There is NOTHING spiritual about this:
The BBC ran a story yesterday on "world's biggest ever mythological theme park". To be placed smack in the middle of Haridwar, home of the Kumbh Mela, which is attended by millions of pilgrims every year. The 'reasoning' provided for this monstrosity is quite superb, really:
The Hindu experience in India is highly focused on the popular, devotional, strain of Hinduism. There are comic books, toy figurines, and crazy amounts of deity mythology related to every Hindu child from the instant they are born. Sagar should know, his father produced and directed one of the most popular t.v. serials of all time, Ramayan. Forgive me if I don't exactly sympathize with his reasons for turning an already over populated and polluted river bank into a frikking theme park.
What about the money? Oh it's ALL about the money, people. One of the head investors is Alice Coltrane, yes, John Coltrane's 'better' half. She is being touted as a "very spiritual person" and even "runs an ashram in Los Angeles". Wow, she MUST know what she's doing then, I can't help but think "Let them eat cake!". Shiv is a shrewd man, he "realizes the park's potential in attracting the 25 million Indians living abroad." I bet.
My beef - there is nothing altruistic or spiritual or even educational about a bunch of rides along a dirty river bank, yet that is exactly what this park is being marketed as. I am very comfortable in my position that the Ganges cannot handle an extra few million hordes for the purpose of making a quick buck. And Madam Coltrane, if you really were so spiritually in tune with Hindu philosophy then you would know that worshipping a bunch of idols does not make up the basis of Hinduism. In a country already mangled by religious strife, a better option would have been to create a theme park where every belief system is represented. Yes, like the J.C. roller coaster, or the Ganesh gravitron, or even an Eid-ul-banana boat.
The BBC ran a story yesterday on "world's biggest ever mythological theme park". To be placed smack in the middle of Haridwar, home of the Kumbh Mela, which is attended by millions of pilgrims every year. The 'reasoning' provided for this monstrosity is quite superb, really:
"People come to take a bath on the bank of the Ganga river because it is a Hindu belief that this cleanses a person... But after they take a bath there is nowhere for the pilgrims to go to learn about Hindu stories."So says, C.E.O. Shiv Sagar, who is apparently oblivious to the nature of what it is that draws people to this site of pilgrimage in the first place.
The Hindu experience in India is highly focused on the popular, devotional, strain of Hinduism. There are comic books, toy figurines, and crazy amounts of deity mythology related to every Hindu child from the instant they are born. Sagar should know, his father produced and directed one of the most popular t.v. serials of all time, Ramayan. Forgive me if I don't exactly sympathize with his reasons for turning an already over populated and polluted river bank into a frikking theme park.
What about the money? Oh it's ALL about the money, people. One of the head investors is Alice Coltrane, yes, John Coltrane's 'better' half. She is being touted as a "very spiritual person" and even "runs an ashram in Los Angeles". Wow, she MUST know what she's doing then, I can't help but think "Let them eat cake!". Shiv is a shrewd man, he "realizes the park's potential in attracting the 25 million Indians living abroad." I bet.
My beef - there is nothing altruistic or spiritual or even educational about a bunch of rides along a dirty river bank, yet that is exactly what this park is being marketed as. I am very comfortable in my position that the Ganges cannot handle an extra few million hordes for the purpose of making a quick buck. And Madam Coltrane, if you really were so spiritually in tune with Hindu philosophy then you would know that worshipping a bunch of idols does not make up the basis of Hinduism. In a country already mangled by religious strife, a better option would have been to create a theme park where every belief system is represented. Yes, like the J.C. roller coaster, or the Ganesh gravitron, or even an Eid-ul-banana boat.
4 Comments:
You DO realize that they deserve it? The people of our lovely nation. It's all that karma coming back to bite them on the bum.
And to think people ask me why I don't want to live in my country.
Here's a idea - put all the L.A. ashram owners in India. Export them to the motherland. Let them Om their way out of that one.
In a country of so many people, you would think someone would have the foresight to think of a better idea than this holy sore.
Here's hoping the karma this mess creates won't bite back. Because if it does, it's going to go something like this - Hindus + children + holy city + fundamentalist presence = ka-boom.
hi! just reading blogs out of joblessness. yours is dope. !. I wrote about Akshardham.. a similar bemusement park in Delhi. Do see! keep a'bloggin!
http://www.livejournal.com/users/ishtyle/13476.html
hello sir,
my name is sambamurthy. I read your article about Hinduism is very nice.
Post a Comment
<< Home