Come 25th of December, temperatures dropped overnight. It was almost as if winter suddenly realised it was that time of the year when people take extended vacations and travel to warmer parts of the country, and that they needed a freezing winter back home to justify that. And for the ones who hadn’t saved up enough for that trip they had been planning, Christmas would kickstart with watching a red cavalcade of heads adorned with santa hats shopping around the local grocery store for cake ingredients, or perhaps at the local nightclubs and discotheques for couple passes. It was just the beginning of a weeklong excuse for us to shun our daily routine and spend our money for reasons we do not fully understand.
Why does the entire country go into a vacation frenzy during this time? Doesn’t it make more sense to indulge in travel and tourism when every other person is not doing it? For many of us, it is because our work is directly tied to that of our imperial masters, who take great joy in showing a very important finger to work this time of the year. For the rest of us, travelling ‘in-season’ is essential for the original experience. Fine, go ahead, I am not travelling or going to a nightclub, so go ahead and indulge in whatever keeps your wheels turning.
What changes around this time? Do people become more friendly, doused in the christmas spirit? Is there an overnight transformation not unlike that of Ebenezer Scrooge? Do the ghosts of our democracy past haunt us? As far as I can see, there isn’t anything proceeding in that direction. Don’t get me wrong, I am no Christian. Not that I can be much good to any religion I belong to. Wait, wait, don’t get those sickles and swords out yet! Let me explain.
My faith or my vehemence to rely on it and uphold it, shouldn’t really matter to you or anyone. Not due to my right to religion or any other mumbo-jumbo like that, but because I am the kind of vermin who cannot contribute to any religion they belong to. I am critical of the miracles I see everyday, I am observant of my fellow beings, I am considerate towards sins and sinners, I consider myself worthless to take any action on behalf of any god, and I really like to eat everything on my plate. So as you see, no religion would benefit by having me.
On the other hand, I would like to benefit from everything around me. Take Christmas for example. I have indulged in exchanging gifts and baking, the two most typical activities for any ‘at-home’ citizen on this annual celebration of an incorrectly recorded birthday. I have done so, not with the motive of promoting this religion. My only motive has been to be more involved with my family and to have a good time on one more holiday. One more holiday ticked off the list, one more tradition upheld.
On that note, I want to observe how the rest of us benefit from these few days. Don’t worry, I am done talking about the extended vacations and nightclub huntings. We are still focussing on things we do not need to focus on. We are still ignoring things that deserve our attention this very moment. In adherence to the former, we are busy getting mega-budget movies banned across the country in a totally inexplicable surge of patriotism, and in dedication to the latter, we are busy ignoring the burning houses of our elected representatives in states famous for their affinity to ignorance. And obviously, there is a third kind to be blamed for all of this. Vermin like me.
Media is to be blamed for the state of things. After all, they decide what you and me get to know, right? It’s not like we have free access to such basic information. Our country is not connected via the internet, didn’t you know? All hail the free basics that we are yet to get from our elected gods. Strangely though, the ones who do not have access to find out the truth, they usually do not have the power to spread lies and get their deceit heard either.
On that note, I think this is enough ranting for this chilled out week. If you started reading this in the hopes of finding the not-so common christmas spirit or if you were seeking a solution to everything wrong around us, my apologies and sympathy are with you. Perhaps the answer lies under those millions of Santa hats and myriad of retweets. See you on the other side of the calendar.
Arnab Mukherjee 