St. Mary's Feast

This a break from my verse-style writing for a change.
Thought of sharing my experiences in linear prose style,
So here it is.

St. Mary's Feast.

Really didn't know what it was about all these days.
May have heard some vague references about it earlier.
So, read about a procession happening in Shivajinagar on September 8th in the paper.

Work load was really low, so thought it could be good a photo-opportunity as my present
passion is photographing people and culture. Just love the vagaries of it.
Checked up about it on google. St. Mary's feast is a procession that is coducted
by the St. Mary's Basilisca(this church has a pretty resourceful website) right in the heart of Shivajinagar.
It culminates with this procession, after 10 days of mass.
So headed out to it after work. Was supposed to start at 5.
Now the procession is a chariot driven statue of St. Mary.
Was there at Shivajinagar just before 5. The integral bus station was totally blocked.
First sights- Regular People distributing biscuits.. good glucose.
Further ahead- A crowd. Plates of Biryani being distributed! Now thats a cool feast!
Farther ahead- A road block. The chariot procession is supposed to pass through this way.
So Decided to stay put here. My fellow standing companions were some new'ish christian couple.
A tam banglore guy and a malyali girl working 4 years in banglore.
Overheard them talking about the archbishop of Banglore. oh. so Banglore has an archbishop.
Then i see these media people jumping over and going ahead.
I had half a mind as to pretend as one(given the size of my huge semi-professional cam),
but cudn't find courage. Consoled myself saying capturing the action being amidst the crowd is better.

Crowd stared building up around me and a light drizzle. The standing tam guy tells her there is gonna be
a prayer and the chariot procession starts at the ring of the church bells.
Pretty soon the father of the church and the archbishop give speeches. In English. (Speakers all roubd the place)
A 'Hail Mary' Prayer followed. Was pretty moving because of the sight.
People all around raise their hands and sing in chorus 'Mary'(Maria)..
rats. Didn't capture it. Then the bells ring and the chariot moves. Time- 6 pm. Could see the live action on a huge LCD screen atop
a building.
The chariot comes nearer. The police run away. The crowd throws away the barricades. And its action time.
I take out the cam from my bag. And follow the mighty flow of people.

Now I don't know if this chariot idea was intrinsic or borrowed from the hindu rathotsava's.

But yeah, Religions feed on each other. People suit it to their needs.

Nevertheless. It was a beautiful sight as any.
I went clicking all the way. The lighting of the chariot kept changing each second, as u see.

Unique was the statue of St. Mary. It is draped in a beautiful saree. And it holds a baby dressed in
a frock. Do not know story about Mary and the child. Apologies.
After seeing the statue up close i was like 'WOW!' 'Beautiful'.. And decided to follow behind.
Not at all pleasant. People turning violent, pushing around, stampede-like.
Here's what u need to do in a stampede like atmosphere to survive- Keep hands close to your body, and legs flexible,
and Flow with the crowd. DO NOT RESIST. You may end up breaking up your limbs.

Then escaped the crowd and found a slight elevation- A garbage trolley. Stood on it. Got an opportunity
to capture the sea of humanity from this meagre height.

It passed out over the corner. And i decided the shots obtained were enough. Went Back towards the church, just to see
what is happening.
Got the shots of people seeking alms during this time. Moving Again. I am scared to point my cam at them as it might draw attention.

Never been able to get over this fear. Achieved the shots by discreetly clicking with the cam hanging around my neck at waist level,
and guessing the angle. I finally walk back all the way to lalbagh road, catch a rick and reach home.
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Being surrounded by humanity gives an unspeakable strength and happiness to me. So many faces. So many tongues. So many expressions.
It is like finding oneself in a crowd. Peace amidst the commotion. India is a wonderful place. People are it's treasure. Humanity is here.
The ordinary people. You and me. With so little they manage to eke out a happy living. Do we really need what we all aspire for?
Questions and questions. No answers. Only experiences like these that over-whelm(borrowed usage, but it is apt) my life as i know it.
And I totally Love it.