Thursday 25 January 2018

Uttarakhand Government Busy with 'Bakri Swayamvar' intricacies


Written by Anil Singh
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Whosoever decided to organize a "Bakri Swayamvar in Uttarakhand" took his/her creativity a way too far. Because it is the second round of Bakri Swayamvar, the first one obviously took place during the previous Congress led Uttarakhand Government. But irrespective of how you see it, the idea of organizing a Swayamvar for a goat, in itself doesn't seem such a good idea. It is a bit obnoxious (extremely unpleasant) to think about a goat of marriageable age choosing a husband, from among a list of suitors.

The only way one can justify a goat deciding to mate with a the worthy suitor, is tradition. But tradition doesn't need to be copied in its literal sense. Even when the aim of this event is to search for the best alpha make in the pack and ensure the best livestock in future. That's why a Goat Swayamvar in its literal sense is not a good idea.

Now the present BJP Government in Uttarakhand seems jealously busy with the Event. They are not only busy with the logistics, but also with the usual intricacies of a Hindu marriage. The usual headaches such as whether to go with vedic chants or not. OR how "Heavy" the Goat bride's wedding dress must be (No just joking!) . But the Government does seem to be busy. A decision which is giving the Government sleepless nights is indeed whether to get the "Saat Pheras conducted with Vedic chants" or not.  According to reports, this very decision has caused major rift within the Government.

It will be better if the Uttarakhand Government decides to have the swayamvars without the vedic chants and Saat Pheras (seven rounds of the auspicious fire); else the bride or the groom will later blame us (the humans) for selling their significant other-half (in Hindi, "Ardhang") . It would have been better if they decide in favor of "GOAT MARRIAGE". But some things seem to have already been decided. For instance, the Government seems to have no problem with the 'Saat Pheras'. The only thing to be decided is the Vedic Chants. So like it or not, any lamb or goat meat eater will not escape from the blame of of separating a couple which was destined to remain together not only for this life but for consecutive seven lives ahead.

On a saner note, the 'Bakri Swayamvar' to be held in Pantwari near Mussoorie by the State Government animal husbandry department on February 23 and 24, 2018 is a somewhat weird way of spreading awareness on gene pool evolution among goat herders. The same can be achieved in a better way by less ambitious and creative means. It will save much money as well.

To conclude, encouraging tourism doesn't mean packaging every project as one. In addition, it doesn't look good if a Government seems too busy with such events and starts behaving like a wedding planner!

... Because on the hindsight every aware person asks: Are Vedic chants, Saat Pheras and blah blah in a Goat Swayamvar, that important?

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