Commercialization of festivals, good/bad?

- Sponsors hoarding overall the place where (pandals) community celebrates Ganesh Festivals.
- Halloween items / holidays decoration stuff in Home Depot, have started showing up already.

Two arguable questions here

1. Are the festivities commercialized and lost the actual intended of festivals?

2. Ganpati and Navratri festivals often interpreted as Dhamaal (fun, masti). Are they meant for just celebration and fun or are they for worshipping more and spreading the religious values into younger generations?

PS - Link to kinna of 😕 similar post '06, https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/debate-mansion/501392/have-festivals-lost-their-meaning . Let me know if we wanna to continue of older one.Thanks!

All things now a days commercialized.....If you check in IF main page itself, each day we can see the different celebration, like "thank you day","fathers day","ilove u day" etc etc. Its all cos of Globalization....but in india if you visit village they only know some main festivals dates only...but With help of media n Card manufactures and other some big companies using these days for their bussiness purpose... 😳 Nothing bad in it....Cos Life is small Celebrate each day.... 😃

😆 😆 @ flour Nisha! That is so anti-Holi thing lol!

Nice topic Anshu Bhaiyya. 😊

Well, yes its time for celebration and masti and all of that. I agree theres not much going on in UK compared to India. But I would like to share something that happened on my trip to Pune.

It was Navratri time then, and we realised public Durga Pooja had somehow picked up HUGE HUGE across Mumbai n Pune for some reason besides Ganpati, cus it wasn't the case few years ago. Every mile u cross, you find a huge pandaal of Durga, huge 10-12 feet murti and blaring music from films playing in front of it. But this is nothing compared to what happens probably 2-3 times a day. Apparently there is a ' Durga feri' as well, where they mount the same murti on a huge truck and behind the truck on a small van is a "Wall"...which is nothing but a 10-15 feet assembly of huge speakers kept together. I saw all that and was zapped! Apparently, the feri is a small stroll for Durga mata twice a day(?!?!) around small lanes and alleys and then she is then brought back to her pandaal. When the feri passes around your house(god forbid) the sound coming off the 'Wall' is so deafening, infact I could not hear what my Maami was saying to me standing probably 4 feet away inside our house with all the doors and windows closed(wish I was exaggerating!)!! The show-case cabinets glass were vibrating crazy, the glass on the centre table was about to give off and I thought at some point it would break for sure. Unfortunately the 'feri/stroll' doesnt pass by quickly, cus the so called members and devotees stop the procession every 10 cms and then amidst the blaring deafening music, they burst the firecrackers as well, hooting and howling and dancing, blocking the entire traffic of the lane or the road The sound coming from the woofers of the 'wall' plays with your heart beat, you can actually feel your heart beat going mental! Needless to say, it goes on for 9 nights till almost 12 am everynite. And finally, not forgetting to mention this....behind the assembly of the 'wall' is a huge poster of some big politician or political party who has financed the entire show for all 9 nights

I dont know what is this about. I dont know how to enjoy when something like this starts happening. Earlier there used to be small pandaals with relatively low music volume, at times, more weight given on public messages and some scenes from mythology or puppet shows going on. As a kid, I used to love going out on these nights to just see what every mandal has put together. It was a family fun outing. I dont know where that fun has gone now, I dont know what has gone wrong....I dont know what happened to the festival anymore...cus I dont think things are the same anymore 😔 and Im sorry this got a bit lengthy 😕

Originally posted by: mermaid_QT

Myth also has an excellent post made recently about ganesh festival.

Right! QT, it's so much show shaa earlier one small murti was not of concern, abhi toh biggest murti chaiye, then decorations... arrrey were is the purpose lost? Again bhawanaoo ko samjho aur make best use of oppurtunity to worship and ask for forgiveness from lord almighty😳

Originally posted by: sohn

😆 😆 @ flour Nisha! That is so anti-Holi thing lol!

Nice topic Anshu Bhaiyya. 😊

Well, yes its time for celebration and masti and all of that. I agree theres not much going on in UK compared to India. But I would like to share something that happened on my trip to Pune.

It was Navratri time then, and we realised public Durga Pooja had somehow picked up HUGE HUGE across Mumbai n Pune for some reason besides Ganpati, cus it wasn't the case few years ago. Every mile u cross, you find a huge pandaal of Durga, huge 10-12 feet murti and blaring music from films playing in front of it. But this is nothing compared to what happens probably 2-3 times a day. Apparently there is a ' Durga feri' as well, where they mount the same murti on a huge truck and behind the truck on a small van is a "Wall"...which is nothing but a 10-15 feet assembly of huge speakers kept together. I saw all that and was zapped! Apparently, the feri is a small stroll for Durga mata twice a day(?!?!) around small lanes and alleys and then she is then brought back to her pandaal. When the feri passes around your house(god forbid) the sound coming off the 'Wall' is so deafening, infact I could not hear what my Maami was saying to me standing probably 4 feet away inside our house with all the doors and windows closed(wish I was exaggerating!)!! The show-case cabinets glass were vibrating crazy, the glass on the centre table was about to give off and I thought at some point it would break for sure. Unfortunately the 'feri/stroll' doesnt pass by quickly, cus the so called members and devotees stop the procession every 10 cms and then amidst the blaring deafening music, they burst the firecrackers as well, hooting and howling and dancing, blocking the entire traffic of the lane or the road The sound coming from the woofers of the 'wall' plays with your heart beat, you can actually feel your heart beat going mental! Needless to say, it goes on for 9 nights till almost 12 am everynite. And finally, not forgetting to mention this....behind the assembly of the 'wall' is a huge poster of some big politician or political party who has financed the entire show for all 9 nights

I dont know what is this about. I dont know how to enjoy when something like this starts happening. Earlier there used to be small pandaals with relatively low music volume, at times, more weight given on public messages and some scenes from mythology or puppet shows going on. As a kid, I used to love going out on these nights to just see what every mandal has put together. It was a family fun outing. I dont know where that fun has gone now, I dont know what has gone wrong....I dont know what happened to the festival anymore...cus I dont think things are the same anymore 😔 and Im sorry this got a bit lengthy 😕

Wow now thats a long response, nw.. just took time to read and respond😊

Right Sohn, no problems in many pandal etc, if the feeling is still intact... but festivals are not purely fun or Dhamaal... they are way to remember, praise, thank God... thik hai festival has potions of celebration/masti, but who focus on fun part is not good.

Ehjazfan and Believe thanks for responses.

Ehjazfan - I might not so agree with your views, but respect the feeling here, yes if the purpose is understood no problem in masti..whatever makes oneself remember the purpose.

Believe - IF example is not relevant here, we are taking about festivilities (Almighty related), Ageed celedate each day.. but why in the name of woshipping GOD. Enjoy red day, blue day, fun day , xyz day .. 😊

Originally posted by: raj5000

Ehjazfan and Believe thanks for responses.

Ehjazfan - I might not so agree with your views, but respect the feeling here, yes if the purpose is understood no problem in masti..whatever makes oneself remember the purpose.

Believe - IF example is not relevant here, we are taking about festivilities (Almighty related), Ageed celedate each day.. but why in the name of woshipping GOD. Enjoy red day, blue day, fun day , xyz day .. 😊

I believe 60% festivel related to Almighty......We cant blame a particuler person or govt to commercializing the festivel, in this modern world people ready to accepts these things cos its easy way to express their love ,gratitude n devotion in fast life...I think Almighty also accept this.😊

Originally posted by: raj5000

Wow now thats a long response, nw.. just took time to read and respond

Right Sohn, no problems in many pandal etc, if the feeling is still intact... but festivals are not purely fun or Dhamaal... they are way to remember, praise, thank God... thik hai festival has potions of celebration/masti, but who focus on fun part is not good.

Sorry, I know it got a bit lengthy and jasbaati 😛

I know Anshu Bhaiyya that its time to remember God n thank him for everything we have today. We all do that home and parents invariably do wind up trying to instill these values in their children everyday, not on just these days...its everyday. For me, what makes these days special is the social aspect of it that is added to this feeling on these occasions 😊

Here, I was trying to focus on the public aspect of it as well. As far as my knowledge goes, and hoping Im not wrong, I think Ganpati n Durga pratishthapan and visarjan used to happen in individual houses earlier. I think Lokmanya Tilak made Ganpati fest public during freedom struggle, to use it as a medium to address the public cus people tend to attend everything function related to religion and God. He used it to create awareness, address social issues, and get people together. Individually as well, people used to get together, families used to meet up and friends would make it a point to visit and spend time with each other, fun time for kids as well. I guess Tilak just used this to summon a huge crowd and pass on a message to every person.

I think that aspect of it, for which it was actually started has gone out of the window. Its become a commercial thing now, a concept used n abused. It keeps getting worse everyday and that kinda hurts everytime now. Besides that, I agree, its a festival, time to thank God Again, get families and friends together, allow some fun to creep up into the daily routines and life. Its a break from the regular chores and speed of life. For me, the thing has gone haywire on the public front 😔

Originally posted by: Believe

I believe 60% festivel related to Almighty......We cant blame a particuler person or govt to commercializing the festivel, in this modern world people ready to accepts these things cos its easy way to express their love ,gratitude n devotion in fast life...I think Almighty also accept this.😊

Not sure about almighty, but we all accept this, I guess.