if Binayak sen is guilty of sedition, so am I...

Every time i wish to shed the negativism that has crept inside my thinking, opinion, writings regarding the state of my country, every time i wish to celebrate hope, development, something sad, outright disgusting crops up. I am ashamed, not only of my country's castrated judiciary, corrupt politicians but also of the shameless apathy of my countrymen.
67 year old Dr. Binayak Sen, working in rural tribal areas of Chhatisgarh for his entire life, was sentenced to life imprisonment, charged guilty of sedition for his alleged connections with the Naxalite movement. If being sympathetic to the movement counts as sedition, I openly proclaim that I am sympathetic too. I might not agree to the means the movement has adopted, but that does not make me a lesser advocate of the goals the movement began with. If violence is what the Naxalites are condemned for, the injustice and violence on the part of Government and Police are no less condemnable. And if I need to choose, i would choose the Naxalites as the lesser evil of the two.

Meenaxi: A Splash of Colours

Recently I watched the movie Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities. Brilliant narrative and innovative story-telling. But, what appealed the most was a riot of vibrant, bold colours. It seemed as if M.F.Hussain's Canvas has been re-incarnated accompanied with words and melodies...
The gold ochre landscapes of Rajasthan with paintings in black etched on them.And then comes the splash of colours- Azure Blue, Carnation Pink, Vermilion and Scarlet Red, Bright Aureolin Yellow and Emerald Green....as if rose in rebellion against the scorching Sun and carvings in Sandstone. The story returns to Hyderabad where the Colours get saturated...Azure becomes Prussian, Carnation turns Cerise and  a dash of Burgundy added to Vermilion. As the story moves to Prague, the colours become polished, a layer of gloss gets added and the canvas turns Satin.


We can definitely talk about a woman's assertion of individuality, trying to break free from the story and breathe her own tune. We can also talk about a writer's dilemma of knowingly mutating his own creation and watching helplessly as the story revolts within him.We can lament over the fact that the movie was withdrawn from the theatres in the same week as its launch after some Muslim Ulemas protested against it. 


But, let's leave all that for some other discussion...let us just celebrate colours this time...

for Srujanika...yet again :)

'Khelein hum Jee Jaan se', a movie on Chittagong uprising...
Bad acting, certain obvious flaws but still a commendable effort in terms of telling a not so celebrated but important story. A story about unsung heroes, school going children who achieved remarkable feats and youth that plunged into the unknown, without caring for consequences. The story speaks volumes about a generation that pursued the goals it believed in with a single minded focus and a generation for which the term 'calculated risks' did not exist.

'Gandhi was assassinated because he agreed to partition.'...'Chinese are shrewd and cruel people'...'Communism    means to oppose any development initiative'...'Nehru and his policies screwed India'...

At times, it occurs to me that we live in a world where everybody has an 'opinion' on everything, or rather i should say 'an expert opinion'

When I was a child, the first 'big' story book I came across was 'Ramcharitmanas'. When my grandfather handed it to me, he remarked that Goswami Tulsidas decided to pen this epic after 20 years of dedicated research and study of several great works of Hindu mythology. 'He took 20 years to start writing? Must be a really dumb fellow!' Thats what I felt at the age of eight....

I still do not consider 'Ramcharitmanas' a literary marvel, probably because of my antipathy towards Ram or because the style of writing does not appeal to me in the same way as do those of Kabir, Meera or Raheem, the other contemporaries of Tulsidas. However, I can never deny the fact that not only Ramcharitmanas is the most celebrated and revered epic poem of all times but also it revolutionized several facets of religion and literature by making both of them accessible to the masses. Moreover, it is undoubtedly the most loved work of literature in the country. 

Creating any such phenomenal work seeks countless years of perseverance,  seeks a thorough study of the subject and seeks humility to know more, understand better. 

"Swantah sukhaya Tulasi Raghunath Gatha" (I have sung this song of Lord Ram for self satisfaction). These words speak of humility borne out of knowledge and it is this humility where the poet's greatness lies.

The question is, Can we bring about an constant thirst for perfection that does not allow us to settle for something mediocre or shallow? Can we bring about the same urge for knowledge, an eye for every minute detail, a continuous pursuit for excellence, in everything we do, opine or ideate?

Right to abstain...

I will be 25 in the next 5 months...7 years past the voting age. And I have not voted once till date, in any election. This is not something I am proud of. And I offer no excuse. However, I do wish i had the rights to abstain from voting and furthermore, this 'right' would have made a difference.

For the current Indian polity neither invokes any motivation to elect our leaders nor imparts the confidence that democracy is deemed to bring about.

I seek leaders who can make me proud. I seek leaders who can take radical decisions surpassing the fear of losing political mandate. I seek a government that would have said 'NO' to organizing Commonwealth Games stating that it bears a terrible burden on the conscience of a nation whose 37% of the population lives below Poverty Line and 55 % of women and children are malnourished. I seek a government that would refuse to spend 2.1% of the nation's GDP on defense and armament and persuade the international community to extend help if needed. Of course that would invoke criticism...Criticism by the 'guardians' of nation's 'pride' and whose definitions of pride do not encompass the health and education standards of the country, the rampant corruption, violation of human rights, so on and so forth. I can assure there are several others like me who would NOT give a damn to such guardians.
I seek leaders I can talk about, to my children and grandchildren. I seek leaders I can tell tales of....tales similar to the ones i grew up listening to.

...what was dead was hope!

Outlook publishes an article claiming that the 'encounter' of Maoist leader Cherukuri Rajkumar, pouplarly known as 'Azad', was nothing but a 'cold blooded execution' by the state. Fake encounters are not new to the history of insurgencies in India, especially the Maoist movement. However, I am quite intrigued by the fact that these exceutions are considered perfectly acceptable to a lot of people who claim to be aware and educated. The same people who advocate human rights and assert the rights of independence in a democratic world, consider these murders as a fairly just way of dealing with 'terrorists' like Azad who pose a grave 'threat' to their 'peaceful' world if left alive for trials. And i am intrigued by the fact that this happens in a country where cases on rich American CEOs responsible for thousands of deaths and generations of physical deformities, continue for more than two decades, ending with a mockery of the country's judicial framework.
It hurts that our blood does not boil at these unspeakable crimes against humanity and we have the audacity to call ourselves the torchbearers of the new world of hope and freedom.

Mythology Rewired...

Here we have two Bollywood movies 'Rajneeti' and 'Raavan' drawing parallels from the greatest epics of all times Mahabharat and Ramayan respectively. Elaborate critiques on these epics have been written, discussed and debated by scholars since ages. However, presenting the same through popular cinema appeals to a much wider audience than any other medium.

While a realistic analysis and interpretation of Mahabharat has already been quite celebrated, almost as much as the epic itself, the facts in Ramayan and their interpretations still remain more or less sacrosanct. While we easily see the fine line of difference between the good and bad, the just and unjust getting diminished in the case of Mahabharat , it is not so with Ramayan, sometimes to an extent that it tends to ridicule our common sense.'Raavan' definitely is a feeble first in this respect.

When I first read Ramayan as a child, a few incidents seemed completely inconceivable. One of them was that of Lakshaman's encounter with Raavan's sister Shurpanakha. Shurpanakha expressed her desire for Ram and her feminine jealousy got fuelled by Sita's beauty and appearance, resulting in her turning violent. Apparently she was taught a lesson by Lakshaman who cut her nose off as a punishment. Now, think for a moment what actually would have happened. An educated, well bred warrior is unlikely to commit an act as crude as cutting off a woman's nose. Besides this cut would have resulted in heavy bleeding that would have been lethal. However, we know that she survived the 'atrocity' committed on her and travelled all the way down south to her brother Raavan, thereby making him seek vengeance. Hence, cutting of nose might just have been symbolic. What is worth pondering is that if Shurpanakha's molestation is justifiable by any means , why does Sita's abduction make Raavan an eternal villain? Can he not be judged by the standards of an average human considering that he merely sought to avenge his sister's humiliation, considering that he acted in a much more dignified manner by requesting Sita to marry him, instead of forcing himself on her, while she was at his mercy, considering that the hero of the epic fails to demonstrate such substance when he asks his wife to prove her chastity instead of soothing her pain?

Identities we are 'born' with...

Continuing with the question of identities...
There are identities that get mutated at various levels, changed in varying situations, overcome by individuals and communities. The identities of caste, religion, sect, language, nationality and so on.

The awareness of one's religion gets numb in the struggle to survive and urge to succeed. It surfaces when we happen to attend (rarely) the ceremonies or festivals. It also surfaces stealthily when our friends following other religions celebrate theirs.
The identities of caste are more often than not belittled by the equations of power and money. However they do surface quite often and do so in a wide range of situations from arranging marriages to alluring voters.
Similarly identities of languages and nationalities often blend and blur their boundaries in this era of rapid globalization.

But, there are identities that do not conform to this pattern.
Identities that are overwhelming, identities that are 'inseparable'. The identities that speak most eloquently throughout the span of our existence and control the power dynamics governing our lives. Identities we find impossible to ignore, overcome, supersede.
One such example is the identity borne out of our sexuality. Do we ever ignore the fact that we are a male/female or a third gender? Least of all the latter. While the equations of male/female identities have been much discussed and debated, it is the third gender that calls for our attention due to our inability of overcoming the identity of sexuality. It is the third gender that bears the wrath of our being overwhelmed with our sexualities.
Do we ever wonder why are we not able to acknowledge them as humans? Perhaps because we hardly acknowledge ourselves as humans. The identities of being a male or a female homo sapien conveniently supersedes that.

For Srujanika

"मर्त्य मानव की विजय का तूर्य हूँ मैं
उर्वशी अपने समय का सूर्य हूँ मैं"

(I am the symbol of victory of the mortal man...I am the sun that shines in my era)

The above lines were written by Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, known as 'Rashtrakavi' or the 'National Poet' due to his rebellious nationalist poetry during the pre-independence days.

Poetry evokes myriad sensations, at times so powerful that it can move masses and bring about revolutions.

Going further back in history we find someone who challenged hypocrisy borne out of religion, caste and power dynamics in practically every realm of life...

"दुनिया बड़ी बावली पत्थर पूजने जाए
घर कि चक्की कोई ना पूजे जिसका पीसा खाए"
- Kabir

(It is a crazy world that worships idols made of stone but nobody worships the grinding stone that feeds the world)

Kabir's poetry is an epitome of stark simplicity and this is where its beauty lies, for it reaches you at your naked consciousness, makes you think, re-think and question.

Words of Hope..words of wisdom

"We are but two threads cut from the same cloth."
- Dr. Asher Hasan, in his talk about "NAYA JEEVAN" on Ted(India)

"If the governments of India and Pakistan behaved with each other the way Indians and Pakistanis do when they meet individually, this would be a region of laughter rather than tears."
-M.J.Akbar, "The Shade of Swords"

Well, the above two statements are not likely to be immortal or become phrases that will be quoted to teach moral science lessons to the coming generations.
But, they are powerful, impactful. And the impact lies in the fact that they overcome the cliche, the stereotypes, the popular notions and present truth as it is, blunt and bland and at times defying the common understanding.