I have tried convincing myself, unsuccessfully, that I have no business commenting on people’s beliefs and rituals. But there are certain experiences that are so agitating that you choke!

Chennai is a city that is an unfathomable concoction of disparate ways of living. You have the usual Page 3 glitterati, the revered Kollywood stars, the megalomaniac politicians, the intellectual few, the balanced educated middle class, the poverty stricken slum dwellers, the miserly rich – sounds like any Indian city?

Hang on – You have to live here to understand how stark the differences between people are and how these manifest themselves in every day living, unlike a metropolitan like Delhi, Mumbai or Bangalore.

On the same stretch of road, you can see women wearing short dresses, salwar kameezes, saries from 6 yards to 9 yards; men wearing shorts, jeans, dhotis and suits, children with dainty sandals, sneakers and bare feet!

But this kind of economic variance is not as perturbing as the religiously charged atmosphere of the city.

In a strange way the whole city is united in its religious fervor and yet divided by the differences because of religion again. Temples adorn every street and corner available – queues of people throng these every single day – different gods for different sects – different traditions for different sects.

I am no religious person. I know only one entity - one god – a super power that I believe in. My god has no religion. The only good part about religion is the festivals – opportunities for community celebration and I believe in the spirit of all festivals irrespective of the religion they come from. So what irritates me is when religion interrupts normal life – be it the kavars in UP, the chhatt processions in Bihar, the use of loud speakers in jagratas, bhajans – however all these can be ignored as just inconveniences – take a different route, stuff cotton wool in your ears...

What is deeply unsettling is rituals out of my understanding – the death dance – the joyous dancing by men around the dead body celebrating life after death or the end of a torturous life and peace in death – I do not know.

I was just growing accustomed to this very common sight on main roads and streets here, that I had another disturbing experience yesterday. I witnessed, at multiple places, men and women with lemons and arrows pierced on their painted bodies, faces and even eyes – swaying swords, dancing as if in a trance – with hundreds around them in some sort of unexplained frenzy.

My heart had that sinking feeling you get when you sense the world around you collapsing.

At North Usman Road, I was in an auto waiting at the traffic signal – when one such procession stood right next to me. The dressed up man and woman looked towards my side and our eyes met. I did not see any religious faith, strength, joy or even anger. There was an unmistakable desperate fear, their gaze seemed to go beyond, as if in a given-up-search of another horizon.

In a split second, the noisily dancing crowd around broke my line of sight.

Why in the name of god torture do we torture our bodies, kill our souls, inconvenience and hurt others – why can’t we use the name of god to bring peace, serenity and love – the symbols god stands for?

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As I tried understanding the debates around the burqa especially in the French context here, I received many valid, well thought out, and legitimate replies – all in one way or the other against the “forced veiling”.

In a country like India, it is heartening to see educated people expressing their opinion, which is for humanity and moderation and balance. However, it is greatly disappointing to wake up to news that reads: Forced to wear burqa, teacher quits.

What is most shocking about this news is that the Students’ Union pressurized the university teacher!

What is happening to the supposedly educated youth in our country?

Why are young minds embracing religious fanaticism with such ardor?

Are they in search of a unique identity because they feel their individuality is threatened?

Has Indian politics created a whole generation of confused and misguided youngsters – rebels without any real causes?

I still remember my childhood days when religion and caste were only chapters we read in our Civics books. In school, I did not know which caste my classmates belonged to.

Through my growing up years, I had Sikh neighbors with whom I used to happily pile on for the Sunday langars at the Gurudwara; I had Muslim neighbors who were differentiated only because of the wonderful language they spoke – aap, bhai-jaan, abba-jaan – music to the ears; I had Christian neighbors who shared rich plum cakes on Christmas; and all of us together celebrated the “Hindu” festivals of Diwali and Holi!

Come the late 90s and early 2000s, as college beckoned, caste based reservations became the talk of the day. Quota seats – General seats – SC/ST – OBC – all alien terms began to invade my vocabulary.

I still remember the day I started filling out my entrance test forms - all of them asked the following disturbing questions:

Religion?

For the first time I was going to define my identity within a religious institution that had not meant much in my life so far.

Hindu, I wrote. In a fraction of a second, differences based on religion were established between neighbors.

And then the final blow that firmly established boundaries and partitions in once-innocent classrooms.

Select one of the following:

SC, ST, OBC, Others

I was baffled. I asked my dad, what I should fill in.

He said in a matter of fact tone, “Others”.

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I have been following the various feminist, political, and racial debates that the French proposal for ban on the Islamic full veil or hijab has fanned. Read the latest on it here.

My feelings, stance and opinion remain unsorted and confused. A lot of questions diffuse my attempts at any kind of understanding, and I share them here.

• Does Islam really mandate the wearing of a veil that covers the face in its entirety? Doesn’t the holy Quran refer to the hijab in its broader sense of modesty and not necessarily a physical piece of clothing to be worn? If it is modesty and social propriety, is a piece of cloth enough to ensure the same?

• Is the enforcement of the mandate of the full veil a fanatic religious measure to keep women entrapped in the dark shadows of illiteracy and ignorance - do the extremists actually believe that women need to be protected, or hidden, or maybe just put away?

• Is the proposal to ban the wearing of the full veil in France pro open-faced democracy, and in the interest of the security of the nation, and the feminist endeavor for greater rights and freedom for women?

• Is the problem with the veil that it covers the full faces and hence poses security threats? Have there been incidents of misuse of the veil by criminals?

• Is the proposed ban against the institution of secularism? Does it indicate religious intolerance and racial bias of the xenophobic “west”?

• Do Islamic women see the burqa or the hijab as a cultural identity that empowers them as unique individuals or thwarts their efforts at any kind of progress?

• Do Islamic women wear the veil out of coercion or of their own free will? Is their will free or conditioned?

• Is the hijab the only form of expressing religious belief? Why should only women carry the burden of religious identity?

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This post comes, well, a tad bit delayed. And don’t get me started on how I trapped myself into being so busy when I thought I was “done”.

Last weekend, my nephew Ads – yes the super brilliant guy I talk about here – asked me to tell him one of the Ramayana stories from his Amar chitra katha collection. This four-year old has recently acquired a new found fascination for Indian mythology – especially Hanuman, Ram et al.

I was more than willing to spend a lazy Saturday evening with him, and enthusiastically asked him to choose the story he wants me to narrate.

As my luck had it, he chose the Uttar Ramayana – For those unfamiliar with Indian mythology, this is the part of the epic where Lord Ram sends Sita to the forest after his subjects (starting with some idiotic launderer) raise doubts about Sita’s chastity after her having stayed in Ravana’s custody. As is obvious from the subject of the tale, this one is not a simple tale about all good and destruction of all evil. Many hindus in fact do not consider this part of the original Ramayana – Else how can they claim Ram to be “Purshotham” (the best among men) when he turned his wife when she needed him the most!

With doubts on how I would gloss over the uncomfortable parts of the tale, I started telling Ads the story. But haven’t I told you before – this is not just about any 4 year old – he is not only very inquisitive who wants a story neatly laid out right to the finest of details – but he also exhibits a keen understanding of the details.

As you would expect I was ragged big time; here are some excerpts from our conversation that day. Most of the vocab I have used at the first go is a direct pick from the Amarchitrakatha book:

Me: So let’s start – so as you know Ram was a just and fair king.

Ads: What is just and fair.

Me: He was honest, always did what is right, was a good ruler.

Ads: Oh ok, I am also just and fair.

Me: Yes you are.

Me: One day, Ram heard that his people did not like Sita because she had been kidnapped by Ravana – so he decided to send her away to the sage’s hermit.

Ads: Why did they not like her? But Ram fought with Ravana, right? And he saved Sita – then why should he send her away just because people did not like her.

Me (trying to spin whatever excuses I could at the top of my head – crap, as if I cared what Ram did): But Ram also thought that his children should be born in the jungle with the sages so that they become intelligent and powerful.

Ads: Was Ram born in a jungle?

Me: No

Ads: But he was powerful and brave right? Then why should his children be born in the jungle.

Me: But it’s just a story and this is what happened. Everybody makes mistakes right. Ram also made a mistake by sending Sita away. So can we continue with the story?

Ads: Okay…

Me: So Ram did the ashwamedha yajna (I explained to him as much as I could what it required) – yajna has to be done with the wife else gods get angry. But Sita was in the jungle, so Ram built a gold statue and used that statue for the prayers.

Ads: Did he ask her to come?

Me: No

Ads: He should have said sorry and asked her to come – she would have.

Me (given up on defending Ram): He didn’t think of that.

Ads: Okay, but gods know right – Ram can’t fool the gods – they know his wife is in the jungle and this is just a statue.

Me: Yes….let’s continue…

Me: So Luv and Kush were defeated Hanuman and Lakshman, and started fighting with Ram without knowing he was their father.

Ads: Why did Sita not tell them?

Me: She didn’t want them to feel bad that their dad left them in the jungle.

Ads: Ram was not a good father, no?

Me: No. Okay, so then when he asks them who’s your mother and they say “Sita”, Ram becomes very sad – he feels very bad and becomes unconscious out of grief.

Sita tells Luv and Kush about Ram and they are happy. The sage asks Ram to go back with his entire family to Ayodhya.

But, Sita wants to go back to her mother (I didn’t want to get into the insult and suicide concept) and her mother is Earth – so the earth opens up and Sita goes inside.

Ads: She kills herself (see, I told you he is no ordinary 4 year old)

Me: It’s not really killing

Ads: But why does she not go back with Ram?

Me: Because she is angry with Ram as Ram sent her away to the forest and was not there to protect her when she was scared.

Ads: But the sage protected her.

Me: But Ram just left her right?

Ads: Yes, That was not fair of Ram. Just because someone tells you something, you can’t leave your wife and children right? (Well, if this was so simple, I wonder why Lord Ram faltered)

I think Hanuman is the best person in Ramayana – he helps everyone and saves everyone – he respects and loves everyone also. I think he is better than Ram. Ram was not fair.

Me: Yes, but Ads these are all stories, okay? Now let’s order pizza.

Ads: But stories can happen for real right?

Me: What topping on your pizza?

Ads: Paneer without spice!

Me: Thank god for pizzas!

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I am hardly religious but at the same time neither I am an atheist. I believe in god – but the association of god with religion, traditions and superstitions is something I am really very wary of.

Okay, with this clarification out of the way now, let me proceed with what has been really pissing me off for some time now.

Blaring music on loud speakers at all odd hours of the day and night is very much a part of our being, in India. We consider it our birth right and our obligatory duty to broadcast our happiness, sorrow, loyalties, anything and everything at “high volume”. From the 'baraats' in the wedding season in the crowded residential streets to the DJ 'dandiya' nights in the neighborhood apartments, the first birthday celebration of the neighbor’s kid next door, and the 'jagaratas' and 'satsangs' in the community spaces – noise pollution is all pervasive. Cacophony has always been synonymous with celebration.

Most of us thanked god for small mercies when the Supreme Court of India passed the landmark judgment that took baby steps toward reducing or rather containing the clamor that the so called members of the various civilized and spiritual societies were creating. You can read the details here.

As any other rule, this too has not seen a complete and absolute implementation but at least in the National Capital territory and region, we have had some respite from the menace of “loud speakers”.

Cut to Chennai – T Nagar, to be precise – 5 in the morning - for more than a month now I continue to be rudely woken up by chants of 'sabiramalai' and 'aiyappa' coming from some small temple across the road.

Though I usually crib more than an average human being, I swear to god I really don’t mind the occasional ear-splitting music on a film star’s birthday, or a politician’s death anniversary or a festival - Silence can be deafening too – I need some din around to maintain my sanity levels (however low anybody might think those to be :p).

However, the last month and a half have been terrible and intolerable. In the name of God to disrupt an entire neighborhood is ostentatious.

Are our gods hard of hearing? Are they deaf? My god isn’t and I am sure yours is not too.

I would still make some concession had it been a 'kirtan' kind of a setup where people get together and recite prayers to their gods – you know at least they were devoted enough to do that – But no, here somebody is indecent enough to put recorded songs with tunes bordering on film music on a loud speaker before the sun even decides to rise – this is not a means to connect with god but a form of community entertainment.

As an obvious reaction, I asked my FIL to complain – register a formal police complaint – after all, this is an infringement of what is laid out in the rule book. Haa! Only if our judicial system was good enough - My FIL told me that they all have tried and given up – each time they get the same response – “Why do you want to get into all this, you are educated – why do you want to go against these fanatics who will do anything in the name of religion – your complaint will spark off a class and caste war (this will make a lot of sense to people who are aware of the caste politics in Tamil Nadu); just close your windows, put cotton in your ears and ignore – why should you get your hands dirty”.

And so we, the citizens of the largest democracy in the world, put cotton wool in our ears and shut our windows and eyes, lock our houses and tongues, and continue to live, seething inside … and blogging on cyber space in a vain attempt to compensate for the actions we never take and the compromises we make.

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