Poverty and festivity in excess worst forms of violence

Restraining the wedding guest

KAMALA BALACHANDRAN
“Poverty” said Mahatma Gandhi “is the worst from of violence”. I am convinced that if Gandhi, who personified simplicity, were to be around today, he would have declared that festivity in excess was also a form of violence. For it depletes resources, damages the environment, squanders time and devalues people.

My recent experience in Bangalore during an auspicious day when a wedding was celebrated made me deliberate on these issues. There was a Kumbhmela of vehicles on the road. While the bigger vehicles had no choice but to stand patiently, the two wheelers were creating their own path by zigzagging their way through the gaps. Interspersed with them were pedestrians, hurriedly coursing the maze, eager to get to the other side of the road before the vehicles started to move. Every face mirrored desperation, frustration and an anxiety to get somewhere. When I finally made it to the wedding hall, the joy of having reached the destination evaporated. The hall was packed with people and there were no chairs to seat all the guests.

The ambient noise was high as the hall full of people were trying to be heard over the sounds of musical instruments. People were tired and edgy and wanted the ‘job’ over and done with. Most were stealthily eyeing the entrance to the dining hall. Some openly aired the idea that Bangaloreans must follow the Chennai model and have the lunch served even before the ‘muhurtham’ was over.