Ganesh immersion

I have lived in this country all my life, and in this city for as long as I can remember. Yet, this city and country continues to amaze me. Yesterday was the Ganesh immersion day - the 11th day of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival - when the idols of the Elephant God are immersed in water. Hubby and I decided to go to the Necklace Road/Tank Bund this year to partake in the festivities, so to say. Yes, that is what it is - a festival of sorts. The sea of humanity on the roads leading up to and on Tank Bund can take one by surprise. The madness is Brobdingnagian, the traffic jams and the huge contingents of people accompanying each idol - there is a celebration in the air, and a village mela feel to the entire atmosphere. I am not a religious person, far from it. Yet when I see something like this, I find the spirit of the moment and the people incredibly beautiful. For a moment it is as though all else is forgotten, and each one becomes the other. One has to literally jostle one's way, yet it is an extraordinary experience. We walked along the Tank Bund for a while and saw many a beautiful overweight Hindu Gods being lowered into the waters of a lake that decidedly has a Muslim name. The irony of it didn't escape us at all. I do not believe in this ritual of immersion at all, and I am often pained by the immense pollution caused to the Hussain Sagar lake in terms of religion. Yet, today I tried to look at it from a different perspective - not the perspective of one who has had the privilege of good education, and exposure to a better world, and a chance to expand one's horizons in different directions. I looked at it from the eyes of those innumerable people accompanying the idols - and understood why each festival in India takes on such a huge dimension. It is just not about religion or rituals. A lot more, in fact - almost a means to take one's mind off the daily struggle for survival.