As Cape Town savours the spring after a cold and (thankfully) wet winter, India is in the midst of a festive autumn season. The almost month-long festivities marking traditional harvest season start with Durga Puja, the nine-day worship period of Goddess Durga, the slayer of demons and epitome of bravery, coincide with Vijayadashami or Dusshera and culminate in Diwali, the festival of lights.
The central theme running through these festivals is the triumph of good over evil, light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance. Durga Puja, a major occasion in Shaktism sect under Hinduism which believes that God is feminine, celebrates the victory of Goddess Durga in her battle with the evil buffalo demon Mahishasura who could change forms at will.
The other two festivals celebrate the victory of Lord Rama over Ravana, the 10-headed king, who had abducted the former’s consort and their return from an exile of 14 years.
As much as these festive occasions are important and sacred for the believers, the historical role played by such occasions in the evolution of modern India and their social impact are no less significant and also a study in themselves.
The Battle of Plassey, fought between Britishers and the rulers of the province of Bengal in 1757, was decisive in the former getting a firm foothold in India and using that as a launchpad in their further conquest of India.
The landlord class quickly changed their allegiance to the new masters; Durga Puja celebrations became the perfect platform to impress their new masters with grand arrangements and ostentatious pretensions.
However, as the nationalist fervour rose in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when the excesses of colonial exploitation and their divisive tactics started becoming apparent, masses reclaimed their Goddess from palatial niches of elite classes to the beaten tracks of struggle.
Durga gave shakti (power) to the patriots to wage their fight against the colonial powers and their accomplices. She was a source of strength; the symbolism also became clear - colonial powers represented an equally vicious and form changing demon. As masses gathered around the anchor offered by Durga Puja, a religious festival became a national festival and sense of self-belief took root.
In 1905, when Britishers decided to divide the province of Bengal on religious lines, opposition to the colonial powers reached a crescendo.
A call was given to boycott foreign goods to hurt the colonial power where it hurt the most - commerce - and boost indigenous industries. Again, Durga Puja congregations became the rallying point and an occasion to exhibit, use and trade in indigenous goods.
To this day, Durga Puja pandals (tents) continue to dwell upon issues of national importance and social pertinence. It is commonplace to find tents designed after themes like world peace, global warming, water pollution, bullet train (alluding to a high-speed train project linking Ahmedabad and Mumbai and proposed to be completed by 2022), the “Clean India” campaign, etc. Such themed tents not just evoke awe and admiration but also instil awareness into the social consciousness of the masses.
Another festival which is mentioned in the same breath is Ganesh Chaturthi. The biggest festival of the western province of Maharashtra, Ganesh Chaturthi marks the birth of Lord Ganesh, the remover of obstacles and the God of wisdom and intelligence.
It was with this symbolism and hope that the festival was turned into a popular movement in the 19th century at the call of Tilak - a lawyer, teacher and a pioneering figure of India’s independence movement - to rid India of the colonial masters. Termed by Britishers as “Father of Indian unrest”, Tilak is known for his remarkable call: “Swarajya (self-rule) is my birthright, and I shall have it.”
Normally averse to permitting large gatherings of people, the colonial government could not stop people collecting to celebrate a religious festival. Seizing the opportunity, Tilak took it upon himself to bring Lord Ganesh - the “God of every person” from private homes to the masses.
Breaking from the tradition of private worship of Ganesh, Tilak in 1893 organised the Ganesh festival as a melting pot of people from different sections of society, cutting across barriers of caste and communities and turning a domestic festival into a national event.
He is also credited to much of the imageries associated with the festival which in his time were meant to evoke a sense of pride and unity among Indians.
The festival became a platform for debates, intellectual discourses, musical recitals and folk music and dance performances. It drew the masses straight into the whirlpool of nationalistic fervour feeding the struggle for independence right under the noses of colonial masters who could do nothing but gape at this masterstroke. Ganesh Chaturthi continues to attracts throngs in thousands even today, attesting to the efficacy of Tilak’s strategy.
These festivals have evolved from a purely religious activity into a national movement whereby Indians congregate not only to celebrate their rich cultural traditions but also to display pride in their unity in diversity.
Shukla is the Indian Consul-General in Cape Town