‘Pagan?’
TW:A Rant
I read a piece by a writer the other day. I forget his name, naturally: but he had mentioned one of the festivals we have in India, and he had termed it ‘pagan.’ It caused me to blink and stop reading for some time. I remember thinking, once my thoughts began to flow again, what, in God’s name, is NOT pagan?
Didn’t everything begin, and continue that way? Or does a successful nomenclature and classification make all the difference?
It did not hurt me as much as surprised me. It is almost like saying that the only thing Indians eat, is ‘curry’, or butter chicken, or masala!
We have different festivals for the change of seasons as everyone in the world does. We celebrate both Equinox and Solstice, we mark tides and eclipses. We have myths and spiritual connotations behind each festival. We applaud the Power of Women and we have a festival for that, too. We think words and learning are important, so we have a Goddess of learning. We worship rivers and mountains, yes, and the Sun and Moon, too.
Don’t ALL ancient civilizations do?
And here’s the thing.
Haven’t we come to realize, people in all parts of the world, that all the forces we ‘pagans’ celebrate are the agents of Nature that we MUST protect, preserve and pray to?
Should Paradise Be Lost, before we Regain It?
Yes, we have all grown into trees, and some of us pride ourselves on being on the topmost branch of evolutionary existence, but which seed did that tree rise out of? What fertilized that seed, irrigated it, nurtured it?
And isn’t our Sun, yours: and your moon, mine?
It is not the word ‘pagan’ that caused me to pause. It was the casual, dismissive, and disdainful tone of the concept and classification.
Did I say that it did not hurt? I am sorry, but it did.
ⓒ 2023 Suma Narayan. All Rights Reserved.
Shoutout to one of my favorite writers on Medium, Monoreena Acharjee Majumdar, and the liquid lyricism of this piece:
Shoutout to Mark Tulin, and this poignant, tender poem:
