Dear Readers,

 

According to certain green groups in India, the much speculated Indian version of Tomatina festival of Spain to be held in Goa will do no good to the country but cause problems for a country like India where food security and poverty are major issues. Green organisations in Goa, thus, believe that the Sundown Tomatina Festival Goa-2011 where thousands of people are expected to participate will only create food crisis. We too believe that even when a festival is meant for fun and spreading the sense of brotherhood, such kind of event could equally mean moral imbalance.

Owing to the rising food inflation in the country where buying commodities including the subsidised food grain from the Public Distribution System, it is not often affordable to the masses. However, the organizers fell that the Sundown Tomatina Festival Goa-2011 would be an event to look forward to as it will add up to the tourist index in the state. The event is expected to attract over 30,000 revellers from far away places. Logically speaking, this is a good move to place Goa as a revellers' destination on the tourism map but the food inflation issue is equally an important aspect.

A possible solution, according to the organizers, is to use tomatoes which are not edible and acquired from the discarded share. Till now, Goa Tourism Development Corporation has not given any permission for the festival.

What we feel is that hosting a Tomatina festival may be a deep rooted Spanish identity; we do not need to blindly follow it as Spain is probably the World's largest tomato producers when India merely grows enough to cover its needs. It is true that exchange of culture helps us grow as a society but the concept of fun does not necessarily have to fit equally in every circumstance. So we are not surprised when the people concerned have demanded a ban on the festival under the Essential Commodities Act, 1952.

Nevertheless, we Indian have always been open to festivities and great cultural practices. Banning a tomato hurling festival doesn't close the road to greater cultural exchanges in the future. It is just that we like to take a look at the kitchen before inviting our guests.

 

Editor

 

Happy Travelling