The depth of darkness and The trembling void of light

Natbas

About two days back, I started a collection of short stories by M. Gopalakrishnan, Munimedu [link]. The first story of this collection, 'Night' is in my mind for now.

The story is simple enough. There are three people, a mother and her two sons. One of the sons is in a paralysed state and his younger brother takes care of him. Reading the story, which is narrated from the point of view of the paralysed brother, you get to feel that this man is the centre of the story, not only his own but also that of his mother and brother. Narrative wise, this is a good choice, because that paralysed person is self-centred and hates to be left alone.

And left well alone he will be because this story is set on the night of the nuptials of the younger brother. The young man is in the closed room with his wife, and the paralysed man, Thirumalai, sent to sleep out of his room on a raised platform (Thinnai), can't sleep. He forces his mother and brother to attend upon him with his incessant coughing and complaints of breathlessness. The story ends, not with recriminations or any moral judgments, because everyone knows what it happening here, but with the understanding of the inevitable withdrawal of love and its reapportionment that the marriage is meant for.

This is a brilliant story and I am not doing justice to it with my notes. The authorial voice is totally absent; the story starts with the brother outside his home; he calls his mother and then his brother. The mother knows what is happening here, but the brother, Ganesan, doesn't, and his nobility which shines all through the story, makes a good contrast for the dark and damned end to it. I translate it here, without giving anything away:

"Ammakizhavi turned away slowly. Wiping away her tears with the back of her hand, she glanced at Ganesan. She could not see his face clearly, it was dark with the fallen shadows of the lamp. Ganesan's face was motionless with the depth of darkness and the trembling void of light. A great terror gathered itself and welled up her stomach."

M. Gopalakrishnan is a poet and you can sense it in 'the depth of darkness and the trembling void of light'. We seldom think of it, the two being the same to most of us. But darkness is definitely deep, and the absence of light not so - it is more like a glimmer, like the unseen ripples of a lake on a dark night - its insistent and not so silent movement hints at darker things underneath.

Delhi Rape and the bias against Gujarat

Kalki

I was not entirely wrong when I said that Narendra Modi will not win many, many seats in Gujarat. I was right when I stated that media houses would work against him. How long can the man stand the bias?

Let's look at Gujarat in view of the recent protests against the gang-rape in Delhi. Apart from statistically praising him from time to time, more often the media is out with stories claiming that Gujarat is not that safe for women. Never mind that many have called it among the safest places for women in India. Never mind that women in large numbers say the same.

Read this paragraph by The Times of India: (Police need to get over Gujarat is safe for women' tag: NGOs)

"I saw a girl being harassed on the city road in the afternoon. There was no policeman in the vicinity, the crowd came to the girl's rescue but the teaser fled. This is the stark reality of the city considered safe for women where women can be raped on the main road in broad daylight," said Pathak.

So a crowd of Gujarati men and women rescues a girl from harassment - as opposed to Delhi and Mumbai where rapes on packed trains and slums go without much interference from the crowd - and Mr. Pathak from the story has a problem with that. 

We don't even know if his story is true and whether it's embellished. Even as a make-believe story, media takes every chance to bring the citizen down and speak anti-Modi, who has just won a historic reelection. 

Here's a more recent one from DNA: (Women in Gujarat aren’t safe: Anita Verma)

“The situation of women in Gujarat is worse than in Delhi or any other city,”

That' how the story starts.

While nothing untoward happened in Gujarat like in Delhi, here's a fact-list of toppers on crimes against women. How often do you read these states being investigated/written about as much as Gujarat?

Crime against women: Hyderabad not far behind Delhi [link]

West Bengal tops chart in crime against women [link]

Life gave us much, or little, what regrets can there be?

Kartikey Sehgal

My composition of Faiz Ahmad Faiz's poem, 'Bahut Mila Na Mila', presented by Seema Sehgal for a Pakistani Television, Karachi. She sang two verses which have been described in English below. This is seemingly the last ghazal Faiz wrote. 

The Last Ghazal

Life gave us much, or little, what regrets can there be,
The treasure of pain is ours, what matter the quantity?

It's a lifetime since I know, don't explain it now to me,
What kindness is, beloved, and what iniquity.

Prepare the feast, sing ghazals, let the cup be ever full.
"If the world's woe is great, is there not wine in plenty?"

Trans. Sarvat Rahman

And though not sung in this version, another couplet speaks:

"If the world's not set on fire, of what use is a verse?
Vain tears, that fill the eyes, and move not humanity."

Why Modi May Not Win Many, Many Seats

Kalki

Gujarat is better than before. But with economic prosperity comes snobbishness. And a desire to play kingmaker. And especially in India, a sense of emotional-ness with the Congress. Just like the rural population of the rest of India still hankers after the 'raj' and the white-skinned 'sahibs'.

India's most prosperous state will decide on December 20 the story of Indian politics. 

I have a feeling that the media has predicted Modi to do better than before so that his fall is harder. So they can claim that finally the people have triumphed, and also invoke Godhra and other demons. 

Media will call it the anti-incumbency factor. But the logic that dictates the Indian mind-set is this: my village/my city has seen a 30 percent growth in the last 10 years. I deserve a 50 percent growth rate. Because I am now rich and it's my money that goes into the running of the state. So I will not vote for the incumbent this time. 

Modi's detractors have, in fact, reminded people of the same; what you have is not because of the Chief Minister but your own hard labour, what you don't have is because of the CM. 

Contrary to popular belief, Gujarati media is not as favourable to Modi as they had been for a long time. Apparently, the government's decision to welcome more newspapers in the state has troubled the leading media houses, whose premiership has been threatened. Case in Point - Link

If he fares badly, the media and his thousand detractors will not consider the anti-incumbent factor but put the blame on his brashness, arrogance and other such apparent qualities. Should he win, they will call it an expected event and not credit him much. Such is the environment he lives in. 

Rich people demand more. And they are often unable to perceive relative progress. 

There is a good chance that Modi will be a victim of the classical Indian mindset. 

Making girls into 'items'

Miss Ruth 

Yes, please ask your daughter/s to dance to - "Sounds of ooh and aah come from all over my body." 

By now, I am well aware of the various item songs in the film industry, and their numero uno lovers, young boys and girls, who love to tell each other - "I have taken ill-reputation, for you my darling." 

What will unite these young girls, barely seven or ten is the sisterhood of sluttiness. And a la girls in UK and USA, the world will be one closer family with unwed mothers and teen pregnancies. 

I am amazed at how Indian people who eat little and wear little will spend on entertainment that is surely going to add to their woes. The real problem is this: corresponding to the influx of all these raunchy songs, there are la few good songs in the market. And to add to that these good songs are not marketed well. Every movie, including kids' movie, is centred around dumbing it down for the kids to understand.

So a film on Hindu God Hanuman will have them shaking their booty while singing screaching songs, which are basically mild versions of item songs. 

 

Item Song -- Commercial Film
                  |
                  |
Mild Item   -- Family Film
Song          
                  |
                  |
Item Song -- Kids' Movies
Reminder 

 

 

Thank you, Kartikey

Two or three days after a friend had stumbled upon this blog, and with annoyed surprise, asked me how long I've been posting here, it was a happy coincidence that Kartikey resumed writing in his blog - and posts from his site, found their way here. Thanks, Kartikey.

Though I had studied English at school, and have read a considerable number of books, I rarely get a chance to talk to anyone in English. For all practical purposes, it is very much the language of books. Since I started to write in Tamil a couple of years back, I find it very difficult to put my thoughts in English. I've been writing less and less, and have come to a stop. Time is a big constraint, though.

Kartikey's posts here are gentle reminders to me to resume, and I am naturally grateful for his presence in this blog. Seeing his posts recently, I feel it is important that I should acknowledge how much his posts mean to me.

So here it is.

Better days might yet come.

Bollywood is Backward

Miss Ruth

Indian (Bollywood) film culture is backward. It survives on the cult of some sort of hero-worship. Make no mistake, there are two kinds of cultures.

1. Avid Movie Culture: Mostly Europe and parts of America. Don't know about Russia and others. These people love cinema. They are not over dependent on commercial stakes. A movie is good if it's good. They are often called the elites and can be seen at Cannes and Berlin and other festivals.
2. Commerce Movie Culture: Mostly America and parts of Europe. Don't get me wrong here. You find either cultures in every country. Bur America rules the pack. Brad Pitt wanting to work in a Bollywood film is one such example. India grabs the eyeballs, hence you'll see an increased interest among international celebrities. Oh and last heard, Paris Hilton was in town. For more than a night.

India is all eyeball culture. Hence my Indian friends, and I admit most of them are educated and resent Indian cinema. It's okay for once-in-a-while fun. It's okay if you are a sadist and need to laugh out loud over silliness. But even daily comedians become a chore!

But Bollywood is repeated silliness. The thrust is on pocketing the money of the masses. Or the 'whistle blowers' as my friend informs me. the ones who want some violent or sensual titillation and will spend on it.

India (Bollywood) will get success and riches, but at the cost of respect. As more Indians are educated, they will be attracted more to better films that come out of the world, than their own films.

What I find truly pathetic about this country is that they don't promote their own culture in their films. Maybe the 'whistle blowers' ought to demand better.