Indian Gods in the Workplace

-
Indians are religious. Or maybe a bit superstitious and somewhat spiritual. Or maybe we just believe in kismat. Why take a chance and let the shortcomings of the current or past lives ruin our day today ? Surely there can be no harm in asking a small favour of the gods as we go about our daily life.

That is the conclusion I have reached after seeing the surprisingly large display of religious deities around my current workplace in Delhi. They are mostly small, printed pictures or calendars. Some are of Laxmi and Ganesha representing prosperity and wealth (pictures and cards from last Diwali?). There are also images of Shree Krishna and Saraswati. Saraswati is the goddess for education and learning so that makes sense. Shree Krishna..... hmmm - case for providing butter, ghee and cheese at work perhaps, a staple diet of baby Krishna. Can't see it being a signal to encourage flirting with the ladies although enough romances seem to brew in the typical Indian workplace as per the grapevine. For those not familiar with the Indian epic Mahabharata- young Krishna was a hit with the 'gopis' i.e. young damsels in his village.

In any case Krishna (or Krishan-ji to the more devoted) is considered the avatar of Vishnu, the preserver of this universe so it is probably good to have him around. The same goes for Hanuman-ji (important monkey-god who once lifted a mountain). In some ways it makes complete sense to have their picture pasted on the corner of an important colour-printer in the basement. We all know that when deadlines have to be met all forces on earth and the universe must be with us. And the printer Must.Not.Jam.

That's why my colleagues (including non-Indians) and I happily accept the temple-blessed 'prasad' on Tuesday mornings that is distributed by the tea-boys. It also helps that I really love the yellow boondi (ultra-sweet, small, golden-yellow spheres) and I can change my allegiance each weekday to the 'god-of-the-day' to get a handful. And a handful is just about enough for me before I feel like my teeth will fall off!

Since ancient times in India specific days have been earmarked to worship specific activities. Saraswati Puja is when all books, texts and musical instruments must be worshiped. Strangely it consists of keeping them in a neat pile near lighted lamps and other prayer objects and not reading anything that day as the goddess is blessing them. Then on 'Vidhyarambh' Day (Commencement of Learning Day) one must read a little bit of every text. In a similar way all weapons are worshipped on 'Shastra Puja day' which is also celebrated as Dusshera, the day Rama overpowered Demon King Ravana and rescued his kidnapped wife from Lanka Kingdom - the location of which is still being debated and may be further south-west of modern day Sri Lanka.  All described in detail in the mythological epic - the Ramayana.

My view is that the time has come to have a Computer God and celebrate 'Sanganak Day' . For my Hindi club mates out there, I bet like me you struggled to guess the Hindi/ Sanskrit word for computer. Split it and read it as 'Sang' + 'Ganak'. Perhaps we really did invent everything first :D  I hope someone bright and creative will soon do a proper illustration for the God of Computers, Laptops and I-phones, then we can happily paste their pictures in all appropriate places. Or we could dig a bit deeper into the Vedas and I'm sure a holy man somewhere will interpret them for us and tell us that the Tech God already exists but was just lost in the Kalyug........

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bangkok Chronicles: Walking with the Buddha

-
Image
It is a strange feeling indeed to be an Indian (of sorts) in Southeast Asia. Years ago, in smoke-filled pubs of London, it felt perfectly logical to have the Goodness Gracious Me -inspired argument that only one outcome was acceptable: ‘We did it first in India’. Fortunately, the pubs became smoke-free, and I could spend an evening without needing an instant dry-clean for my coat or a deep-cleansing hair wash after each visit. I digress, as usual. This time, as I traverse around Bangkok, I have been filled a growing realisation that indeed, many ideas, beliefs and practices did emerge first in India. Equal is the wonder at how delicately they got assimilated in the local culture and acquired a uniqueness that can only be described in this trite but useful phrase- same same but different . Lest you await the hackneyed confession ‘I truly found myself’ (and there are many ways of finding oneself in Bangkok!), let me assure you there has been no such miraculous moment of discovery for me....
Read more

Bangkok Chronicles: The river

-
Image
On a cold January morning, by the foothills of the Himalayas in northern India, I ushered in 2024 with my family. Back in Delhi, the smog showed little sign of receding. Through the smoky and dust-hued sky, we occasionally witnessed shards of sunlight, a reminder that our planet's bright star has not abandoned us just yet. Fortunately for me, a new adventure awaited. Before the month was over, I had landed about 3000 km east of India in Thailand. Upon alighting from the plane, my jacket was promptly stuffed at the bottom of the suitcase. Within 24 hours I was hitting the shops to buy t-shirts. Because, as everyone knows, you can never have enough t-shirts in a hot and humid country. Over the last few months I have been serenading my social circle with a Whats App-based photo journal. It is finally time to do the proper thing, which is to pen down my experiences for immortality (or till robots take over the earth). I had been to Bangkok several times before as a tourist. H...
Read more

Bangkok Chronicles: 'Veggie Delight' gets a new meaning

-
Image
In the early days, just like the fruits, the vegetable section of supermarkets continued to fill me with more questions than answers. The translation software on my phone was of little use, as many of these were labelled 'native vegetable'.  Eventually, I decided to chuck a new veggie in my basket each week and work out later what it was, and how best to cook it. Here is a small selection of the more unusual and the interesting ones. There are several I had seen before but never tried. Others, as I discovered in my online searches, were well-known in parts of India. I just hadn't come across them while growing up in Delhi, or my family had not experimented enough - an oversight they are now addressing as they regularly share their own funky recipes. Winged beans This is undoubtedly one of my favourite finds. I first tasted these in a delectable salad at an upmarket hotel in Bangkok. It was absolutely scrumptious and I confess, I have never been able to replicate that exact ...
Read more