Murderous Religious Tourism

I know religion sells and it may even sell newspapers. Is that the reason we have three articles on religious crowds in three places in India that have witnessed stampedes in the past, in The Hindu of October 20^th [1, 2, 3]? I do not know.

But, this not a comparative analysis of the three situations. I would like to moot an effective, even if it would take time to see results (like Ayurvedic medicine), mechanism to avoid such murderous incidents. Positive results are guaranteed.

One small point before I set down my proposal. The infographic [3] on the Tirupati (it is actually at Tirumala) looks so efficiently cool, in soothing pastel colors – no garish blue, green or red – dominating the image!

But, the reality is far from it. The “compartments” are situated nowhere as close to the sanctum sanctorum as you may be led to believe. It is a problem for the elderly. From the perspective of this atheist, it is torture the pilgrims have to put up with to gain the blessings of Lord Venkateswara.

When I was growing up, in the 1960s, there was a stampede and I remember it clearly, 18 lives were lost within the temple premises. There must have been such incidents even after the sixties but all that has been brushed under the carpet in the current claim, “No question of stampede as pilgrims enter in a phased manner.” There is no mention on what they learned from incidences in the past.

In the other two articles, the blame for stampedes is put on government, the amorphous and the ever-ready, spongy entity that is always at hand to absorb the punches. It almost feels like “pilot’s error,” the immediate response from officialdom after an aviation incident!

Is it because the victims are not to be blamed, as the trauma they are experiencing is punishment enough? To tell the truth, it must be the Lords’, be it Venkateswara, Ayyappan or whoever the deity who promises eternal bliss for those who take a dip on a particular day in the polluted waters of the Ganga on an appointed date and time once in a few years.

That gives me the handle to tackle this menace.

I would grow a long salt and pepper beard (the pepper will slowly disappear adding to my mystique) and also whatever hair I have left on my head, which is thinning gradually. I will shampoo my hair(s) regularly. Wear spotless white dress, preferably white dhoti or kurta pyjama and that too made of silk, and most importantly collect a group of devotees. Yes, this all will take time and some seed money. But once I establish myself, I will come up with a plan to offer a deal that none can afford to refuse (I recall the movie Godfather here).

What sort of a deal? I will say, “Oh, your neighbor is going to Maha Kumbh / Sabarimala / Tirumala next month? You fret that he will go one step closer to your deity than you, or God forbid, he will go to heaven? Don’t worry. I will SMS the deity and tell Him (or Her) to bring upon your neighbor some disaster or the other that will ensure he will never reach neither the deity nor heaven! Now, you may want to feed this hungry mouth with whatever you can!” Pickings will start slowly at first but is bound to grow into a deluge.

How will I convince the skeptical devotee that I can do the thing I am promising him? Oh, it is easy. My acolytes take over. They scour newspaper reports of every accident (including the recent incidence of a train running over devotees walking on the tracks) and find people who have lost life or limb. Then, they will create a story – no need to mention that these will go beyond being apocryphal; indeed they will be unvarnished lies – how their Baba (me) had been approached by someone else on whose behalf the Baba had interceded and brought about the calamity on the deceased or injured person. The skeptical devotee will become a devoted devotee, my fame will spread and people will come to me. I will make a lot of money.

This way, the places of religious pilgrimages will be depopulated. No more murderous religious tourism. Of course, it is another matter that as people throng to my place there will be a disaster there too. This is natural, as each wants to put an end to the aspirations of his neighbor. But, then much before all this happens, I will retire to a nice cool retreat, safe and sound.

Understand that religion cannot survive if it cannot assuage the competitive spirit of human beings.

Therefore, you must take my plan of action in the spirit of Fighting fire with fire.

In Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu, the story goes that people pray to the presiding deity Goddess Kamakshi thus:

Kamakshi, ennai mattum rakshi! (Goddess Kamakshi, please take care of only me!)

Raghuram Ekambaram

References

1.    Pilgrims in Peril, Omar Rashid, The Hindu, October 20, 2013

2.    Sabarimala learns from stampedes, but slowly, Radhakrishnan Kuttoor, The Hindu, October 20, 2013

3.    How Tirupati does it, The Hindu, October 20, 2013

Mahakumbh, Sabarimala, Tirumala, religious tourism, stampedes, disasters, kanchipuram, Kamakshi, competitive spirit