D N Singh
Like lakhs of other devotees from all over the country I, with another friend, decided to see the three deities` at Sona Vesh. Sona Vesh is an occasion when all three of them are decked with a few quintals of golden ornaments studded with the most precious gem stones of the world. It is a rare spectacle that draws lakhs of devotees.
It took us little above an hour to reach Puri from Bhubaneswar. It was an arduous task to cover the one and half km distance from the city`s entry point to the main temple where the three deities were on their respective chariots.
We were stopped by the lathi-welding cops at five places and our frustration levels rose with each stop. We felt as if we were swimming against the tide. We were really torn between the desire to perform the darshan and terror of the cops. However, after a marathon journey when we reached the Singhadwar, (main gate), we merged with the vast multitude within seconds. And, what a plight we suffered then on!
The closer one got, the more we got a sense of the distance from the healthy winds of the sea. The severe pushes and abuses from the cops on duty hammers you forward into the crowd like a nail driven into a wall.
My friend, a senior journalist of a popular Oriya channel called OTV, and me, could not escape the bruises or the initial nightmare. As we were inching to a side for a breather, pat came the push from a constable and before we could gather ourselves to explain, two others surged ahead and one of them literally pushed my friend for a distance of five yards, as if the latter was a `pick-pocket`. Their scowling eyes and use of expletives made our ordeal even more frightening. We, in fact, were among many who were suffering at the hands of the goons in uniform.
Our zeal for darshan was soon dimmed, our vision slurred and our voice muffled. What a bizzare twist to the ethos! My friend`s desperate pleas about our identities (as media men) went unheard and we were indeed left speechless.
One couldn’t stand for even half a minute in front of any chariot to pray. The pushes grew more menacing as time passed. In the midst of such hostile surroundings I had nearly given up the desire to have the darshan of the Sona Vesh. I was soon looking for an escape route from there.
Darshan or Window-shopping
On the ground the vengeful police and on the chariots the clan of half-clad priests, were behaving like errant children for photo-ops. Once the ornaments reached the chariots, obviously the vast gathering got restive and even we, despite all odds, were filled with great wonder at the moment. I could notice each man and woman craning his or her neck to have the glimpse of the deities. But all that one could see was the cluster of priests of all ages blocking the visions and just allowing the people to see the head part of the deities.
But, for all that inconvenience there was no law or regulation to ask the priests to make room for the devotees to see the deities; which is an overriding obligation for the administration and the police.
I overheard one cop talking to the head of police in Puri about arranging chairs at the front, facing the chariots, for senior officers and their families; so that they were not exposed to the tortures the common devotees were experiencing.
The question here is, for whom is this mega festival? Before each Rath yatra, one is given unwritten assurances from the police and district administration about a safe and convenient darshan of the deities. Ironically it all fizzles-out when the occasion comes. When there is a huge turnout, the task becomes difficult for all and we all know that. But, tackling such situations like one tackles riots is not what one expects from people in uniform.
What Media?
It is a startling reality that the administration here possesses a very indifferent attitude towards the media as a whole. The plight of channels coming out to zoom this festival to global lime-light can be understood from the fact that, except DD, no other channel gets any logistic support from the administration. Rather they suffer from various impediments that result from being treated as second-fiddle by the administration.
To place a single video camera on any space you have to cough off Rs.15,000 to Rs.20,000 for a day or few hours. Some cameras could even be seen placed on buildings already declared unsafe. Private channel staff in fact run from pillar to post to get a footing for a day`s hiring of space. No media man is entitled to get a car pass that can take him to a convenient point from where you can make a package whereas government vehicles can be seen cruising through the traffic with a `Not To Be Detained Anywhere` car pass. All that you carry in the name of identity make no meaning for the people in uniform. `No media, nothing` is the common refrain audible from the cops.
In a word a visit to Puri during the famous Sona Vesh of the lord is a tempestuous affair of love or devotion.
