THE SACRED CORNER
With age and experience, observation and assimilation we consider certain Artistes, writers, leaders as close to our own ideology. In fact; our own ideology to a large extent is influenced by these people, whom we consider as our own almost sacred. In the sense that we refer to them from time to time, verify our opinions and defend their ideas and actions in our social discussions and debates often at the cost of annoying our colleagues and friends, sometimes even the family members. They in fact remain in one corner of our consciousness , well guarded by us as our back-up support for sustenance and survival.
There are many of them; whom I have idolised over the years, but at this point I will discuss only Munshi Premchand. Only yesterday I was reading his most famous short story ‘Idgah ‘, which tells the story of a four year old boy Hamid who spends the only three paise he had for iid celebration to purchase a ‘chimta’ ( metal tong ) for his grandmother ‘Amina’ to ensure her hands and fingers remain safe from fire while making chappatis , whilst his other friends purchase expensive toys he sacrifices his desires and even defends bravely his purchase.The grandmother is so moved by his gesture that she weeps uncontrollably showering blessings on the lad thus becoming childlike in front of the young boy who for that moment becomes her guardian. It is poignant story, which is one of the best and representative work of Premchand. Innocence of childhood, child psychology, games children play! The atmosphere during iid, the village setup all are depicted so minutely and accurately in the short story of 7-8 pages.
Prem chand was a keen observer of Society. He wrote for the victims of socio-economic oppression, well the entire nation was oppressed under the British regime but his heart was with the poor. Though he was a graduate he had modest and humble upbringing his father being a clerk in the postmaster office. He learnt Persian under the tutorship of the village Moulvi and along with Persian learnt Urdu too. However Persian was his pet subject and was with him till B. A. Love of reading he imbibed from urdu novels from the village Bookshop with whom he worked part time in turn was able to get books on loan. Rest he imbibed by direct observation of society. No great human influences other than his mother whom he lost as a young boy were in his life. No influential politician or religious or social reformer carved his ideas. Gandhi made a big impact on him but that influence was on the entire Nation. He was man of the masses and remained one till last. The greatest happenings in his life were his writings consisting of stories , novels and writings in newspapers which he edited from time to time.
I return to him regularly to refresh and rejuvenate myself. Each of his story is material for research on subjects such as sociology and literature. Like Pundits who dissect and narrate ramcharitramanas and similar literature with detail analysis investing hours on each word and line and chowpai Premchand too deserves that attention. Some puritans may propagate that literature should be appreciated as literature and should not sermonise, however traditional Indian literature has always sermonised. Sermonising if precise and accurate is indeed pleasing, it should not be superfluous. Premchand is measured and precise in his preaching and therefore endearing.
A story such as Idgah is not merely literature but history, economics, psychology and much more. Such is the greatness of Premchand who resides in my sacred corner; secured.
बुधवार, 2 जून 2010
मंगलवार, 1 जून 2010
SACRIFICE AND NATION - A CASE OF PREMCHAND
SACRIFICE AND NATION- A CASE OF PREMCHAND
Premchand died in 1936 at the age of 56. He left an indelible mark in the field of literature. Though he wrote in Hindustani his works are translated in all the major Indian Indian languages and many other languages of the world. He wrote about 300 short stories and 14 long and short novels.
He is still widely read and quoted. His stories are reflection of his humanism and concern for the downtrodden. Yet, his language and observations are so interesting that readers remain captivated. In the present times his underlying secularism in his stories make them relevant for our present generation and generations after. A Dramatic group in Mumbai only enacts Drama based on stories of Premchand.
Here, I do not wish to narrate his life story but narrate only one important incident of his life. We are all aware that all his life he lived in economic scarcity, after completing Matriculation he could not get admission in Intermediate ( though he passed B. A. later ) however he secured a job of a Teacher in Chunar near Benaras. This job he held for 21 years as he was unable to sustain on only his writings and had to seek regular employment all his life; he could never afford the luxury of leasure.
In 1921 Gandhiji visited Gorakhpur where Premchand was posted as a teacher. Gandhi gave call to the nation for non cooperation , he urged those holding Government jobs to resign. Premchand was deeply motivated to plunge into the movement but had a pregnant wife and two growing children to support. He consulted his wife Shivrani, both contemplated for some days and on the sixth day she gave signal to resign. Thus Premchand resigned his secured Government job of 21 years along with the Government quarter. Thereafter he continued to struggle and survive till his premature death in 1936.Premchand; however was just one among the thousands who made similar such sacrifices in order to attain independence . Such was the spirit of the National movement that it not only aroused the great but many ordinary and deprived. Compare it to our present times;so immersed we are in consumerism that our character has changed . There is no Premchand among us nor we have the capacity to create one !
Premchand died in 1936 at the age of 56. He left an indelible mark in the field of literature. Though he wrote in Hindustani his works are translated in all the major Indian Indian languages and many other languages of the world. He wrote about 300 short stories and 14 long and short novels.
He is still widely read and quoted. His stories are reflection of his humanism and concern for the downtrodden. Yet, his language and observations are so interesting that readers remain captivated. In the present times his underlying secularism in his stories make them relevant for our present generation and generations after. A Dramatic group in Mumbai only enacts Drama based on stories of Premchand.
Here, I do not wish to narrate his life story but narrate only one important incident of his life. We are all aware that all his life he lived in economic scarcity, after completing Matriculation he could not get admission in Intermediate ( though he passed B. A. later ) however he secured a job of a Teacher in Chunar near Benaras. This job he held for 21 years as he was unable to sustain on only his writings and had to seek regular employment all his life; he could never afford the luxury of leasure.
In 1921 Gandhiji visited Gorakhpur where Premchand was posted as a teacher. Gandhi gave call to the nation for non cooperation , he urged those holding Government jobs to resign. Premchand was deeply motivated to plunge into the movement but had a pregnant wife and two growing children to support. He consulted his wife Shivrani, both contemplated for some days and on the sixth day she gave signal to resign. Thus Premchand resigned his secured Government job of 21 years along with the Government quarter. Thereafter he continued to struggle and survive till his premature death in 1936.Premchand; however was just one among the thousands who made similar such sacrifices in order to attain independence . Such was the spirit of the National movement that it not only aroused the great but many ordinary and deprived. Compare it to our present times;so immersed we are in consumerism that our character has changed . There is no Premchand among us nor we have the capacity to create one !
मंगलवार, 25 मई 2010
TURNING A BLIND EYE
TURNING A BLIND EYE
The English daily with much history and name announced in jubilation that their survey has shown that the number of children in English medium Government schools have increased in Mumbai since last five years, the figures stood at about 35000. The report intended to convey that the priority of people is shifting from vernacular to English as it showed that the number of students in Marathi medium schools have declined by about 10,000 ;though it was a matter unreported that the number of students were still above 1 lakh way ahead of English! When the figures of other languages were observed closely it was interesting to see that the figures of Hindi was the highest above one lakh and to my surprise the urdu school goers was also above one lakh slightly behind Marathi. The report shows that how our proponents of English are blind to the existence of other Indian languages and in fact are insensitive. The longing to enrol one’s children in English medium schools among urban Indians is understandable because it is English which will fetch them jobs, but at the same time the fact that the vast majority is seeking education in its mother tongue should not be ignored. The largest daily in English should take note of the fact that it is not Marathi which is at number one but Hindi and Urdu and Hindi combined are above two lakhs. It is not to be ignored that the large number of Muslims of Mumbai are sending their children to Urdu medium schools and urdu therefore is still alive way ahead of English even if the English daily feels flattered on the rise of English. It is for the citizens to know the facts on ground and analyse other communities too in their survey, as they too are making progress.
The English daily with much history and name announced in jubilation that their survey has shown that the number of children in English medium Government schools have increased in Mumbai since last five years, the figures stood at about 35000. The report intended to convey that the priority of people is shifting from vernacular to English as it showed that the number of students in Marathi medium schools have declined by about 10,000 ;though it was a matter unreported that the number of students were still above 1 lakh way ahead of English! When the figures of other languages were observed closely it was interesting to see that the figures of Hindi was the highest above one lakh and to my surprise the urdu school goers was also above one lakh slightly behind Marathi. The report shows that how our proponents of English are blind to the existence of other Indian languages and in fact are insensitive. The longing to enrol one’s children in English medium schools among urban Indians is understandable because it is English which will fetch them jobs, but at the same time the fact that the vast majority is seeking education in its mother tongue should not be ignored. The largest daily in English should take note of the fact that it is not Marathi which is at number one but Hindi and Urdu and Hindi combined are above two lakhs. It is not to be ignored that the large number of Muslims of Mumbai are sending their children to Urdu medium schools and urdu therefore is still alive way ahead of English even if the English daily feels flattered on the rise of English. It is for the citizens to know the facts on ground and analyse other communities too in their survey, as they too are making progress.
गुरुवार, 20 मई 2010
BEARD AND THE SYMBOLIC APPEARANCE
‘BEARD’ AND THE SYMBOLIC APPEARANCE
Beard is a symbol of wisdom, renunciation ,carelessness ,austerity ,mourning ,authority and probably much more. In the recent times it has however gained significance in view of the prevailing terrorism and unfortunate identification of it with religious groups. Since my childhood I have held sporting of ‘Beard’ in high esteem as the photo-image of our Indian ‘Rishis’ ( sages) is deeply embedded – Valmiki, Vashist, Vishvamitra, Bharadvaj all had flowing Beard, this image was further strenthened during the dominant period of ‘Mahabharat’ and ‘Ramayan’ on TV. But, the image of all sages is with ‘Beard’ across the party! Line- Guru Nanak, Guru Govind, Moses,Christ, Ahura Mazda ( Parsi God ),. In the recent times barring the Pope most of the religious heads have beard including that of jews. I often wonder as to why, Buddha and Mahavir are shown clean shaven, Christ is shown with long hair and slight Beard. Realism dictates that during their time having long hair and Beard was rather compulsion than desire, but faith creates strange images and we the followers want our venerated leaders in a certain image and so they exist to satisfy our image of them. During our time in college when leftist leanings were wide spread many kept beard under the influence of Marx, Fidel Castro and Che Guevera, I think colleges are still enamoured by the revolutionary ideas though not action. In India I find the state of Kerala fancying the beard most and under Karl Marx complex !! French Beard is popular among urban elite. Though it looks good on a fair and slim face many sport it nevertheless. Our dear Bachhan is believed to be most attached to his beard that he refuses to cut it even for meaty roles. I think a beard is also grown to improve looks more particular by those having a weak chin as it makes the face a little more square, Naseeruddin Shah the famous cinema- theatre personality does hide his chin with his beard.
Beard is historically related to seafarers , our sailors are permitted to grow beard as part of Naval tradition. This privilege is for only Naval personnel and not extended to Army and Airforce. In fact originally one could grow beard but not moustache, later the rule was amended.
Certain professions are associated with sporting beard and among them it is accepted as normal to have beard -- Art film makers, poets, painters, professors, Ayurvedic Doctors ( Baba Ramdev ). The manner in which the beard is kept also conveys the ideology of a person. Some Sikhs keep full flowing beard whereas some merely maintain symbolically,it was interesting to see the full flowing beard of cricketers Amla ( South Africa ) and Mohamad Yusuf / Saeed Anwar ( Pakistan) it did convey their commitment to their religion and cricket?
Therefore it can be said that Beard is associated with ‘Mankind’ since ages , in some cases the meaning remains unchanged in some it is to convey definite ideology/association though silent and symbolic the meaning should not go unnoticed and therefore the reaction of our society changes .
Beard is a symbol of wisdom, renunciation ,carelessness ,austerity ,mourning ,authority and probably much more. In the recent times it has however gained significance in view of the prevailing terrorism and unfortunate identification of it with religious groups. Since my childhood I have held sporting of ‘Beard’ in high esteem as the photo-image of our Indian ‘Rishis’ ( sages) is deeply embedded – Valmiki, Vashist, Vishvamitra, Bharadvaj all had flowing Beard, this image was further strenthened during the dominant period of ‘Mahabharat’ and ‘Ramayan’ on TV. But, the image of all sages is with ‘Beard’ across the party! Line- Guru Nanak, Guru Govind, Moses,Christ, Ahura Mazda ( Parsi God ),. In the recent times barring the Pope most of the religious heads have beard including that of jews. I often wonder as to why, Buddha and Mahavir are shown clean shaven, Christ is shown with long hair and slight Beard. Realism dictates that during their time having long hair and Beard was rather compulsion than desire, but faith creates strange images and we the followers want our venerated leaders in a certain image and so they exist to satisfy our image of them. During our time in college when leftist leanings were wide spread many kept beard under the influence of Marx, Fidel Castro and Che Guevera, I think colleges are still enamoured by the revolutionary ideas though not action. In India I find the state of Kerala fancying the beard most and under Karl Marx complex !! French Beard is popular among urban elite. Though it looks good on a fair and slim face many sport it nevertheless. Our dear Bachhan is believed to be most attached to his beard that he refuses to cut it even for meaty roles. I think a beard is also grown to improve looks more particular by those having a weak chin as it makes the face a little more square, Naseeruddin Shah the famous cinema- theatre personality does hide his chin with his beard.
Beard is historically related to seafarers , our sailors are permitted to grow beard as part of Naval tradition. This privilege is for only Naval personnel and not extended to Army and Airforce. In fact originally one could grow beard but not moustache, later the rule was amended.
Certain professions are associated with sporting beard and among them it is accepted as normal to have beard -- Art film makers, poets, painters, professors, Ayurvedic Doctors ( Baba Ramdev ). The manner in which the beard is kept also conveys the ideology of a person. Some Sikhs keep full flowing beard whereas some merely maintain symbolically,it was interesting to see the full flowing beard of cricketers Amla ( South Africa ) and Mohamad Yusuf / Saeed Anwar ( Pakistan) it did convey their commitment to their religion and cricket?
Therefore it can be said that Beard is associated with ‘Mankind’ since ages , in some cases the meaning remains unchanged in some it is to convey definite ideology/association though silent and symbolic the meaning should not go unnoticed and therefore the reaction of our society changes .
मंगलवार, 30 मार्च 2010
LANGUAGE AND CINEMA
LANGUAGE AND CINEMA
Though pure cinema should be beyond language we, as a collective society, have not reached that level of refinement and homogeneity to detach from spoken words in cinema. The period of ‘silent cinema’ produced some great works of Art such as the cinema of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplain which made dialogues redundant for a while. But, the fact that with the advancement in technology the cinema makers clung to the sound of words such firmly that the question of abandoning it does not arise . The dialogue writing has come of age too and realism is the order of the times. In hindi cinema too the earlier text and delivery of dialogues has been handed over to the television soap opera operators and much emphasis is applied to write lines which are spoken by characters in day to day life .Often we see that the characters speak the dialect of the region they represent though in the name of artistic freedom certain dialects are spoken to provide humour only and geographical location of the character is of little importance. In the sixties , seventies and eighties though standard hindi was spoken by the actors, but whenever rural depiction was shown the dialect was ‘ bhojpuri’. Perhaps if we trace the origin of this norm the influx of migrant population to the then ‘ calcutta’ where cinema started eventually in a big way could be the reason. Much of the migrants to the city of Mumbai and Calcutta were from UP and Bihar who carried their culture with them and did influence the rural characterisation in films. Dilip Kumar immortalised the rural dialect in his rendition of the role of a farmer turned dacoit under oppressed circumstances. The song in bhojpuri ‘ nain larjayen to manwa ma khatak hoe be kari’ is sung and fondly remembered to this day. Many actors tried to emulate him but could not match his fluidity and rhythm , later Amitabh Bachhan surpassed him, but only slightly on the strength of his larger body of work and having been born in Allahabad. Bachhan matched Dilip in his portrayal of ‘ khai ke paan banaras wala’ in ‘Don’ and also in ’Adalat’ and ‘ Ganga ki Saugandh’.
In recent times Vishal Bharadwaj engaged the audience in ‘Omkara’ with its typical western U. P. accent . Shekhar Kapoor used the dialect spoken in the ravines of the ‘Chambal’ in ‘Bandit Queen’ very effectively, it added to the seriousness of the subject. However; the wide usage of the the ‘dialects’ of Hindi language spoken in eastern and central U.P. and parts of western Bihar ranging from ‘avadhi’ to ‘Bhojpuri’ and its variants have reigned supreme. Other accents have been attempted and the hindi with ‘Haryanvi’ dialect is gaining currency in comedy and with time other dialects will also emerge. Mani Ratnam does provide a distinct dialect to his minor actors but is random in selection as he is not faithful to the geographical region.
Shyam Benegal in his recent film ‘Well done Abba’ has set the film in a village near the city of Hyderabad and therefore his actors speak hindi in the typical accent of that place popularized by the great comedian Mehmood in films ‘ Gumnam’ and ‘Kunwara Baap ‘.What I observed was that this restricted the flow of the film and the dialect lacks the melody which is inherent in Bhojpuri. Perhaps the choice of the dialect marred the fate of the film at Box office as the audience has limited patience for such jarring experiments .Coincidently; I saw a day after I had seen ‘Abba….’ ‘Welcome to Sajjanpur’ a film also of Shyam Benegal released last year which was not only a surprise Hit of the year but also of his career. This film too has a rural setting but with ‘Bhojpuri’ dialect, there is such flow and beauty in that language that it contributes largely to its success. The comparison is apt because the dialogue, and screenplay writer is common to two films . It is my belief that had he retained the Bhojpuri dialect in ‘Abba’ and changed the lead actor to someone more conversant with language variation such as ‘Naeer’ the result would have been better.
At times reason may dictate that a certain dialect is mandatory but the inherent sweetness of certain tongues is beyond debate . It is ironical that the region from where this dialect emerges is one of the poorest economically but has given much emotional joy to the society with its melodious dialect. No wonder why most vocal Hindustani classical music is performed and created in Bhojpuri dialect.
Though pure cinema should be beyond language we, as a collective society, have not reached that level of refinement and homogeneity to detach from spoken words in cinema. The period of ‘silent cinema’ produced some great works of Art such as the cinema of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplain which made dialogues redundant for a while. But, the fact that with the advancement in technology the cinema makers clung to the sound of words such firmly that the question of abandoning it does not arise . The dialogue writing has come of age too and realism is the order of the times. In hindi cinema too the earlier text and delivery of dialogues has been handed over to the television soap opera operators and much emphasis is applied to write lines which are spoken by characters in day to day life .Often we see that the characters speak the dialect of the region they represent though in the name of artistic freedom certain dialects are spoken to provide humour only and geographical location of the character is of little importance. In the sixties , seventies and eighties though standard hindi was spoken by the actors, but whenever rural depiction was shown the dialect was ‘ bhojpuri’. Perhaps if we trace the origin of this norm the influx of migrant population to the then ‘ calcutta’ where cinema started eventually in a big way could be the reason. Much of the migrants to the city of Mumbai and Calcutta were from UP and Bihar who carried their culture with them and did influence the rural characterisation in films. Dilip Kumar immortalised the rural dialect in his rendition of the role of a farmer turned dacoit under oppressed circumstances. The song in bhojpuri ‘ nain larjayen to manwa ma khatak hoe be kari’ is sung and fondly remembered to this day. Many actors tried to emulate him but could not match his fluidity and rhythm , later Amitabh Bachhan surpassed him, but only slightly on the strength of his larger body of work and having been born in Allahabad. Bachhan matched Dilip in his portrayal of ‘ khai ke paan banaras wala’ in ‘Don’ and also in ’Adalat’ and ‘ Ganga ki Saugandh’.
In recent times Vishal Bharadwaj engaged the audience in ‘Omkara’ with its typical western U. P. accent . Shekhar Kapoor used the dialect spoken in the ravines of the ‘Chambal’ in ‘Bandit Queen’ very effectively, it added to the seriousness of the subject. However; the wide usage of the the ‘dialects’ of Hindi language spoken in eastern and central U.P. and parts of western Bihar ranging from ‘avadhi’ to ‘Bhojpuri’ and its variants have reigned supreme. Other accents have been attempted and the hindi with ‘Haryanvi’ dialect is gaining currency in comedy and with time other dialects will also emerge. Mani Ratnam does provide a distinct dialect to his minor actors but is random in selection as he is not faithful to the geographical region.
Shyam Benegal in his recent film ‘Well done Abba’ has set the film in a village near the city of Hyderabad and therefore his actors speak hindi in the typical accent of that place popularized by the great comedian Mehmood in films ‘ Gumnam’ and ‘Kunwara Baap ‘.What I observed was that this restricted the flow of the film and the dialect lacks the melody which is inherent in Bhojpuri. Perhaps the choice of the dialect marred the fate of the film at Box office as the audience has limited patience for such jarring experiments .Coincidently; I saw a day after I had seen ‘Abba….’ ‘Welcome to Sajjanpur’ a film also of Shyam Benegal released last year which was not only a surprise Hit of the year but also of his career. This film too has a rural setting but with ‘Bhojpuri’ dialect, there is such flow and beauty in that language that it contributes largely to its success. The comparison is apt because the dialogue, and screenplay writer is common to two films . It is my belief that had he retained the Bhojpuri dialect in ‘Abba’ and changed the lead actor to someone more conversant with language variation such as ‘Naeer’ the result would have been better.
At times reason may dictate that a certain dialect is mandatory but the inherent sweetness of certain tongues is beyond debate . It is ironical that the region from where this dialect emerges is one of the poorest economically but has given much emotional joy to the society with its melodious dialect. No wonder why most vocal Hindustani classical music is performed and created in Bhojpuri dialect.
मंगलवार, 23 मार्च 2010
SHAHEED
SHAHEED
I received a SMS this morning , it stated that we should today at least remember for 2 minutes the sacrifice of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev as they were hanged to death on this date in 1931. It made me think that at least some idealism is alive today as mostly we pass much trash to each other on SMS. Then I started thinking of Bhagat Singh and his friends who at such a young age made the supreme sacrifice which motivates us and our children to this day. Some of my friends question the approach of Bhagat Singh; they say that essentially he too was similar to the terrorists; I however consider such assessment short sighted because he made the sacrifice for an enslaved nation who have the right to revolt. Unlike terrorists of our times he and his associates did not kill indiscriminately. Their enemy was well defined; the violent means adopted could be the subject of debate but I leave that discussion for another day. What I propose to amplify is that though Bhagat Singh has written a pamphlet ‘ why I am an atheist’ he was not one from his early days . He was drawn to ‘Arya Samaj’ teachings and even repeated ‘Gayatri Mantra’ as a youth. It was whilst in jail when he knew that the path he had adopted will lead to certain death that he resolved to dismantle all the support systems. He believed that in order to accept the ultimate he will have to be strong enough on his own; for he had seen some of his mates weakening at the time of reckoning ;in fact one of them devoted much of his time in seeking divine blessings/intervention for lenient treatment. All this confrmed to Bhagat that that he will have to burn all his bridges in order to achieve his Aim with head held high( mera rang de basanti chola). Therefore I consider such martyrs rare and indeed he was one. He was also not a young adventurer, he was a thinking ‘Revolutionary’ and had read Lenin’s ‘ State and Revolution’ in confinement. He had ideas for future but his martyrdom was larger than any ideology as it inspires us to this day.
I received a SMS this morning , it stated that we should today at least remember for 2 minutes the sacrifice of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev as they were hanged to death on this date in 1931. It made me think that at least some idealism is alive today as mostly we pass much trash to each other on SMS. Then I started thinking of Bhagat Singh and his friends who at such a young age made the supreme sacrifice which motivates us and our children to this day. Some of my friends question the approach of Bhagat Singh; they say that essentially he too was similar to the terrorists; I however consider such assessment short sighted because he made the sacrifice for an enslaved nation who have the right to revolt. Unlike terrorists of our times he and his associates did not kill indiscriminately. Their enemy was well defined; the violent means adopted could be the subject of debate but I leave that discussion for another day. What I propose to amplify is that though Bhagat Singh has written a pamphlet ‘ why I am an atheist’ he was not one from his early days . He was drawn to ‘Arya Samaj’ teachings and even repeated ‘Gayatri Mantra’ as a youth. It was whilst in jail when he knew that the path he had adopted will lead to certain death that he resolved to dismantle all the support systems. He believed that in order to accept the ultimate he will have to be strong enough on his own; for he had seen some of his mates weakening at the time of reckoning ;in fact one of them devoted much of his time in seeking divine blessings/intervention for lenient treatment. All this confrmed to Bhagat that that he will have to burn all his bridges in order to achieve his Aim with head held high( mera rang de basanti chola). Therefore I consider such martyrs rare and indeed he was one. He was also not a young adventurer, he was a thinking ‘Revolutionary’ and had read Lenin’s ‘ State and Revolution’ in confinement. He had ideas for future but his martyrdom was larger than any ideology as it inspires us to this day.
गुरुवार, 18 मार्च 2010
BABA AND MAYA
BABA AND MAYA
The two personalities who attracted my attention during the week were Baba Ramdev and Mayavati. Manifested differently the intent was same—assertion of power. Mayavati was garlanded with 1000 rupee notes amounting to 2 crores and Baba announced his programme to cleanse corruption by launching his own political party, ‘ Bharat Swabhiman’, plans are to contest all seats in the next parliamentary elections .It is indeed difficult to preserve one’s purity in public life; one does get intoxicated by the response and attention of people. Few social reformers have ventured into politics in the past , they prefer to maintain parallel paths for that is more safe and profitable; our revered Baba has decided to catch the bull by the horn! I always admired Baba for his directness of communication and liberating ‘yoga’ from the arena of few to the masses. He also restructured the approach and made ‘yoga’ user friendly. However whilst listening to his instructions I sensed this danger that he may exceed his brief and exhaust and overexpose himself. Soon, he expanded his operations to medicine to treatment with mixed results. Brinda Karat of CPM did try to confront him but was not successful. In my opinion he should have remained a yoga teacher only; a roaming preacher within the accepted image created in our culture. Medicine, hospital and publication indicated his hunger for ‘control’. This image does not correspond to the traditional picture of our ‘yogis’ who preach and teach and leave; for basking in public attention was against their ideology. Baba has broken that mould and therefore remains Baba no more. From here his image will only dilute and decline. Finally he too has been trapped in MAYA !
The subtext of Maya’s script remains same to that of Baba—test of one’s power. These demonstration may appear abrasive and arrogant but are well thought and not spontaneous gestures. By garlanding Maya her party and supporters sent the message to the rival parties that what you do onside we do in the open and are you strong enough to take charge of us? Subconsciously it is releasing its anger and frustration of years and years of subjugation. It is challenge for a battle for they know that they are not inferior anymore. Democracy presents itself in various ‘Avatars’ Maya’s is one such. I don’t agree with her but I understand her. It will take time for the collective anguish of the oppressed to be pacified till then we will continue to witness such pompous and loud displays. An elephant is strong, intelligent and long lasting.
The two personalities who attracted my attention during the week were Baba Ramdev and Mayavati. Manifested differently the intent was same—assertion of power. Mayavati was garlanded with 1000 rupee notes amounting to 2 crores and Baba announced his programme to cleanse corruption by launching his own political party, ‘ Bharat Swabhiman’, plans are to contest all seats in the next parliamentary elections .It is indeed difficult to preserve one’s purity in public life; one does get intoxicated by the response and attention of people. Few social reformers have ventured into politics in the past , they prefer to maintain parallel paths for that is more safe and profitable; our revered Baba has decided to catch the bull by the horn! I always admired Baba for his directness of communication and liberating ‘yoga’ from the arena of few to the masses. He also restructured the approach and made ‘yoga’ user friendly. However whilst listening to his instructions I sensed this danger that he may exceed his brief and exhaust and overexpose himself. Soon, he expanded his operations to medicine to treatment with mixed results. Brinda Karat of CPM did try to confront him but was not successful. In my opinion he should have remained a yoga teacher only; a roaming preacher within the accepted image created in our culture. Medicine, hospital and publication indicated his hunger for ‘control’. This image does not correspond to the traditional picture of our ‘yogis’ who preach and teach and leave; for basking in public attention was against their ideology. Baba has broken that mould and therefore remains Baba no more. From here his image will only dilute and decline. Finally he too has been trapped in MAYA !
The subtext of Maya’s script remains same to that of Baba—test of one’s power. These demonstration may appear abrasive and arrogant but are well thought and not spontaneous gestures. By garlanding Maya her party and supporters sent the message to the rival parties that what you do onside we do in the open and are you strong enough to take charge of us? Subconsciously it is releasing its anger and frustration of years and years of subjugation. It is challenge for a battle for they know that they are not inferior anymore. Democracy presents itself in various ‘Avatars’ Maya’s is one such. I don’t agree with her but I understand her. It will take time for the collective anguish of the oppressed to be pacified till then we will continue to witness such pompous and loud displays. An elephant is strong, intelligent and long lasting.
सदस्यता लें
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