Of RaOne , temples and marekting ..

Yes , the deep connecting thread between RaOne ; Vellore’s golden temple and life .

( so much for the opening line suspense . Chetan bhagat would’ve been so proud ! )

I have said this before , I’ll say it again .

Shahrukh Khan is THE best salesman India has ( we’ll omit any discussion about his acting skills for now )

He’s ruthless ,smart ,manipulative , swift with the tongue , dosen’t give a damn about being a “superstar” and will go to any limits to sell whatever he wants to .

I was in Vellore this diwali .. and while surfing through channels , I chance upon SRK on JAYA TV !

Talking on and on about how he loves can’t wait to work in tamil movies , and how the most talented people come from this state and how Rajni sir is the biggest superstar we have .

And how he wanted to pay a ‘tribute’ to Chitti in the movie !

Needless to say , the movie turned out to be ‘below expectations’  ( if you carried your brains into the theatre , that is )

The so called ‘tribute’ turned out to be a 1 minute something scene .

North Indians found it funny ( cumon …there was a vaccum after the Rajni jokes went out of fashion ) and bought tickets …

South Indians flocked to the theatre ( at least the first weekend ) to see him and money flowed in ..

Who cares if the movie was C.R.A.P ?

Selling tactic ? You bet my gluteus maximus !

Around the same time , I went for a Vellore sightseeing tour .

Have you ever been to the Jalakanteswarar temple in Vellore fort ? Do go .

It stands old ,strong and proud .The inner sanctrum so serene , lined by huge statues , the central ‘shivling’ and an aura of inner peace .

It smells of stones so ancient that you can easily imagine Tamil kings praying homage to Siva and ‘devdasis’ dancing in those halls .

On the other hand have you been to the Golden ‘temple’ ?

If you even happen to go there .. carry your lunch box/music system/Frisbees or whatever you usually carry to resorts or picnic places .

The place is ( forgive my lack of diplomacy ) an obscenity in the name of temple !

Flowing gardens , music and mantras playing , huge adorned pillars , ticket counters , hospitality that can beat Air India’s air hostesses any day .

Chuck that … a huge inner temple entirely GOLD plated !

( It was like , Bappi Lahiri’s dream house come true )

But was it a temple ? no .

Then again , who cares ?

The guy who runs it has his photos everywhere . People come , donate money , gape in wonder and put their faith in the self proclaimed incarnation ‘gruruji’ and the Goddess .

My great-grandmom used to pray in her ‘pooja ghar’ . It was nothing but one half of a store-room with old faded photos of Gods and a few bronze statues .

But the way I felt God in there , I’ve never felt it anywhere else .

Bottom line ?

Is that what we have come to ?

Publicity ? Show off ? Materialism at it’s pinnacle ?

Maybe it’s time God should hire a publicity or HR agent .

Before people ‘invest’ incorrectly In faith ..