Buddhism: India's Most Important Cultural Export & Soft Power

Jawhar Sircar

4 May 2015

   

        Ever since Joseph Nye described ‘Soft Power’, as a cultural contribution of one country that strongly influences other countries and people, Indians have been demanding that India uses its for this, without actually specifying how. This is when we need to remember that the most powerful cultural export from India in the history of mankind was the Buddhist ideology of peace and non-violence. And in this unique feat, the date that stands out prominently is Vesak, the name by which Buddha Purnima is celebrated by millions in many nations in East and South-East Asia. Several Indian religious celebrations, both Hindu and Buddhist, have been adopted overseas but most people in these countries can barely remember their ancient Indian roots, as these are now their own local or national celebrations.  

Where Vesak is concerned, however, Gautam Buddha’s towering legacy ensures that the day of the full moon in the Indian month of Vaisakh becomes the most important day in the religious and social life of such a large part of the world. Buddhists recall it as the day on which the Master was born, which was the same date on which he achieved Mahaparinirvana and left the world 80 years later. All of humanity remembers Buddha’s basic philosophy that the cause of all suffering lies in our desire and also that way out lies in detachment from wanting more. His sacred teaching is that all things change and that salvation lies in being aware of this and in wisely not holding on to what is changeable. Needless to say, his message of meditation, reflection, compassion and peace was far   ahead of his time, when human existence was more brutal.

         Buddhism was established in India some five centuries before Christianity and was soon known throughout Asia. The striking similarities between the teachings of the Buddha and those of Christ have been noted by many Western scholars of religion, like Barbara Walker who said that “the legends and sayings derived from Buddhism appear in the Gospels, disguised as ‘typically Christian’ precepts”.  Mark Tatz and Jody Kent further elaborated on this and felt that “Buddhist sages provided prototypes of Christian miracles. They were said to walk on water, to speak in tongues and to ascend to heaven in the flesh.” Herbert Muller has even declared that Saint Josaphat who is described by John of Damascus in his life story written in the 8th century A.D. “is actually a corruption of Bodhisatt”. As the world’s first really well-organised open religion, Buddhism contributed much to Christianity and even Hinduism and Chris Williams mentions some of these as “celibacy, fasting, use of lamps and flowers on the altar, incense, holy water, rosaries (japamalas), priestly garments, worship of relics, canonization of saints, use of an ancient language for the liturgy and ceremonials generally”.

         It is no wonder, therefore, that Buddha is worshipped with so much reverence during his Purnima in so many countries. India does so as well, but it is not among the major festivities of India, except for our Buddhists, both traditional and new. It is strange that Buddhism was not given its rightful place in the land of its origin and even though he is often regarded as an Avatar of Vishnu, not a single Hindu temple is dedicated only to him.  In fact, had it not been for the Neo-Buddhists of India, this religion would not receive so much attention as it does now.

         India’s ancient celebrations are fixed mainly according to the Solar calendar so as to coincide with agricultural seasons, but as a Lunar calendar event, Buddha Purnima has widely varying dates in different years and is not really linked to crop-based rituals. Like in Islam, that also follows Lunar measurements, this day is thus observed for its own intrinsic value. Though the First Conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhist held in Colombo in May 1950 fixed this celebration with the full moon in May, different Buddhist communities celebrate Vesak on different dates, as the Lunar Calendar can be interpreted in different ways.  Sometimes month of Vesak has two moons which complicates matters, and Thailand, for instance, is celebrating Vesak on the Ist of June, while we celebrate it on the 4^th of May.

          The Sinhalese celebrate it as Vesak, the Nepalis as Swaanyaa Punhi, the Burmese as Kason, the Tibetans as Saga Dawa, the Indonesians as Hari Raya Waisak, the Malaysians as Hari Wesak, the Khmer as Visak Puja, the Thai as Wisakha Bucha, the Vietnamese as Phat Dan and the Laotians as Vixakha Bouxa.  The Chinese call it by several names and two of them are Fo Daan and Yu Fojie, while the Japanese call it Hana-matsuri.  In his book of ‘Rationalizing Religion’, Chee Kiong Tong explains how the Chinese have ‘internalised’ the Buddha and his festivals into their ritual practices and how both the Communist and Capitalist economies of different Chinese communities all over the world are busy in “retaining and simplifying religion”.  Japanese traditions believe that a dragon appeared in the sky and offered Soma-rasa to the Buddha and it is celebrated as early as the 8^th of April, according to their Solar Calendar. Let us not forget that more than 40 per cent of the Japanese believe strongly in Buddhism, even now.

There is a carnival like atmosphere in decorated temples, in Buddhist countries, on Vesak day, as devout Buddhist and followers assemble at various temples from dawn.  Festivities begin with the ceremonial hoisting of the Buddhist Flag and the singing of hymns in honour of the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha.  Strict vegetarianism is observed in these countries, that are quite strongly non-vegetarian and liquor shops are shut down mandatorily for 2 to 3 days.  Thousands of birds, animals and insects are released from captivity by devotees, in honour of the Buddha.

  

Before we end, I must mention about the strangest celebration of Buddha Purnima that I have come across.  It is in a village called Jamalpur in Purbasthali police station of Barddhaman, where thousands of goat and sheep are slaughtered before Dharmaraj, the presiding deity.  Devotees gathered from several adjoining regions and played with swords, guns and other weapons, until the Police stopped this ritual recently. 

Each community in the world has its own reasons, but such aberrations cannot detract us from the fact that if the world ever gets together to pray for peace and for the end of violence, it is on this day of Buddha Purnima!  

English translation of Original Article published in Ananda Bazaar Patrika on 4th May,2015

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Who will donate if you dont show the greed of virtue

AKSHAY TRITIYA

Jawhar Sircar

Over a hundred years ago, British observers had noted that “Akshaya Tritiya is kept throughout India on the third day of Vaishaka Shukla-paksha. To bathe this day and to give fans, umbrellas and money to the Brahmans is believed to earn imperishable merit. The performance of it is consequentially very popular.” Celebrated in all provinces, this festival which falls on the third day of the bright half of Vaishaka, is also called Akha Teej in the Hindi belt. It is observed by Jains with equal fervor, but let us make a special note of the merit of daana, and move on.

Many religions of the world believe in auspicious moments, but none can come even close to the Hindus’ obsession with shubha murhurats and the meticulous calculations that determine it. When people question how such an unstructured religion could hold together for centuries, with neither Vatican-Mecca, nor a Pope, Patriarch, Khalifa or Grand Imam, one needs to understand the common codes that governed all believers, through an intricate and omnipresent network of a priestly class. Among these codes are the consulting the Panchanga or Panjika, where lunar and solar calibrations mix with astronomy, astrology and religious requirements into a unique discipline. Though differences do exist between ‘schools’ and in the methods of calculation, they are broadly similar where most festivals, events, good and bad periods and the best muhartas are concerned.

Akshay Tritiya is a fine example of the common core of pan-Indian beliefs and is among the ‘three and a half most auspicious timings‘, the Sade-Teen Muhurtas or tithis (lunar days) of Hindus. The other two are the first of Chaitra and Vijaya Dashami, while the first day of the bright half in Karttika is the ‘half tithi. This occasion is associated with the Mahabharata as Vyasa Muni started dictating the epic to Ganesha. It was on this day that Draupadi saved her dignity as Dushasan kept trying to disrobe her because Krishna’s miracle ensured that she always had a saree draping her. Surya-deva also gave his divine Akshaya Patra to the Pandavas on this occasion so that they never ran out of food.

Let us look at the other legends about how auspicious this date is. Many believe that the Treta Yuga began on this day while others insist that the Satya Yuga commenced from this day, but they are so many millions of years ago with no witnesses left, that it makes little sense to argue still. Ganga descended on the earth on this Tritiya, which is also dedicated to Vishnu the great preserver. He was born as Parasurama on this tithi and claimed land from the sea, just like the Dutch did centuries late. So strong is the belief that he is still worshipped for this deed on Akshay Tritiya in the Konkan and Malabar regions of India. Bengal has no followers of Parasurama, perhaps because it faces the reverse problem of too much land and silt blocking its main rivers with chars: so his axe could perhaps be used to de-silt the holy river.

The driest period of the year begins with the onset of summer and as the soil dries in the fierce heat: thus farmers find it simpler to plough through and granulate the earth. This day was also fixed to remind agriculturalists to begin tilling and it is considered auspicious all the way from Odisha to the land of the Jats in Western U.P- Haryana At dawn, elderly Jats walk to the fields with shovels and observe all birds and animals seen on the way as harbingers of the next season. Even in Gujarat, this is the day to take up the plough and Parasurama is again recalled, as he is associated with the plough. Though this was not traditionally the beginning of the agricultural season in the South, the almanacs mention it as an important auspicious date. Fasts are kept by many, to beseech the gods for prosperity.    

Basically, it is a festival that stresses on bounty, whether for business ventures or for agriculture, underlining the importance of materialism in the Hindu way of life. Annapoorna, the goddess of prosperity celebrates her birthday and Kubera, the god of wealth is also a central figure in Akshay Tritiya. The latter is a fascinating character who hides within his many legends a lot of social history, as Brahmanical narratives are not linear like western ones, but inter-twined in legends from which we must glean the facts. Kubera is portrayed as an ugly, puny and pot-bellied Yaksha: personifying thereby the contempt with which the early pastoral Aryans viewed more prosperous settled societies of darker, shorter aboriginal Indians. Tales of the fabulous wealth of non-Aryan tribes abound in Vedic, post-Vedic and Puranic literature and one reason for this was their in-built habit of creating and converting a part of their resources from livestock and agricultural produce to more solid forms like gold and jewels. Akshay Tritiya’s dictum runs on these lines, like that of Dhan-teras six months later, i.e, to save and diversify one’s savings, which are exactly the same that modern economists and financial advisors preach.

Kubera begins his career in Vedic-era texts as the ‘chief of evil spirits’, Bhuteshwara, and acquired reluctant acceptance within Sanskrit civilization and his godly status only a thousand years later, through the Puranas. By this time, the ‘mixed people’ that Manu talks of are widespread and quite dominant across the entire sub-continent. So much so, that he was also accepted as a god by the Buddhists and called Vaisravanta as well as the Jains, who worshipped him as Sarvan-bhuti. Kubera would continue as an established god of wealth of the Hindus for more than a million years, until the more Brahmanical Lakshmi would slowly edge him out. His complexion would also become quite fair as the treasurer of the devas, though he continued to represent the ‘backward community’ of Ganas, Yakshas, Kinnaras, Gandharvas and Guhyakas. Nothing comes without a struggle and Kubera would lose an eye that was said to be mauled by the Devi, very much like Manasa’s: for daring to rise from a folk-deity status to higher Brahmanical religion. Akshay Tritiya and Dhan-teras are occasions for many Hindus to pray to him, as this religion does not really believe in deletion any divinity but only ‘downgrades’ to honorary status just like political parties often do with their senior leaders. Incidentally, in his Buddhist form Kubera reached many countries as religious beliefs never required visas and in Japan he is worshipped as Bishamon.

As in many states, Bengali entrepreneurs also reserve this propitious date for commencing new ventures or even to begin their annul accounts. Sudama’s humble gift of simple puffed rice given to Krishna is recalled to emhasise the essentiality of making gifts, big or small. “This day is held sacred by the Hindus because the Shastras declare that the merit of alms and gifts bestowed during it are permanent”, wrote Rev KS Macdonald in 1836, “and cannot be destroyed by any future sin, and therefore, even misers unloose their purse strings and are liberal on this day”. This is the crux of the matter, as the winter crop was already in the granaries and unless a compulsion and an ‘anticipatory bail’ type of religious mandate was given, the selfish man would not part with his wealth to the Brahmans or to the destitute.

(English Version of Bengali Article published in Ananda Bazar Patrika on 21st April,2015) 

http://www.anandabazar.com/editorial/who-will-donate-if-you-dont-show-the-greed-of-virtue-1.136780

EASTER BEFORE CHRIST:The Story of Good Friday & Other Curious Customs

Jawhar Sircar, 3rd April, 2015

        A question that comes up often is if Jesus Christ died with so much pain on the Cross why is the day called 'Good Friday'?  Some Christian traditions like the Germans actually call it Karfreitag or ‘Sorrowful Friday’ and in English the origin of the term 'good' is said to have come either from ‘God's Friday’ or from an archaic translation of the term ‘Holy’ or ‘Pious’.  It leads the main celebrations of 'Easter' that reaches its peak on Sunday, the day that Jesus arose from his dead state and began his journey to heaven. The dates for Good Friday and the Easter season were not always been agreed upon and initially they were linked to Spring Equinox of the 21^st of March. Christianity was indeed a struggling movement till 313 AD, when Emperor Constantine of Byzantium (present day Istanbul) recognised it as one of the official religions of the Roman Empire. Its early history is thus crowded in myths and legends.  The death of Jesus was originally calculated to have been in AD 33 and 'Good Friday' was reckoned to be the 3^rd of April: a remarkable coincidence with this year’s celebration. Sir Isaac Newton, however, brought it to AD 34 with all his mathematical calculations of the differences between the conflicting calendars and the movements of the moon. The Western Churches follow the Gregorian calendar while the Eastern Churches abide by the Julian calendar, thus they differ on the dates of their celebrations but what are common are the special prayers and Masses that mark the period. The Easter season actually begins with 40 days of 'Lent' that precedes Easter Sunday and many actually observe fasts through so many days.

       As a festival, however, Easter goes back well before Christ arrived. It was originally celebrated for a pagan goddess called Eostre or Ostara or even Astare. She was worshipped in Spring as the dead winter found fresh life through her and Norma Goodrich mentions in her book that ancient Saxon poets had found associations between India’s dark goddess and this Eostre, as both followed the death and life cycle. The Easter Bunny is also older than Christianity because it was known as the companion or vahana of the goddess and was called the Moon-hare. The Germans said that this hare would lay golden eggs for good children on Easter Eve, and this belief has been explained in Claudia De Lys’ book on superstitions.  In fact, scholars like Homer Smith claim that the Christian festival was not even called 'Easter', until the late Middle Ages.  Several nations like the Irish, however, kept Easter on a different date from that of the Roman Church, as the original date of the 'festival of Eostre', until the Roman calendar was imposed on them in 623 AD. 

     Eggs were always symbols of rebirth, which is why Easter eggs were usually coloured red, especially in Eastern Europe, to symbolise the blood of Christ. The Russians used to lay red Easter eggs on graves to serve as ‘resurrection charms’ and in the Czech republic, Christ was duly honoured on Easter Sunday, but his pagan rival was recalled on Easter Monday: which was the ‘Moon-day’ as opposed to the Sun-day.  A curious 16^th century Easter custom was known as “creeping to the cross with eggs and apples”, which was a significant use of the ancient female symbols of birth and death. The older traditions used dyed chicken eggs, but now substitutes come in chocolate, or plastic eggs filled with candy such as jellybeans. Even so, many still insist on the tradition of colouring their hard-boiled eggs. In  Poland and in the Slavic traditions of Eastern Europe, Easter eggs are a widely popular symbol of new life and a batik-like decorating process known as pisanka produces intricate, brilliantly-colored eggs. In Bulgaria, traditional egg fights are a rage and the winning egg is titled as the borak, the fighter. Germans and Swiss hang decorated eggs from branches or bushes and even the top of wells are dressed up for Easter as Oster-brunnen. The celebrated House of Faberge created exquisite jeweled eggs for the Russian Imperial Court that took this humble folk art to new heights.

    Like the celebration of Christmas, many traditions of Easter were altered, censored or even abandoned altogether by various offshoots of Christianity, especially during the Protestant Reformation. The Lutherans, Methodists and Anglicans, however, chose to retain a large proportion of the old observances along with many of their associated traditions, even though the  Presbyterian Puritans regarded such festivals as abominations. In today's world, Easter also has a commercial side, as evidenced by the mounds of chocolate eggs, jelly beans and marshmallow chicks that appear in shops each spring.  Like Christmas, there is a thriving industry that runs on Easter eggs, bunnies and baskets of condiments, as this holy day continuously combined various folk customs, pagan traditions and current fads with religion and piety. The Easter Bunny has become a popular legendary Easter gift-giving character, somewhat analogous to Santa Claus in American culture and on Easter Monday, the President of the United States holds an annual Easter egg rolling event on the White House lawn for excited children.

          Bermudans choose Easter to fly kites and hold colourful competitions, but all in the name of God, as priests say these celebrate Christ's ascent to heaven. Fish cakes are a favourite dish and Bengalis could well think of visiting this island for this delicacy. In Jamaica, the baking of buns with raisins becomes the main occupation from Good Friday onwards, and once their crusty tops are seared with two strokes of the knife, they become the famous 'Hot Cross Buns'. While some East Europeans prepare a special nut-cake called potica, the Polish prepare excellent white sausages for this season.

        Easter is, however, not food and fun, for it also associated with the painful emulation of bodily tortures that were heaped upon Christ, called 'The Passion'. Filipinos and Mexicans go through Christ's last journey dragging heavy crosses on their shoulders and whip themselves till they bleed. Some also pierce their heads with crowns of prickly thorns. Formal religion has tried its best to control men from such self flaggelation, but they continue nevertheless: Like this one in Christianity. In Islam  they appear in similar painful rites during Mohurram: very much like the Indian ceremonies of piercing cheeks and bodies with sharp metal or swinging high on poles on ropes tied to hooks inserted under the skins of backs: as in Charak. It is interesting to witness so many colourful processions that are taken out through huge crowds in Easter in so many Catholic countries. They are quite like Hindu celebrations and they carry quaint images, idols and dolls that depict Biblical scenes and The Passion of Christ.

    The arrival of Spring often reminded people in cold Europe that it was time for a bath and in Hungary and countries that were formerly in Yugoslavia, buckets of cold water were literally poured on shivering humans. Men often wooed women with perfumes or scented water, but the most peculiar custom was followed in Czech and Slovak countries, where men literally spanked or whipped women with willow rods and coloured ribbons. So deep-rooted was this custom that women reportedly felt offended if they were not touched by this Easter whip. It is hoped that this tradition is now gone, but what can never go from mankind is its infinite capacity to use every religious occasion, however serious be it, to celebrate their very existence with excitement, cheer and warmth.

Holi : India's Colourful Carnival by Jawhar Sircar

  

           Among the dozens of festivals that Indians celebrate every year, Holi stands out as one that has the least quota of scriptures and the maximum dosage of wanton fun. More than a hundred years ago, the venerable Pandit S.M. Natesa Sastri had commented, rather gravely on this, saying that "there is no religious ceremony of any kind connected with this Holi, but there is more than any reasonable amount of foolish practices".

             This remarkable social event that occurs during the full moon of the month of Phalguna (February-March) actually begins the preceding night, with the burning of a ceremonial pile of wooden logs, branches, dry twigs and even clothes: called Holika dahan. The next day is well known, or notorious, for unbridled revelry and the resplendant use of dry and wet colours of all imaginagble hues, flung at both willing and hapless humans. These come with bursts of cheer and a lot of dances to the rhythmic beat of drums as well full throated singing of folk or saucy songs. It ends normally by the afternoon or evening, with a lot of merriment, bonhomie and sweets. Several communities, however, stretch it from three days to a whole fortninght of celebrations, as their special festival of Spring and some go on for even longer stretches. 

          To trace the origins of Holi, one would have to go back several centuries, meandering through tales, religious legends and practices, as precise historical records are anathema to the major religion of India: that commerates events and cylcles of yugas, rather than be unnecessarily bothered about factual dates. It is  mention in Dandin's Sanskrit play Dashakumara-charita and in Sri Harsha's Ratnavali  , both of which were composed in the seventh century of the present era. But, studies of cultural practices reveal that it must have been celebrated by indegenous people even earlier, well before formal religion adopted it, by inserting sacred lore. The Puranas have also some references, but dating them is a herculean task that only geniuses like Horace H Wilson or Rajendra Hazra could attempt, and could still not be too sure. We have ample testimony in Mughal and contemporary miniature paintings and other cultural expressions of the medieval period, telling us so many vivid stories about Holi that centred mainly on Krishna, Radha and the gopis. Europeans were amazed to note this unique festival of colours in India and the Oxford Dictionary seems to have had a special fascination for it, right from the 17th century: calling it ‘Houly’ in 1687, ‘Hoolee’ in 1698, ‘Huli’ in 1798, ‘Hoh-lee’ in 1809 and so on.

        Legends and practices differ a lot in this vast subcontinent, yet within this diversity there is a strange unspoken strand of ‘unity’, where the main celebrations and the period of Holi are concerned. Centuries of Brahmanical persistence or persuasion must have resulted in this convergence of heterogeneous celebrations into one major festival. Old narratives mention certain parts of India where the festival of Holi was earlier neither not important nor were their own Spring festivals forsaken and some were held on different dates. But by now, thanks to the churning of peoples and customs in India and also the semi-conscious cultural homogenisation injected by the ubiquitous Hindi cinema, this event has now become a remarkable pan-Indian phenomenon that takes place everywhere around the same time. It goes by different names, however, like Phagua in Bihar, Dol-Jatra in Bengal, Odisha and Assam, though Phakuwa is also another name in that state. We will encounter more names, as we  travel.

          In Gujarat, Holi is a two day festival, where raw coconuts and corn are thrown into the Holika bonfire.  The rabi crop is ripe in this state, as in some other parts of India, which calls for more vigorous celebration, with dance, food and music.  A mock fight between young girls and boys for a pot of butter milk hung aloft, adds to the general entertainment and a sublime sensual touch. It is said that there was an old custom in some places where the women of families beat their brothers-in-law with a sari rolled up like a stick. But when it comes to beating, the Lath Maar Holi of Barsana, a town near Mathura in the Braj region of UP, takes the cake.  Here, women literally rain blows on the  menfolk with sticks and the poor fellows save their precious heads with sheilds. Some  seem to be enjoying this teasing act, as they sing provocative songs in return, leading to more friendly blows aimed at them. Now that it is on the tourist before foreigners and television, the blows are getting rather energetic, as cheering visitors keep clicking photos. Needless to say, the 'real' Holi is supposed to be in Mathura, Vrindavan and Braj wherea Krishna-Kanhaiya spent his early years.

         But, as we move from the Yamuna to the banks of the Ganga, we find Holi celebrated as 'Ganga Mela' in Kanpur to commemorate the bravery of the soldiers of this region who fought the British in 1857, under the leadership of Nana Sahib.  Further downstream, in Benaras where mega stars have poured their hearts out with Holi songs and drum-beats, the wrestling matches on the muddy banks of the holy river add to the fun. The Phagua of Bihar, which is a predominantly Bhojpuri version, is celebrated with wild abandon and wet mud, clay and even muck often substitute colours.  The intoxicating bhaang made from cannabis, milk and spices and served as thandai has been an essential feature of the celebrations. The heady drink  elevates the mood even higher, as dancers swing feverishly to the resounding beat of the dholak and to the incessant clouds of multiple colours.

     As one goes up the Kumaon Hills, the Holika pyre, which is called ‘Cheer Bandhan’ becomes the centre-point of the fest, for communities to start building up from a fortnight before the actual day of Dhulandi.  These huge piles of dried logs and twigs bring cheer  during this last bite of the cold in the hills are jealously guarded by local communities, so that other villagers or localities do not steal from their treasure.

               Odisha and Bengal commemorate Radha Krishna during their ‘Dol Purnima’ or the swing festival and it is said that Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had a lot to do with its conversion into a semi-religious event in both the States. It is believed that  Chaitanya exported the Dol Purnima of Puri to Bengal through his disciples and pilgrims to Bengal, as Puri was his main base. The Hari Bhakti Bilas and other contemporary literature mention this Dol-utshob but there is no evidence of its celebration in Chaitanya's own Nabadwip in his biographies nor in the Vaishnava Padabalis. Roop Goswami, Basu Ghosh, Shivram, Udhav Das, who were contemporary litterateurs of Chaitanya wrote about  the Hari Leela celebrations in this province during Holi. The Irish Hindu devotee, Sister Nivedita wrote a wonderful piece on the Dol Jatra of Bengal which was published in 1913 from London, after her death. It describes Dol Purnima as the birthday of Sri Chaitanya in poetic hues: “On full moon of the beautiful month of Phalgun, when the ashoka tree and the mango are in bloom, when the foliage buds of the leaf almond are long and slender and when the scarlet plumes of the palaash stand out on its naked branches, occurs the Holi festival or Dol Jatra, of some long pre-Hindu people”. The Pracheen Smritis mention Holi being celebrated in this region in the 13th century, well before Chatanya, mainly by "lowers classes who used filthy language". It is apparent that till then, formal Brahmanism had reservations about this celebration of the masses and in the joyful mixing of different strata and genders, in such an unrestrained manner. Prahlada's moving story was still waiting in the wings, at this stage.

                But before we come to the pre-Hindu origins, let us quickly go over some other regions like Maharashtra where it is celebrated as Shimga and  Goa or Konkan where the spring festival goes by the name Shigmo. In the southern part of the Konkan, it is known as Ukkuli, whereas in Kerala this celebration is called Manjalkuli (turmeric bath) and is celebrated on a low key among only students, thereby revealing its late introduction from the North. Karnataka insists that it is not the demoness Holika that is burnt in the sacred fire, but the naughty erotic god Kama-Devata and hence Holi is called Kama-dahana. There is a unique folk dance like Bedara Vesha performed in some parts of Karnataka. Telengana also calls it Kama Dahana, but Andhra celebrates it as part of Vasant Panchami, like the Tamils.  In this Nadu, it is also Panguni-Uthram  because of  location of the Pole star in the sky. Interestingly, though Holika was normally not burnt, many pre-Hindu deities celebrate their marriage anniversaries on this date, which was obviously an easy route to assimilate them into  the broad-band of Hindu worship.

              Holi’s association with this demoness Holika needs a little more mention, as she is the aunt and the chief villain in the story of Prahlada, the virtuous son of the invincible but terrible demon, Hiranyakashipu. In fact, Lord Vishnu himself had to make an urgent trip to Marta-loka as the Narasimha Avatar to vanquish him, and that too, through a very ingenious strategy of perfect timing and positioning. The story is that Holika took the child Prahlada on her lap and entered the fire, as she knew that no harm would befall her while her nephew would surely be burnt. Thank God: just the opposite happened, as her cloak of immunity failed and she was roasted alive. Our Prahlada, however, came out of the blaze totally unscathed, due to sheer devotion. The morbid tale of Holika or Dhundha devouring  little children needs to be understood in the context of the numerous viral diseases that arrived, invariably with the advent of spring and took their heaviest toll on young children. Holika's destruction can thus be interpreted as a symbolic victory over the goddess of diseases, but it also ensured the 'spring cleaning' of winter materials and possible sources of germs, as well as the clearing of broken twigs that lay all over the ground.

             The other story refers to the defeat of the god of love, Kamadeva, India's Cupid or Eros,  who was burnt to ashes by Siva. This could, again, be allegorical and meant to ensure that sudden burst of libidinous energies during this free-for-all festival required self control, or else it may destroy itself. The ritual singing of obscene songs has been noted by outsiders, all the way from the Middle Ages down to the European travellers. Hindus have also never shied away from this truth, and it is mentioned in several texts. Early in the last century, MM Underhill  the British observer had commented about the lewd language that was used in Holi as had William Crooke in his famous book ‘Popular Religion and Folklore’ that was published in the 1880s. Underhill also mentioned that “dancing by men and boys of the lower castes is a dance peculiar to this feast” and then went on to state that Holi drew the people of other castes as well. He quotes an ancient authority that says “touching of the low caste on the second day of Holi, followed by bathing means that all kinds of illness are destroyed”. Was this to ensure greater immunity among those who are usually more sanitised and thus prey to bacterial attacks? Religion in India has muliple layers and the subtexts need to be examined scientifically before jumping to conclusions, either way. Besides, as Tagore introduced it in Santiniketan as a very 'cultured' and exquisitely crafted event, it brought in a new dimension to an old celebration, proving that innovations and packaging are always possible.

              Holi is not confined to India and Nepal: it was carried all over by our diaspora. In Suriname and Trinidad-Tobago, it is still celebrated as Phagwaa. In Guyana, it is actually a national holiday and people of all races, colours and religions participate. Indians in Fiji and Mauritius must still have their Phaag Gaain folk songs of Holi, with dholaks and cheerful dances, even centuries after they left India and continue to remain so far away.

             A very interesting recent development is that the Indian concept of throwing colours in joy has caught the imagination of Europeans and Americans. There are now several community festivals or even commercial events, where thousands of white men and women outdo Indians in revelry. Holi has also featured in  popular reality television show on America's CBS and NBC and many musicians and bands adopted its ecstasy, like  Goodluck in South Africa, Kesha in the USA and the Regina Spektor's 'Fidelity'. Thus, Holi has won over initial misgivings by the West and its joy, colours, merry songs and dances have started charming millions of humans. India has one more cultural export to its already long list, and Holi Hai may soon be as common as Hare Krishna!

(English Version of  Jawhar Sircar's  Article On Holi  Published In Anand Bazar Patrika on 5th March,2015)

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