At your (in)convenience

Before I begin my long pent-up rant, I’d like to make it very clear that this post is not directed at any one particular religion, sect or belief. My frustration or anger is aimed at all those people who seem to care a lot about their faith thereby bringing about a certain amount of discipline in their own lives, but at the same time are highly insensitive towards the inconvenience they cause to others.

I left home to go out in the morning on Friday. It was only when I got out of my building that I realized I had chosen an inappropriate time of the day to go out.

Zuhr, the afternoon prayer was about to start and people who had come to pray in the nearby mosque had parked their vehicles in every possible direction outside of our building. The entire stretch of road was blocked. So much so that there was hardly any space for vehicles coming from adjoining roads, to pass by.Needless to say,I had a tough time getting out of that mess.

I was really bugged as I had planned to be at this place at a certain hour and I was clearly far from achieving it simply because of some people’s indifference.

Such nonchalance can be so frustrating! What if someone had had to rush on an emergency and this unwarranted hiccup was something the person could not afford? Aren’t indifferent actions of some people adversely affecting the day-to-day lives of their fellow beings?

Let me point out this is not confined to one region or country. I’ve seen similar things happening in India too.
Delhi and a few other parts of North India have Jagrans/Jagratas organized, in the name of God, every now and then, by some of His devotees.

Jagrans/Jagratas,as many of you would know,is a session wherein people stay awake through the night and offer prayers to God. They show their devotion by praising Him,singing bhajans and playing loud music with religious songs blaring through the loudspeakers. It’s a different matter, though that those bhajans would have a guess-game,of an interesting kind,attached to them. Guess the original film-song!

I’m not against praying or being devoted to God. I’m a God-fearing person myself.I have my own beliefs and follow to some extent, the values and teachings that my religion, Hinduism,offers. So I perfectly understand the sentiments behind people’s devotion and implicit faith in God.

What I don’t understand is the logic behind showing devotion so explicitly in a residential area, through the night, with deafening music, thereby hampering the lives of others.
Let me not even get started on those incessant political rallies and religious rath-yatras that bring cities to an absolute standstill.

All I’m trying to point out is that all of us are free to follow our beliefs and practice what we believe in. But do we need to do that at the cost of others’ convenience? Is that the right way to go about it?

I know what I feel or write is not going to make people think or behave any differently. The system will still function in the same manner as it is now.The people will still have the attitude of unconcern towards others’ feelings.

But I also know that this is a topic that has been brewing inside me for quite sometime and I’m feeling much better after letting it out. One of the virtues of blogging,I guess!!