorial Posted On Thursday, March 25, 2010 Perhaps, the nation should be grateful to ‘Behanji’ Mayawati, Chief Minister of UP, for stirring the minds of the people into realising that the rather humble garland also has political potential. It should shake up those who saw it only as a piece of decoration or an object on view for completing certain festive rituals. >From time immemorial, the garland has played many important roles in Indian life. The holy occasion of a matrimonial alliance is not complete without the essential ritual of exchange of oversized garlands by the bride and the groom. Almost everyday in life there are special moments where garland are in demand to serve one or the other of traditional roles. Whether it is a moment of joy or sorrow--welcoming a guest or saying farewell to a dear departed soul— you need the garland to make the right statement. Even a passer-by can tell that it is a festive moment when a venue is bedecked with garlands; the same person will bow his head in respect if the bedecked object is a bier. Most of these garlands are made of a variety of flowers strewn together around a thick thread, the cost depending upon the price of the flowery ingredients used. Sometimes, garlands are also prepared with some materials that are not plucked off a shrub or a plant. It could be made of paper cut and shaped to look like attractive flowers or pieces of cloth dyed in different colours. During the freedom movement, garlands made out of khadi pieces symbolised the spirit and the determination of the yoked nation to get the British off their backs. More often than not, the khadi used in these garlands would have been home spun. Who spins the khadi at home these days when spinning yarns has turned out to be such a lucrative craft! Let there be no misstatement. There have always been garlands made of currency notes. But they attracted little notice in the past. Probably because they almost never appeared anywhere other than wedding ceremonies, involving the families and friends of the bride and the groom. Or sometimes in temples. In recent years, currency note garlands have started to appear in profusion at not only nouveau riche weddings but also at gatherings held to welcome VIPs. The currency notes used in these garlands have been generally of smaller denomination, but not the ones earmarked for the politicians which naturally had to be made of currency notes of no less than Rs 100 and when Rs 500 denomination notes were introduced by the government they became the norm for the garlands. It all is a matter of the ‘weight’ of the politician and no Indian politician worth his or her name would like to be considered anything less than a ‘heavy weight.’ The ‘weight’ of the politicians keeps growing— no ‘diets’ or worries about ‘body mass’ for them. The Rs 500 notes have given way to Rs 1000 notes, which came into circulation only in recent years and have been found to be weighty enough to hang around the necks of our doughty ‘netas’. Those who prepare the garlands of currency notes have to have some special ‘artistic’ skills. They should be able to give flowery fluffy shape to the currency notes to make them look close to the real thing and truly captivating. One suspects the ‘artists’ with penchant for perfection also like to coat the garlands with expensive perfumes that sooth the olfactory sensitivities of the ‘netas’ who may have to wear them for a little while. At least till the time the garlands are undone and the contents stuffed into the overflowing but secret vaults. That way there is no danger of special garlands rotting or decaying. The garland makers cannot be held guilty of ‘misuse’ of currency notes when they mutilate them to give them the shape of favourite flowers. They do so to enhances the ‘aesthetic’ appeal of the garlands and it surely is criminal to dub any act that enhances aesthetics as, well, criminal. The Reserve Bank of India might not view with benediction any act of ‘misuse’ of currency notes but even the RBI mandarins, not to speak of sundry judicial and police officials know well that theirs is not to question why anything that has anything to do with raj netas and mantris (political leaders and ministers). There should be absolutely no fear of inviting punitive action by making currency note garlands that are going to transport the earthy ‘neta’ into a figure of divinity. The stone idols can be garlanded with currency notes so why not the ‘hardworking’ earthly figures? The more you think about currency garlands the more you are likely to be convinced that it should be hailed as a unique Indian invention that combines the function of expression of love and veneration with that of a handy tool for collectively offering material gratitude. Unlike the misplaced enthusiasm of those who use garlands of currency notes to mark certain social occasions, its use by political parties or their workers has lifted the garland from the confines of narrow ritualistic usage to an instrument for making bold political statements. If ‘Behenji’ Mayawati is able to look back a little she would realise that much of the noise against all the billions she has spent on those big statutes of herself and her mentor Kanshi Ram and laying parks with rows upon rows of marble elephants could have been avoided if she had been more frequently getting herself garlanded by currency notes. Naturally, the average cost of each of these garlands would be just a few crore rupees. In very short time she would have been garlanded enough to reach the amount that was spent on building the ‘memorials’ of marble statues and elephants. The main point is that the money came not from the exchequer but from the garlands, which were strewn together by the toiling masses as the ultimate token of love and affection for their leader. Nobody would have been in a position to allege that ‘Behanji’ had squandered state funds to erect her larger than life statues that vie for attention in an elephantine ambience in the newly laid sprawling parks in many places in her naïve Uttar Pradesh. Atul Cowshish, Syndicate Features ------------------------------------ ---- INFORMATION OVERLOAD? Get all ZESTCaste mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. Subscribe to the daily digest version by sending a blank mail to [email protected], OR, if you have a Yahoo! 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