Good God No!

I did not want to do a piece ripping something apart , but it seems that our society keeps feeding us more craziness each day. The latest buzz to make headlines indicating an increased level of insanity among the residents of Tamil Nadu is about a new temple that is going to spring up in the district of Tirunelveli. The special aura about this temple is that the Goddess captured in stone is mortal and would not have the capability to grant any wishes. Confused?? If you have not heard, an avid fan is constructing a temple for the siren Namitha. Apparently the lady, popular for her ever shrinking outfits on her big frame rather than her acting abilities is so thrilled that she is the only actress to have a temple built in her honor apart from the late 80’s and 90’s screen goddess Kushboo. Contrastingly Kushboo was also hailed for her acting abilities. Incidentally Kushboo’s temple was demolished by her fans who had built it post her comments on HIV protection for women; just making it clear how time, money and resources are frittered away in our state on projects that generate no profit. I am just glad it is not the tax payer’s money that is being used for this useless project; or is it?

As a state, we could do with better roads, storm drains, a clean environment, lower levels of noise and air pollution, better garbage disposal etc., Rather our fellow public prefer to splash it on building temples for an actress who has not done anything of great importance even as far as her acting roles go till date. Have our people gone insane? What would be the advantage of investing time, space and people on its construction? How many people would visit this temple and what would be the purpose behind their visit? Normal people go to the temple to pray; would those visiting this temple simply stand there and drool?? This is definitely something that the public would outgrow making its presence questionable.

These questions and more storm through my mind as I wonder about the gradual decadence of a state known for its cultural values. This temple is an indication of how women are still treated in certain strata of the society – as objects of glamour with pea sized brains. We should be setting better examples for future generations in terms of treating people with dignity and respect and churning out leaders and statesmen with good character. If we do have money to splurge on ideas like these why don’t we see any improvement in the lifestyles of our fellow state inhabitants? If only Namitha could advise her fans to put this money to better use rather than making statements on how she wouldn’t mind more temples being built for her, the rest of us may have some respect for her. Your thoughts are appreciated.