Hello.Namaste.Vanakkam.Baga Unara.

We Indians love to celebrate. It gives us a reason to smile over our political, sexual, personal, professional and many other kinds of miseries of day to day life. Right from the time a kid comes into this world to the time he is dug back into the earth or burnt upon death; it is time for some kind of gathering/event/celebration. Our higher gastronomic quotient, an uncanny ability to pray to thousands of Gods and hold tonnes of people whom even our grand parents wouldn't remember of in awe provides even more opportunities. Celebrations, Fun, Food, Booze - almost become synonyms.

It is God X's Birthday! Let us carry out a procession! Mr Y died on this very day ages back, let us declare it a holiday. Your aunt's second cousin's daughter's father-in-law passed away, how sad [all tears I am to the gross loss I have to bear...]. Let us go for condolences! To make it even more funny, Mr. Y's death in Maharashtra makes it an apt occasion for a chakka jaam and doesn't make a leaf stir in the neighbouring Goa or Karnataka. Ganpati festival carries such a huge sanctity that I am even afraid of writing this on my blog sitting in an isolated part of Maharashtra whereas Eid-ul-Fitr and Dusshera passed with hardly any noise. Yea yea right...don't give me that India-is-oh-so-diverse shit! Yes we are a diverse nation with different tastes and preferences. Agreed. But then, accept it throughout! Probably if we accept this, it wouldn't be hard to find an answer to all the problems that have prevailed at some point of time or other in Maharashtra, Orissa, Assam, Karnataka, Delhi, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa [Oh damn..should I write all the States of India here???]

The point here is - we are different. We are a vast nation. Things that work at one place don't in some other part of the country. Now we have two options - either we can fight over it, which we comfortably are by actually fighting or disinterestedly pointing out flaws in the often cursed system over the evening tea and Marie biscuit or...as a first step, we can accept the differences and learn to live with them.

I was so averse to people recognizing others by their state and not names that my blood used to boil when someone recognized someone else as a Mallu or Gujju or Marathi or Punju or Bong or Telegu or Bihari or U.P. Bhaiya..but then what did I see? It makes no sense to boil my blood - simply because a Mallu is hell bent to prove that he is a Mallu and he wouldn't have it another way. And for your information, I am not talking about the often talked downtrodden or the illiterate India. It is the crème de la crème of the society with whom I am studying in an elite B School. The bond is simply oh-so-very-fevicol here. Rot is complete. A simple chat with me becomes of no consequence to a guy who is talking to me from past ten minutes as soon as he hears a sing song Hi! from miles away in his mother tongue. It is like a sniffer dog's alacrity which we Indians are born with - the only difference is that for us, it is our ears that are over sensitive to the mother tongue! Half of the decisions for a project/assignment/presentation are made in their mother tongue and even before one becomes aware, the project is over [good for me] Some would come and say - Oh you are just jealous that you don't understand. Hell No! I am as jealous of not knowing your tongue as much as you are not knowing mine! Frankly, I care a damn! Why is that I am almost coaxed out of my room to celebrate the festival you believe in when I don't care a damn about it? For brotherhood? For being one of the place? But then, why don't you collect money and organize say an event on Eid-ul-Fitr with the same fervour as Ganpati or Dandia? Won't it help to promote that brotherhood and being one of the place you have been squalling about? Why don't our purses open [or are forced to be opened] for Christmas or Navroze [do you even know what it is?]

Go get a life losers. I am not taking any more religion/region/language bull shit from you for various reasons you state. I know where my loyalties lie so don't come banging on my door again for money for some celebration again...