Thursday, September 1, 2011

F(E)ASTING MYSTERY- A QUERY TO ANNA

Fests and feasts go hand in hand in every land. The tribute to days of fasting by feasting is best celebrated by the Iftar during Roza and the Easter feasting after the Lent. A little known fact to many of the present day is the fortnightly Dwadashi feasting after the Ekadashi fast which is observed by the austere Hindu. Thus, while festivals celebrate the existence of the vitals known as the stomach to the taste of the tongue and aromas to suit the nasal instinct they also pass of as devotion to the Lord. The best way to relish a feast is by enduring sessions of fasting. The pains of the fast is now scientifically established to be a means of healthy living too. This gives a silver lining to the pangs of hunger too.

Fast forward to the Ramlila Maidan where a celebrity fasted his way through the mires of law making. 12 days of fasting followed by a weekend of festivities commencing from Ramzan and Gowri through the Ganesha appetizer into the St Mary's feast. Annaji could be relishing many a feast after a fast that has made him dear to all the Lords (pun intended).

Having gone through this exercise mentally, I am bewildered by the way my own vitals behave. Normally there is no pangs of hunger much to the constraint of people around me who tend to gain a feeling that I am deliberately feigning to attribute gluttony to them. But strange are the ways of this small but vital organ that on a day of feast more so when the festivities are due to commence latter in the day, the breakfast is expected to be given a go by. A person who could normally skip a meal or two, I find that my stomach has some strange aversion to fest related fast and sends messages for some gulping to be done. It is on these days I am reassured that I indeed possess this vital organ but am also deeply anguished that it refuses to behave for the short period of time.

Well it is nothing short of a super brat. The pangs of hunger simply die down as the rituals end and the feast is up for serving. It appears to be more a psychological issue but decades have gone by and there is no change in this affair. On normal days my pals suggest that I could be nominated for any fast to be undertaken but what happens if the super brat behaves the way it does on festival days?

Therefore, while the media ran live shows on the parleys being held, the supporters feasted in the presence of Anna, I was quietly inquiring the vital organ of Anna as to whether it also behaves this way? The mail logjam has apparently ensured that this query remains in the realms of mystery. As though this is not enough some channels beamed statistics of the various fasts held by Anna and also by others like Gandhi and Bhave. Must be quiet a feat to fast to feast too. How do these men manage this each time?

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