FESTIVAL OF LIFE

In Puja season, faith is only the starting point of celebrations

DESPITE HIS WORD that he will not be available on loan to an overseas club this year, there he is, Lionel Messi, in Kolkata, at the Shree Bhumi Sporting Club pandal, holding aloft the World Cup trophy. A 75-feet statue of the Argentinianworldcupskipperisthepiècederésistanceofoneofthecity's mostsought-afterdurgapujapandals, whichwillbeinauguratedbyanotherfootballing great — Brazil’s Ronaldinho. Across the city, Hatibagan's Nabin Pally has morphed itself intoscenesfromsukumarray'sbookof nonsensepoems, Aboltabol, thatcelebrated100 yearsofitspublicationlastmonth. Housesinthelanehavebeenpaintedwhiteandblack, with imagery and snatches of poetry from the book painted on them; the mandap is a replica of Ray's family publishing house that had first brought the book out and there is an old printing press that finds pride of place next to the protima inside.

If it’s Durga Puja, you can trust the city — and the state — to show how festivals are done, by the people and for the people. The transformation of the state into an open-air carnival over the five days of the festival that begins today, has at its heart, the community, and a shared idea of conviviality. It encompasses faith and rituals, but also the idea of rest and recuperation, of fasting but also feasting. And, most of all, homecoming and togetherness.

In the folkloric iteration of the annual festival, Durga is the daughter returning to her maternalhomeforsomemuch-neededr&randthatotherintegralcomponentofhomecoming, pet pujo. Dress up in your finest. Eat and drink to your heart’s content. Throw in a cultural performance or two, pandals that are works of art, the intoxicating beat of the dhak, and a city awash in light, hope and nostalgia, and you have a festival where faith is only the starting point of celebrations.

INADEMOCRACY, peoplevotepoliticalparties to office. The party or coalition that crossesthehalfwaymarkformsthegovernment and decides on where to spend public money. No referendum on the expenditure allocation or priorities is taken.

The choice of expenditure, where the money is actually spent, is fraught with controversy. The general belief is that governments should get the most economic value fromtheirspending. Thismeansthatthemultiplier effect to society and the economy at large should be maximised. This happens when more is allocated towards capital expenditure. However, more is allocated towards “non-development expenditure” whichcanalsoempowertherecipients.

The basic principles of public economics talk about the state as being responsible for fosteringequalitythroughredistribution. The analogywithrobinhoodisstarkthoughlegal meansareused. Aprogressivetaxstructureis followed. The concept of redistribution is, however, nebulous. Forsome, itcanmeangivinga“freebie” tothepoorersectionsofsociety.

Thecommonmanwillpreferhaving“regular” trains, perhapsnotvandebharat. Forinstance, ana/cchaircarfrommumbaitonashik costs Rs 380 on a normal train (Panchvati Express) whilevandebharatchargesrs720.

The argument goes that when bad loans of industry are provided for by banks or written off from their books, the depositors’ money is being unfairly treated, while a loan waiver comes clean as it is being provided for by the government for a vulnerable section. How then are governments to decide where to spend their limited resources?