Who’s the real god?

Today I went to Bandra, Pali hill to be specific, for my dance rehearsal.

I learn Kuchipudi, FYI.

Anyway, sometime during practice we got talking about how I’ve been going there for rehearsal for the past four years and still haven’t seen any famous star?

My teacher, Shanta Misra said she herself hasn’t seen anyone but mentioned that her maid had seen all the stars.

Salman, ranbir, sanjay dutt, saif Katrina, ash, you name them she’s seen them. Even if it was just a glimpse.

Then she said the strangest thing, “ didi agar aapko filmistar dekhna hai, to durga puja ke time aap podar school ke pandal aao. Wahan aap durga maa ke saamne khade rahoge to aap sab star dekh paaoge. Kajol, rani, sab aate hain. Mere husband bhi kal ganesh visarjan pe gaye the to unhone salman ko dekha full family ke saath.”

This got me thinking. Are we giving our stars so much attention in our lives that we have forgotten god. Noone wants to go to durga pujo to pray to the godess and seek her blessings but just to look at the rich and famous? Have we really become that shallow.

In tamil nadu, fans have built temples to show their love for rajnikanth and khushboo. When sivaji, the rajnikanth starring blockbuster released, a theater owner performed puja , broke coconuts and poured milk on the star’s photo.

Have these mortals really replaced god in today’s world?

These people have literally entered every nook and cranny of our life and we don’t even realize it. In fact, we knowingly allow them to rule our lives. And they bask in the glory.

Ok don’t get me all wrong here. I’m not an anti-filmstar or a fanatic. I also see movies, dance to popular tunes and stuff. My point is this- where does appreciation turn into worship?

I am learning classical dance and have been doing so for the past 14 odd years. And I’m in love with it. To be an artist one has to be truly blessed and lucky. When I dance, I forget, I’m in love with myself and the feeling of dancing to rhythm is indescribable.

So I’m not against any star. But we have stopped appreciating their talent and instead worship their looks, lifestyle and other unwanted stuff.

So when shahrukh does a sweet Punjab power surinder sahni, or sanjay does a munnabhai, or rani does a black, do we ever think about what they must have gone through, experienced themselves, to create these characters, nay phenomenon?

Do we think about the creative process behind or are we simply an audience uninformed about art?

Most people I know don’t even  think about acting as an art. All we think is, “ wow kya life hogi yaar?”, or about how kareena achieved size zero. How lame. And we even build temples and worship these people for all the wrong reasons.

As for ganpati bappa, I suppose he’ll have to vie for attention in competition with rani and kajol.

All the best lord ganeshji.

GANPATHI BAPPA MORYA!