In a recent report from Mathura/Vrindavan, the home of Krishna's 'Banke Bihari' temple, where thousands flock everyday to come face to face with their icon variously accoutered, people found him in a tee-shirt and jeans, with a mobile replacing his melodious flute. However, instead of inducing a smile, this new avatar of Krishna outraged the fragile sensibilities of some. The media of course ran away with it and converted it into a full-blown controversy in no time, with people voting for and against, through SMS.

In another raging controversy, the pressing need for reinvention has seized the imagination of the media. The Mahatma is all set to re-enter our lives as the friendly neighbourhood icon of the Bombay tapori Munna Bhai, who is reinterpreting the Mahatma's philosophy as 'Gandhigiri', which is of course again being frowned upon by some.

A recent survey by the 'The Hindu-CNN-IBN' of the new hi-tech generation of Indians below 30 yrs of age, in 19 states, showed 76% YOUTH, rating Gandhi as their top role model. There is obvious need of rescuing the Mahatma from his usual flock of self-styled custodians to bring him home to touch and inspire the lives of the young who are in search of paths to follow in the modern 'Wastelands'. If Gandhi is to become the leading light of India's young, then the 9/11 made (in)famous by another band of youth in search of the same answers has to be resurrected in the memory of our very own 9/11. This was the day, a hundred years ago, when a young, successful barrister, gave up everything to carve out an alternative lifestyle for his generation. He addressed issues close to the hearts of millions who were struggling to find a way out of the historical mess they were forced to grapple with. He brought them face to face with the truth that was escaping them, by launching the 'Satyagraha' movement.

Today, in the words of Lloyd Rudolph, a Chicago professor, agnostic young people, mostly from science or technical streams, and not driven by dogma or religion, are looking to add meaning to their lives and find answers to the eternal question: 'what shall I do with my life?' They find that the Mahatma fits the bill.

There is a message in all this for all of us to contemplate in this season of spiritual encounters with the spirits of good and evil: it is indeed the fluidity inherent in our cultural icons, that allows for reinvention and reinterpretation which lends vitality to our beliefs. Each icon is made in the image of its maker, and the maker, through fashioning us in his own image, makes space for individual identities. It is the same principle working, when we co-opt the divine, according to our individual need and understanding, into our lives.

Dussehra and Divali are here. Let each one of us co-opt Krishna/Gandhi or the goddess in our own way, into our lives.

We are all looking to add quality to our lives, even when trying to be aware and smart consumers or producers. We all wish and hope to follow the path of the right and the good—in the light of truth.

We wish our readers peace, health and prosperity in this season of lights and sparklers.