The Disneyfication of The World

The FDA approved the HPV Vaccine yesterday. Please read my posting from June 7th.

I read an article yesterday in the New York Times titled ‘The Disney Touch at a Hindu Temple.’ (http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/06/08/travel/08letter.html?ex=1307419200&en=45c30f275cb73996&ei=5089&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss)
Mildly offended and very intrigued I read on to discover that a new temple has opened in Delhi complete with boat rides, musical fountains, movie screens and more and that the religious organization (Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha a.k.a. BAPS) that built this temple proudly stated that they did indeed get their inspiration from Disney World and even visited the park several times as part of their research. Now as a temple-loving Hindu, I will admit that yes there are too many temples in India and so I understand the need to differentiate oneself, providing unique benefits and features to attract your target audience-this is Marketing 101. But at some point I think we need to draw a line.
I’ve been to a BAPS temple in London. Despite visiting at a busy time of the day and week, the whole experience was beautiful and peaceful. London, however, doesn’t have the same temple overload problem as India so they can get away with building a ‘basic’ temple there. But do we really want Disney World meets Hinduism as our main draw? One might argue that animatronics a la ‘It’s a Small World’ ride is a great way to engage the younger generation and teach them about religion but when people come to the temple as if it were an amusement park rather than a temple then isn’t the sanctity lost forever?
I’ve been to many a temple in India and my favorite have been the small, local neighborhood temples where the focus is on creating a quiet yet cheery environment allowing you to channelize your thoughts and energies towards a higher power. No overpowering carvings and sculptures, no magical musical fountains, just the basics. I’ve also been to the fancier temples and frankly I just can’t understand why I would stand in line for hours only for 12 seconds of happiness. In those 12 seconds you are being jostled, harassed to donate money all the while trying to be blessed. I once had a priest snatch money from my hands while I was trying to pray ...not fun. Some might argue it’s just like the Disney experience where hours of standing in line culminate in a few seconds of pure thrill.
As the writer of the Times article pointed out, the crowds that visits these temples are ‘multigenerational middle-class Indian families’ always in search of a good (and free) time. And yes even in ancient times temples have been social places of gathering but surely BAPS could have found some other way to attract these folks rather than go down the Disney World path. The little mouse that sits at Lord Ganesha’s feet is very different from our good friend Mickey.