What
shall we give the Old Man?
-Bernard
Fernandes
One of the most intriguing sights
at the year-end that has fascinated me (apart from revelries at the midnight ball
or time set aside to put the shrimp on the Barbie) is the effigy of the old man
placed in the corners of the streets and by the road side. The experience of
being accosted by the willful young brats - or allured by an innocuous one- for
some bounty for the poor old man is equally absorbing.
I ‘googled’ for the story behind
this tradition, and I came up with the following one – there may be more!
Zozobra ("Old
Man Gloom") is the name of a giant marionette effigy which is
built and burned every autumn during Fiestas de Santa Fe in Santa Fe, New Mexico, usually during the second week of September. As his name
suggests, he embodies gloom; by burning him, people destroy the worries and
troubles of the previous year in the flames. Anyone with gloom that they
need to get rid of can come by the offices of the Santa Fe Reporter in the weeks leading up to the burn
to drop off slips of paper with personal gloom written on them. Many people put
legal papers in the gloom box as well. At the festival the papers from the
gloom box are placed at Zozobra's feet to be burned alongside him.
And so I ask myself, ‘What shall I/we give the old man this year?’ Each
one of us will have a long list – may match or differ, turn out to be challenging
or preposterous. Yet, it will voice our concerns and anxieties.
I for one, would wish to throw away apathy that is so rampant among our
leaders, and among us. Apathy towards sexual crime – the latest death of the
death of the young Braveheart has roused the nation – violence, bigotry and
corruption. It is time we burn our indifference towards the slow disintegration
of our environment through the blind use of plastics, misuse of electricity and
water, and the brutal chopping of age old trees in the name of beautification
and development. I wish to shred the greed of humans for more wealth and
luxuries through the mindless violence and poaching of harmless creatures and
animals – elephants, tigers, rhinos and other wildlife. We need them and they need us. In education, I
would trade for more creativity, better learning environments (for the less
fortunate), more recreation, nature trips and the like, in place of rote
learning, coaching classes and cut-throat competition. Above all, we need to
clear the gloom of a materialistic culture to give some more place and time for
God, prayer, meditation and reflection.
The list is long, and endless… We are on the threshold of a new year, and we
have been given the opportunity to think, create and begin anew. The old man is waiting to rid us of our
weaknesses and invigorate us with vitality and renewed vigor to change. Change our
brusque living that allows our impulses and animal instincts to govern our
lives; forego our excessive desires for consumption, wealth and power …and
welcome concern, motivation and a genuine passion for living into our life. May
we not just watch from the sidelines as others blaze the trail for a better
world, but join the banner in raising the toast to justice, peace and harmony.
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013.
