~ Destiny of Gods ~

Passing through the streets of Delhi, one can have a careful glance trough the boundary walls of a park or a temple and you can surely find yourself witnessing dilapidated statues of Gods and Goddess nicely placed on the wall plinth. For most, these are the same statues which were revered in homes when they were in all finesse but now that they have somehow got ruptured, broken or have got cracked that they have been placed at their current statures.

I was able to witness one such site whilst I was trotting the not so narrow lanes of a mart – these revealing pieces of art were all lined up out of reverence or may be guilt of the owners. They were all having one deformity or other; some of them were having broken hands for others paint were worn off and the shape and beauty of the deity had thus got disoriented and as according to the passersby , they had severely lost their sheen to be bowed down out of fear or a guilt of purpose!

These abandoned statues now are at the liberty of nature and are thus prone to incessant rains and scorching heat of Delhi summers and are sure to get the ruptured with the passage of time.

Out of reverence or out of fear, these small idols of various divinities are not dismantled completely and rather as placed ‘reverentially’ on a secluded and safe place. Formidable time certainties take over from there and after some clicking months and even year’s, to our dismay, we can see the gradual decay of these iconic symbols of one’s religion.

In current times as I see them, they are just been placed and look in good shape, many passersby bow down whilst they pass through them – don’t know if the respect they present is out of fear or reverence – another sought after question for me to be judgmental about. Same this holds good for many of us who pass through any place of worship – be it a Temple, Gurudwara or a Masjid.

Another awful reason for people to secretly place these icons on the roadside walls can be attributed to the fact that many of pedestrian’s address nature’s call in an open and clandestine grounds – the best way to stop them doing so is to place these icons.

It is such an oxymoronic truth that those gods or powers we owe are existence, we don’t shy away to place them on different pedestal to their own satisfaction. For the more prudent ones, some take the extra step of making these idols submerged in a nearby river or flowing waterbody – just as we all take pride when we do a ‘Ganpathi Visarjan’ or ‘Durga Visarjaan’.

The destiny of these idols is defined from the very first day when they take shape; where they would be dismantled and will loose ground is just a matter of time; in the middle, they become our power structures of our domesticated temples and are vociferously prayed for our selfish interests – I wonder what happens to their powers when they loose their shine and are thus gets matured in the eyes of the same set of worshippers who once bought them home to have a lasting semblance with them while they put forth their best desires to be heard on the other side of existence – Till date this remains a far reaching enigma to me and may be to many such pedestrians who pass by and glance through these once decorated idols of worship but now have become roadside gods!