The joys of Durgotsav, the killjoys of traffic jams in Jamshedpur

Mail News Service

Jamshedpur, Oct 5: The mood of Durgotsav is set by nature as swaying Kash flowers dot the skyline against the backdrop of new found blue hill hues and the Sheulis appearing like saffron and white stars on smiling green trees. The joyous momentum gets a shot in the arm as the legendary Birendra Krishna Bhadro�s granular voice reciting the Chandi Path on Mahalaya is broadcast in almost all homes through the otherwise neglected transistor sets amidst cups of delicious tea prepared by the women of the house. Add to that the bonus fever in the markets and one has the picture of excitement contagiously spreading to every home irrespective of social and economic divides. Joy prevails casting aside the worries of daily living for the days when the Divine Mother pays a visit to the world of Her mortal children. Joy permeates the atmosphere.

Of late, people have started pouring into Puja pandals from Panchami to avoid Puja rush. Since all think that way, there is no escape from rush even on Panchami. The crowd increases on Sashthi and from Saptami to Nawami and after, all lanes, bylines, alleys and main roads turn a sea of heads and honks as man and machine vie for the narrowest of spaces to push through, usually to nowhere except to bottlenecks.

It is all too easy to raise accusing fingers at cops and the administration for being unable to cope with teeming masses of humans and human driven vehicles but it is also the time to realize that pointing a finger at someone means four other fingers pointing back towards the accuser.

The most normal abnormality during the Puja times is that people forget their last iota of civic responsibilities. Certain sections of people invariably take pride in parking their cars haphazardly by the side of other vehicles already lined up by the side of roads. Such unethically parked cars make the thoroughfares narrower and in a bid to get through quicker, people clamber to get ahead of the others leading to an invariable jam.

Like rubbing salt to injury, the two wheeler ponies, unlicensed, un-helmeted and unbridled zigzag their way in quest of an unavailable opening adding to the woes of a stranded humanity. Choicest curses fly uncensored, so much so that it turns impossible to decipher the class of breed of the stuck denizens. The traffic policemen and women try their best to bring some semblance of sanity apart from frantically blowing the whistle and harmlessly swinging their batons but in such situations where the higher animals (as categorized in the social sciences) prefer to keep their logical senses in the dustbin of senselessness, what can the police, the administration or even Mahishasur do?

All hell will break loose if the cops resort to tougher stands as revelers may violently oppose such tactics, especially when most of these �members of the opposition� of sanity may be in various stages of �evening delights.�

Fortunately, such rowdies, in spite of the rush, are lassoed in Pandals by volunteers and security personnel who ensure that there is no chaos among visitors. Like gentle people, they are bound to stand in a queue and inch their way towards the Mother�s image and get lost in the milieu of reverence, be it for a fraction of time. Out again and heading for the next street of chaos, the visitors, at least most of them, get into the act to cause further fires of frustration. Such scenes have now become a part of Durgotsav celebrations.

Hapless people still clinging to sanity, look up to Ma Durga in resignation as if asking, �Why spare the rod and spoil the child?� Ma Lakshmi�s wise owl seems to chuckle while bad, old Mahishasur grins sideways.