Of region and religion

I usually shy away from writing or saying about religion, but I just could not resist this one!

Trips to India are very enlightening! With every trip, you learn new things. When you put an analytic hat, you end up discovering a lot of things. In my recent trips, I was thinking about the driving factors of our economy. Apart from agriculture, what drives our economic activities? Is it manufacturing, IT Industry, Outsourcing in general, new disruptive startup scene or something else. As I was thinking about this while riding in an auto, I saw a big Temple and a line of people standing outside. I said to myself that moment, this is it! Religion and God are the biggest drivers in our economy. It directly or indirectly impacts so many people. 

I started thinking of the people working in this eco-system. This is going to be a long list. Firstly the obvious one, lets start with the Temple, Church, Mosque or any other place of worship. The priests who perform prayers, the people who make idols, people who make/distribute the Prasad, the ones who deliver flowers and make flower malas. The vendors who sit outside the temple selling various things like prasad, idols, small toys, place to leave the footwear. The temple trustees and organization members, the people who work in managing orderliness and queue in some of the larger temples. 

There are the priests who come home and perform a variety of rituals and Poojas of Variety of Gods( Satyanarayan, Ganesh pooja, Lakshmi pooja, Housewarming pooja, Navagraha pooja and the list goes on...). Then there are the big religious gatherings where we invite guests and perform pooja and give a feast to hundreds of people which include Mundan (Munja) and Marriage and many others depending on caste and religion. 

Then there are religious festivals which generate a spend of several millions in the economy including Ganesh festival mandals, the Garba dandiya raas, Dahi handi, holi, diwali crackers and so on. The retail sector also takes full advantage of such festivals putting up big sales to attract customers. Religious days generate more sales of Silver, Gold and other precious things. Aaj Sona le lo, bahut shubh din hai (Buy Gold today, it is a very auspicious day).

Then there is God and Religion merchandise, the books, the texts, the saffron sticks, the haldi kumkum, the flowers and other things. Every god has their special day which generates more visits, Monday for Shiva, Tuesday for Ganpati, Thursday for Sai Baba, Friday for devi, Saturday for Hanuman and so on. Then the religious demi-gods who have millions of followers listening to their speeches. Then there is media which feeds on the stories and controversies that religious leaders generate. Everyday you read a newspaper, you will see atleast one religious article, I guarentee.

Plus we created these unwritten rules the religion which impact everything from real estate to our food habits. An east-west facing house is priced 5 lakhs more than the house exactly next to it facing south. You cannot sell or rent your house to people of other religions. Don't buy expensive things such as cars on Saturday, that is not an auspicious day. Aaj non-veg mat khana, navratri chal rahi hai (Do not eat meat, today is some festival). Don't get married in this month, this is not a festive month. Everything dwells on the fact that 'Log kya kahenge?' (What will others say?)

I always hear these stories of disruptions in Industry, like Uber replacing Taxis, Airbnb replacing Hotels, small startup companies challenging Technology giants. I seriously hope someday this industry gets its Uber and millennials embrace it.