The Indian community recently concluded an important festival celebrating the power of Ganesha, the Remover of Obstacles.
The conclusion of the multiple-day festivities is a ceremonial immersion of the idol of the god in a water body.
In Bahrain, many families and groups used to traditionally go to Al Jazayer Beach to immerse their idols.
Since three years now, this beach, while still a public space, charges a small fee for access.
There are other beaches, of course, such as Budaiya Beach Park, Busaiteen, Abu Subh Beach in Diraz, Malkiya Beach and Karbabad Beach.
The problem is, as free beaches, they are ill-used by visitors and usually littered with the volume of garbage that makes them a good beach clean-up proposal to signal a club or group’s well-meaning community intentions.
These beaches cannot be used for the sacred act of relinquishing the idol of a god who visited one’s home and blessed us.
I understand from many friends that these days, they usually immerse the idols in Tubli Bay or in the little water bodies in Seef.
Now for the next problem: many of these idols are made these days of fibreglass instead of clay and painted with chemical-based paints.
The days of eco-friendly simple clay idols adorned with sandalwood and turmeric paste are long gone, even in India.
Since Bahrain is so open and harmonious about inter-faith celebrations, should we be looking at formalising this festival so that every idol comes with a ‘materials certificate’ proving its eco-friendly credentials, a specific ‘immersion idol size’, so that a designated space may be set aside for the community for the immersion on a set date and for a small fee?
When something like this is proposed, we should make the community the primary stakeholder in the process.
The municipalities and other bodies who care for the beaches, should designate one beach for the purpose and help by offering a well-cleaned space with amenities such as public toilets to manage the needs of the crowd.
For their part, the community should be held responsible for returning the beach and facilities in good condition to the authorities.
Old-timers may remember when Bahrain’s Ministry of Education used to allow expat clubs to use their government school auditoriums on Fridays for cultural events.
These school halls were spacious and very cost-effective. But then, many of the clubs using the facilities simply did not understand how they could reciprocate such generosity.
Children ran amok in the school gardens, destroying students’ experimental green patches, bathrooms and green rooms were handed back distressingly dirty and sometimes, delicate gypsum or wood carving embellishments were chipped.
Soon the doors of these partner establishments were closed to the expat community.
Often the best way to protect one’s cultural rights is to clearly label the deliverables and ensure that they are followed.
Diwali in Bahrain, for example is a busy commercial, social and religious period – but, except for the occasional hand-held sparkler, no other fireworks are allowed, making it safer and less noisy than the Indian edition.
Every occasion, every celebration has the potential to bring the community together and stitch the beautiful story of Bahrain for the future. And each one of us has a tale to embroider and nurture in this tapestry.
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