Kanwars with Dali masks: Demolishing demons!
This year, Kanwars returning from their water heist of sorts were spotted flaunting masks inspired from Spanish artist Salvador Dali. These masks had earlier gained popularity due to the success of the OTT web series, Money Heist.
The web series Money Heist might be long over, but its craze also caught the fancy of kanwariyas this year. while returning from Haridwar, after a water heist of their own, many kanwariyas were spotted on the streets of NCR wearing the mask of Dali (Salvador Dalí, Spanish artist), which was sported by the actors in the series.
“The Dali mask represents the resistance to succumb to our demons. As Lord Shiva is considered to be the king of ghosts and demons, my mask was a representation of how I’m not going to give in to my inner demons and that of the society around me,” said Shanta Kathpuria, a resident of Tikri Border, adding, “There was chaos around me due to the floods, but I didn’t let it mellow down my spirit of carrying the kanwar.”
While a mask is usually used to conceal one’s identity, for Harish Kumar, a resident of Shakarpur, it carried other meanings: “My group wore it to show that we might be from different regions but we’re all humans who have faith in Lord Shiva. That’s what unites us... We wore the Dali mask to show that the Shiva bhakts have no differentiation based on colour, caste or creed.” And Jairaj, a kanwar who lives in Badarpur, added, “Our Dali mask stood for the anger that is characteristic of Shivshankar’s avatar of Veerbhadra.”
Author tweets @maishascribbles