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To tell the story of any people it is necessary to
go back in time. To listen to the bard relating stories of ancestors
who lived even before the sun shone on the land of the Marathas.
Welcome to the land of Ganesha.
A palyavaruna jaga
olakhave says the wizened bard, perhaps reflecting the very
essence of the people of Maharashtra. To tell you the meaning of this
Marathi proverb it is necessary to relate a story that people in
Maharashtra are fond of. Once upon a time, the story goes, there was
a king. The king used to ask his barber every morning if all was well
with the world. The barber would reply that the people were happy and
all was well. If the king posed the same question to the Prime
Minister, however, he always replied saying that the world was sad,
people were unhappy. The king did not like this contradiction and so
asked the Prime Minister to find one answer. The Prime Minister felt
he was right and the barber wrong. So the next morning he extracted
all the money the barber had with him just before the barber was to
meet the king. Then, when the king asked him how the world was, the
barber who loss was still fresh in his memory said the world was sad.
And so, say the Maharashtrians, each one views the world from his
angle.
It is this profound
philosophy told in a simple story that embodies the spirit of the
people. Varied customs and traditions co-exist peacefully in
Maharashtra. There are the Parsis who have made Maharashtra their
home, there are the Christians and Anglo-Indians who swear by
Maharashtra, there is the folk population of lohars (blacksmiths),
the dhangars (shepherds) not to mention the fishermen and women
called the Kolis. In addition two major influences operate
simultaneously in Maharashtra to mould their thinking and therefore
customs. One is a strong brahmanical influence; Pune has been and
still is to a certain extent strong in Sanskrit learning. The second
is the influence of B.R. Ambedkar who introduced neo Buddhist
thoughts in the minds of the people.
Maharashtra has produced
many thinkers, many rebels and yet as a rule the people of the state
are law abiding, god-fearing and good. There exists a strong strain
of tradition which adjusts itself and manages to be retained even in
the hectic pace of life in a city like Bombay. Festivals are
important. There are some beliefs, too, which vary from people to
people and time to time.
Ganapati bappa moray…
the cry rents the air in the month of September when Maharashtrians
go all out to celebrate the pot-bellied god’s birthday.
Traditionally the festival lasts for ten days. Sweet balls of wheat
flour fried in melted butter are offered to the deity. The image of
the lord is smeared with red lead and the windows of every home are
also smeared with the left over paint to signify prosperity.
In many parts of
Maharashtra, Maruti or the monkey faced God is also revered with
great devotion. People who want a son draw the figure of the Lord on
a wall and worship it daily. It is also believed that,
astrologically, if one is under the evil influence of the planet
Saturn then one should propitiate Hanuman every Saturday.
Dussehra is another major
festival celebrated all over India. There is one particular area in
Maharashtra known for its mines – Kolhapur. It is also known for
its cobblers. Here Dussehra is celebrated with great gusto and the
tools of workmen are worshipped.
Talking of tools, the
sieve is believed to be an important tool in Maharashtra. On most
auspicious occasions a sieve is a must. People believe that since it
is the sieve through which food articles are sifted, it should be
revered.
Actually the
Maharashtrians have a close link to the practice of totems. Even
today the devak or totem concept is still very alive in
Maharashtra. Every community identifies itself as having a devak in
animals or plants. The Padwals or the snake gourd section well not
eat snake gourds; Maratha traders of the jackfruit tree section will
not eat jackfruit; Waghs or the tiger section worship tigers
and grieve when they hear of one dead. Evidence of all this lies in
the names of the people of Maharashtra. The system of surnames is
derived from trees, plants and animals. Popat (parrot), Mhas
(buffalo), Wagh (tiger), Landaga (wolf) etc.
Maharashtra recognizes
human genius as reverentially as the divine. Vithal, a sage of the
Kathi tribe is revered greatly by many of its people. Followers of
Islam river a saint called Muhammad Chail. Spiritual guides like
Vallabhacharya and Swaminarayan influence the people a great deal.
The Parsis have spread
themselves out both in Maharashtra and Gujarat. The followers of
Zoroastra came to India from Iran in about the 10th
century. The story goes that the older members of the group asked for
a bowl of water. They then dropped a cube of sugar into the bowl and
promised the king ruling in Gujarat that they would mingle with the
people like the sugar in the water. Indeed they have made society
sweeter for their contribution. Many great Parsis like Nana
Palkiwalah have contributed a great deal to society.
This is also the reason
why the women wear a sari and their customs are very similar to Hindu
customs. The basic tenets of their practices are that they worship
fire and believe they are co-workers of God. That is why they do not
kneel when they pray. The religion calls upon the people to enjoy
life and work for the abundance of good things. They believe that
with their hard work they can help God defeat evil. They wear a lot
of whites as their auspicious colour and are a closed community in
the sense that they believe marrying within themselves.
And yet, there is more to
the story of the people of Maharashtra that remains untold.
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