Patralekha Chatterjee | Festivals need to celebrate inclusion, not just diversity

Festivals matter no matter who you are, where you are and whether you are a believer or non-believer. For most of us, the culture of spectacle, the panoply of sounds, lights, the rhythm of the dhak in Durga Puja pandals, the colours, the conviviality, the gastronomic delights, the grand melas, Ramlila performances, Dussehra, and all the celebrations of the past few days and the celebrations to come meet a pressing psychological need to do something together as communities, as we slowly recover from the pandemic-induced forced isolation, reboot ourselves and move ahead. “Collective — and physical — gatherings make a difference”, wrote Beatriz Garcia, associate director, Centre for Cultural Value, University of Liverpool, in a recent essay titled “Why festivals and special events matter now more than ever?” “There is profound symbolic value in the opportunity to experience something together as communities. One person whose effort needs to be acknowledged towards this is eminent art historian Tapati Guha Thakurta, who worked hard to compile a dossier which bolstered the argument that Durga Puja was originally “a Hindu religious event, but now the celebrations transcend all barriers of religion and creed, making it a grand celebration, an exultation of spirit”. One among many examples — some time ago, news reports from Kapu town in Udupi district of coastal Karnataka said management of one temple had decided not to allow “people from other faiths” to do business on its land during the annual temple festival.