I have nothing against Kavands. In fact I have nothing against any rituals/ rites/ beliefs, no matter how illogical they seem. Each one has a different belief system and each one also has the complete freedom to believe what they like. When people believe, no questions.
So for those who didn't see the devoted saffron dressed kavands, perhaps you were lucky to have evaded the traffic which was caused due to them. But then it is commendable that they travel bare footed to Haridwar to get holy waters and offer it in their local temples. That needs a lot of devotion.
But my question is very simple. Does religion give us the right to be rowdy, crude and insensitive? I have seen, not once or twice but every year, how the kavands gape at women and hoot. Some of them riding on bikes think it as their birth right to break traffic rules and the ones herded on lorries are driving anywhere and at any pace. The traffic police and people are very supportive of them so at every corner you find these generous camps serving food and water to the kavands (excellent but let's not even get to the mess that is left after the kavands are satiated and leave). And you can't miss these camps as they play loud music (the latest bollywood cheapies tranformed to bhajans). And some generous people get innovative, they line up at the corner of the road and wait for the arrival of Kavand lorry / bikes and as soon as they find one they start throwing food items while the kavand lorry slows down in the traffic (and thanks to these generous people only who cause the traffic in the first place). And so what if some food gets dropped on the road during their throw and catch game. And the kavands, after gorging on their catch, throw the waste where? Obviously on the roads. So an arduous religious journey gives them the right to treat the roads and highways as dustbins? Some even aim to throw it at a particularly big and swanky car and the entire kavand group gags on any such feat.
I respect you kavands and other beliefs but as far as I am concerned, no religion, no god or no ritual gives you the right to say or behave filthy or create filth. You can't be doing this in the name of religion.
Can we just learn some manners first and then get to the great religious assignments?
