B-Log

Loud music, late night outings, nonstop dancing, a reason to dress up, a place to be seen at while listening to a selected few who are like a stuck record and rarely make any sense.

This is the new PG-rated night-life of the small towners. The nightly bhajan-kirtans and sabhas promoted by hoardings sprinkled around the town, declaring it to be your last chance of salvation. The spiritual and religious factors are again proven unchallengable.

Under this hide of spirituality, are the social and financial realms of it.
Every event is as big as a wedding, where one has to be seen in their best of attires and behaviours. Loud music somehow sends people in a bollywood-style-dance-trance, especially on sensing that one might be on camera. Family does not object to such late night ventures
Communities and sects formed for every guru, bad mouth each other. Not just the followers, the big guys themselves show their mastery at the art of sarcasm.

As a business, it’s probably one of the best option to turn black money into white. Touts placed strategic places within the crowd encourage people to donate. Huge budgets that combined could probably feed the entire nation. Some babajis at times take the liberty of revealing details of their palatial mansions. Religious channels feature only the ones they have signed up.

The content of every such sabha is almost identical to the other. Nothing new is seen or heard anywhere. And nothing makes real sense anyways. It isn’t a wonder that you don’t see them practicing their own gyaan.

More people attend these events than election rallies, without any tangible incentives.
What do they do? They use religion as much as political parties do, but offer benefits which are difficult to measure, are dependent on one’s sheer luck and not the leader’s actions.

In the list of crowd pullers, after bollywood and cricket, please welcome the new entrant… Babaji Inc.