For God’s sake
Creating permanent scars on the face of this earth in the name of religion is not acceptable to the almighty, a microcosm of Indian society learnt.

It has been a tense fortnight in an otherwise peaceful locality, and although a solution has been reached, we stand divided like never before. The issue was a green patch of land at the entrance of the housing society, which, for many families, was a waste of prime property. A few of them got together and mooted the idea of a temple, on top of which would be a hall for small parties.

With great speed, and without taking the managing committee or the remaining residents into confidence, the coterie had the lush foliage and the soil removed. Only two trees remained to be cut when a right-minded lawyer realised the gravity of the situation.

Single-handedly, and with great alacrity, he went into the legalities, did the paper work, gathered a few signatures in his support and started sending notices to the managing committee.

The temple supporters were more aggressive, and garnered the support of a huge number of families, including the promise of Rs 20 lakh for the cause of the temple. During the morning walk, one could sense that temple was the top agenda on everyone’s mind, and this author would scratch her head to make out where each individual's loyalties lay.

We felt we were in minority, and that ours was a lost cause. What power does a small group of professional have, against the might of those who can flash bundles of notes in your face? Also, temple is an emotive issue, and in India nothing moves people so much as the cause of a temple. Only a few would care to risk getting isolated for the cause of some shrubs. All those days the question upmost on my mind was, will the God show mercy and save a beautiful creation from destruction in the name of temple?

Well, our prayers have been answered. Thanks to the initiative of a handful of bravehearts, a faulty project has been nipped in the buds. New saplings have been ordered, to be planted in that patch. God has given out a message to cynics like me to have faith, and to greedy ones of the temple lobby to understand that one can’t get away with everything on account of religion. 

What happened in our housing society is representative of larger understanding of good living in India. A small minority includes in its definition cheap items like green areas and fresh air, and intangibles like space, solace and aesthetics. For large majority, development means ringing coffers, an increasing fleet of cars, more plots and more flats. And in their simplistic understanding of the world – or is it simplistic? – more investment into temple means more returns. It means satiating the Gods with jagraataas and troubling the neighbours with loudspeakers. It means robbing the next generation of any free space to play, and of their chance to know what greenery and beauty actually meant.