Time You Remembered Ones Who Gave You Time To Rejoice...

He may appear as a just another fella you will get to see at every nook and corner, but Wilson Varghese is a secular figure that our great ancestors had well thought of over a century ago.

With the 10-day Ganesh festival being celebrated with great fervor, it is Wilson whose slogan shouting of Ganpati Bappa that gets loudest response of Morya from devotees at one of the mandals at my place (and this does not involve exaggeration of any sort).

A South Indian chap, as his name suggests, is a Christian by religion. But his enthusiasm as the mandal activist is a significant one in many ways and direct or indirect outcome of efforts put in by visionaries like Bal Gangadhar Tilak to ensure people of the country, hailing from different societal backgrounds, emerged and later continued to remain as a united force.

At a time when we are yet to win over regional prejudices completely, we should not turn a blind eye towards successful rooting of secular ideology that the Ganesh festival has helped take place be it in whatever extent. Therefore, the manner in which the fiesta is celebrated, a brainchild of Tilak, is a commendable one in this context.

It is true that we commoners are reeling under several serious problems and the political leadership of our time is putting on a miserable show to come up with satisfactory solutions to them. However, even as these negative aspects are being highlighted by several mandals, it is also required that we, as a nation, appreciate the success story scripted by our heroes to the hilt.

Doing so will help us develop productive attitude that most of the statesmen of all time have always sought for while heading their respective nations. Thus, the festival not only provides with time to rejoice, but also with reasons to be a proud Indian first and representative of a particular region later to each of us. This will take us miles in becoming global leaders in every sphere even as we respond to some Wilson’s Ganpati Bappa slogan shouting with Moryas in between!