Modi has carried forward Indira’s torch. Ujjain puja shows India connecting with past
19 October, 2022
Modi has, in some sense, taken forward Indira Gandhi’s torch. His proud unapologetic actions are very much in the spirit of the intrepid Indira.
I watched Narendra Modi’s Varanasi speech in February 2022. Despite the limitations of my Hindi, I was impressed (why don’t they have subtitles in other Indian languages and in English?). This time, I decided to skip Modi’s speech and watch the puja at Ujjain’s Mahakaleshwar temple during the inauguration of the Mahakal Lok Corridor last week. One of course knows the expression “Ujjayinyaam Mahakalam” from the Jyotirlinga Storm. And one knows of the associations that Vikramaditya, Bhatrihari and even possibly Shalivahana have had with Ujjain. Years ago, I read a gripping account by author Pupul Jayakar of her visit to Mahakaleshwar and the puja that she witnessed. Kayaker was mesmerized and transported to a state of altered consciousness.