That Thing Called the Indian Herd

chillibreeze writer — Milind Pande

Sitting by the side of the bridge that runs over the River Ganges in the holy land of Haridwar, an agnostic like me frequently gets into the mood to ‘be pious for a while.’ It is one of the best places to understand what goes into group dynamics. Let me attempt to relate it to our contemporary context.

Observing over two million people brought together by various reasons like birth, death, marriage, good luck, faith, blind faith, confusion about faith et al. is definitely an experience which is hard to put into words.

‘Faith’ is what primarily brings people to Haridwar. It is astounding to see a couple of lakhs of people descending to this place to seek blessings. The sea of human heads makes it virtually impossible to even glance at the idols.

Quite unlikely an experience when you consider that those who tip at the dilapidated ‘box of good faith’ catches a glimpse of the gods that lasts for eternity. Your money equals the power of your faith. The more the number of people in your group, the more attractive the discounts on the blessings/ idol tours. Naturally, herds follow. So don’t be really surprised if you see a pied piper leading a stream of ardent (or confused) devotees behind him to a clandestine spot for accepting the Visa.

I thought piety was to be found in abundance here, but the usual urbanization/ commercialization at such a revered place proved me otherwise. The ones who used to be priests are now capitalists of sorts, playing around on your emotions and milking your pockets simultaneously.

People today want quick fix requirements, are risk averse, and are unwilling to walk the untrodden path for fear of failing to make the mark. All these issues make for prospective 'customers' and a good business!

Moving towards the urban lifestyle:

Every morning, when I open the newspaper, I notice that the first page is mostly about how many protests were staged against a decision taken by the government and how the government has put the decision on hold until some “x” date, which one forgets the very moment the article ends.

The second page is dedicated to a private B school ad promising a world tour along with free laptops, the third page is usually about how our education system needs reforms, the fourth and fifth pages have those tenders which no one bothers to look at and some shady exams in clinical research, which no one wants to talk about.

I don’t know if anybody realizes it but city life is becoming very predictable. Same old jargon-cum-jamboree and much ado about nothing. How do we put a stop to this routine and morose life of monotony where everyone is following a herd? Make money, gas around with words, plan and fight for your right but never exercise it, compete till you die, put up a show that has been unheard of because you want visibility, and the list goes on and on.

Unlike Haridwar, where faith connects the herd, I can’t exactly figure out what makes millions follow the same worn-out pattern. Is it our deficient education system that just teaches us transactional levels of thinking and makes us inadvertently miss out on the bigger picture?

I fail to comprehend how a nation of billion cannot have even one capable leader. We follow the herd, but we are not even sure if we are following the right leader of the pack. A convenient way to get out of this is being spoilt for options.

At least understanding this faith disconnect might help us introspect a little and usher in a fresh whiff of ideas. Let us rejuvenate faith in ourselves. Faith that is pure, unadulterated by negativity, and not held as a matter of tradition or routine of the herd.

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Out of 5 “chilies”, our editorial team gave this article...

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—About our writer: Milind says, "I am a 40 year old stuck in the body of a 23 year old. I am in a chartered accountancy firm and I don't know even a bit of accountancy! My interests include aviation, gossip, sarcasm, cinema, theater, dogs (only Rottweilers) and eating in no specific order. My fav. sitcoms are Entourage, FRIENDS and Alif Laila (it used to run on DD-I)."

 

 

 

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