Why secular Mamata finally woke up to Ram Navami

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee is an early bird when it comes to celebrating festivals (Bengalis' proverbial "Baro maashe tero parbon") in Bengal. The list of government holidays in a calendar year, with due respect to festivals and fairs of every religion, caste, creed and community, is always interesting to watch, apart from the surprise elements.

This year too West Bengal had quite a few - 31-32 odd days - with Chhat pujo, Karam pujo, Shivratri, Bhaiphota, Jamai shasti (a special day for the son-in-law) et al making it to the list.

When she cannot arrange for a holiday, she ensures there is no dearth of fun, frolic and festivity.

But Ram Navami caught her fancy late, or was it that she woke up late, realising that the festival had its own followers - and in good strength?

With the BJP and the rest of the saffron brigade trumpeting about celebrating the occasion in style for a week, Banerjee initially gave the festival a miss. She, perhaps, thought Ram to be a mascot of the former.

She may have felt that Jai Shri Ram, Ram Janmabhoomi, Ram Mandir - the oft-repeated references to BJP and its "communal" brand of politics - would not mix well with her political brand, which is a melting pot of all religions.

"And, of course, she was cautious as not to be seen as one toeing the Ram line for obvious political compulsions," said a senior leader of Trinamool Congress.

While the Trinamool Congress considered giving Ram Navami a skip just like any other day, the BJP decided to make the most of it: parading with swords, tridents and conch shells to drum up support for Hindu culture and heritage.

The BJP, consciously playing the Hindu card, invited all the legislators, including 211 from the ruling party to take part in the celebrations.

Cards were distributed to mark the occasion. All eyes were now on Mamata and her boys.

"It was a catch-22 situation. If you stay away you face the charge of being disrespectful towards your own religion and if you attend, you face the wrath of chief minister for showing your face in BJP's programme," said an MLA.

After weighing the pros and cons vis-a-vis a vote bank, some of the senior leaders of the Trinamool Congress tried to reason with Mamata that ignoring Ram Navami might not go down well with Hindus, especially when the BJP is trying to polarise voters along religious lines.

She was reminded that the BJP was trying to project her as a chief minister of the minority community and not as people's CM.

Recently, in an interview to a TV channel, Mamata Banerjee had also mentioned how the BJP was spreading rumours about her lineage.

"How dare they say I was not born into a Brahmin family?" she thundered.

That such rumours are being fuelled to give a communal colour to her brand of politics and destabilise Bengal's secular fabric finally convinced her that the BJP had no patent on Ram.

Soon, one heard the rumblings: "Who are they to tell us about Ram Navami. We know what Ram Navami is. We celebrate Ram Navami, Basanti puja, Durga puja, Kali puja. I come from a Hindu family and I know the pantheons of Hindu Gods and Goddess. I will not learn from them."

During a programme at Bankura, she chanted a Sanskrit sloka for the deity of strength and power to show how her knowledge of Hinduism and emphasise how smoothly and swiftly she could cross the borders of religious boundaries.

Ram Navami symbolised Rama's worship of Durga and the slaying of Ravaana, the evil, she stressed. She asked her party members and leaders to celebrate Ram Navami, but in the party's signature style, with Rabindra Sangeet and Nazrul Islam's words.

Processions can be taken out during the festival, but they must not inconvenience pedestrians.

Mamata asked her party leaders and members to spread the message of the philosophy of Ram Navami - the triumph of good over evil.

For now, Mamata Banerjee has identified the evil in case people had any doubts or had forgotten.

"Comrades," she called out to her archenemies. It once meant the Left, who ruled Bengal for 34 years.

However, this time "comrades" meant both the CPIM and the BJP - the dark and evil forces, the conspirators and comrades-in-arms, rearing their ugly heads in Bengal.

As for the "good", Bengal knows the answer, at least Mamata believes it does.