In the run-up to Saraswati Puja, the “City of Joy” is usually just people who bring idols together in rickshaws, trucks and hand-pulled carts. But a viral video of a delivery agent packing a small idol of the Goddess of Knowledge inside a branded delivery backpack has hit a nerve with netizens still and makes the connection felt.
The "Kalyug" Argument
Whatever disturbed some viewers about the sight it was a distressing thing. In Hindu tradition, the idols of deities are said to be handled with extreme reverence and normally wrapped in red fabric (Vastra) that is close-wrapped. They are not to touch the ground as that would be an “impure” object.
Some mentioned that it can be a sign of Kalyug if you're placing the Goddess in a regular bag used for food or grocery parcels. Commenters on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) maintained that commercial services have “stripped away the sanctity of our traditions,” and in one case from a famous viral comment the author shared, “In the race for 10-minute deliveries, we have forgotten the weight of our devotion.”
The Practical Perspective
A few others on social media jumped to pitch in for the delivery agent. With so many families now turning to looking for small idols on fast-commerce apps such as Blinkit, Zepto or BigBasket, to find them out of thin air, the delivery guy managed to do the job. Supporters countered that the Kalyug is not in the actual bag, his entire load is not in the "Kalyug"; it is in the judgment of a man working really hard just to make a living.
One user wrote that "the Goddess is in intent not its own container." Others took note of the logistical reality: The delivery agent going two wheels can’t hold an idol safely in one hand while driving through a jumble of streets in Kolkata. Still, standing still, making sure it remained solid, the bag is arguably the safest way to double-check that the idol safely reached its destination.
The Changes Of Festivals
This debate highlights the evolving narrative behind India’s celebration of festivals in general from moment to moment. Due to urbanization where people can easily find an idol when they visit a potter’s colony Kumartuli. Now, this new way of shopping, with the app, now replaces it to shop now in App store.
Nonetheless, even in the midst of the ever-growing "Kalyug" debate, the episode has provoked a dialogue to discover new ways in which special packages and customs can be integrated to ensure that religious items will still be available, while still keeping to the sensitivities of the consumer, however, for the purpose of convenience to delivery partners as well.
Maybe the Kalyug debate is less of a problem than it appears: people's sentiments must be respected if their customers’ sensibilities are to be balanced with delivering products. Taking devotion or modern convenience as a pastiche, the video is an haunting sign of Kolkata’s doomed destiny to be a digitized city.
