THE CULTURE QUESTION

Some people say that nostalgia is over rated. I agree. There is no use dwelling in the past. But I differ on one argument. That the past creates the present. This cannot be untrue. When a civilization ends, the history it leaves behind connects the future to itself. 

Today- there was a show in the TV that spoke about the thousands of years of tradition that India beholds. The spirituality and the rituals associated with the spiritual quest that Indians undertake- towards the salvation of their 'souls'- made me wonder about an entirely different world that these people live in. On the one hand, there is a dire need to alienate oneself from the concept 'religion' as such. For I believe that 'religion'- as a concept is man-made and should be done away with. But on the other hand, there is years of culture that had got finesse under the shade of religion. And yes- culture does have a religious flavour in India. But it is also something that defines us. Rather- it is our history. 

Education- I hope, had helped us in our cultural refinement. But again- what is 'culture'? It is subjective. 

A collective responsibility is on our generation- to carry forward the culture of the past to the future. This is true, if at all, one feels that responsibility. Again- there is another argument that why at all should a 'culture' be carried forward? At one point of time- it is bound to become redundant. We can always make new culture. But culture- is it something that gets made in a day? And what is an 'ideal' culture? There is no definition for it. So whatever that has been carried forward to the present- are ultimately interpretations of what existed once. A version of the original. 

So does this mean that- what was original has already been lost and that what we have is a pale interpretation of what was? What could have been the original?

I guess we shall have to wait for thousand more years- to analyse the route that the interpretation takes. Until then, one just has to keep arriving at questions... 

THE RELEVANCE OF RELIGION

It was a sad day for me, when I realised that it took the man's death to bring him to our notice. The death of the anti-superstition crusader, Dr Narendra Dabholkar was a shocking affair and a wake up call for us, as Indians, to take some time and ponder over our diminishing tolerance and helplessness. The articles on the late Doctor and my further reading about his Anti-Black Magic Bill, only saddened me further. What went wrong through our 66 years of Independence? Where are the leaders- who could at least spell the word  "Intellectual" for us now? And has our education system been successful in "developing scientific temper" in our minds - as dictated by our Indian constitution? Where a 72 year old self-styled god-man can prolong arrest over his alleged sexual-assault on a minor, why can't a man, who had devoted his life towards creating a society free of barbaric superstitious beliefs be allowed to live?

We are left now- with a society that is intolerant to another individual's thought. Are we even able to understand that individual's thought- is a different matter. "Protests" were the "in-thing" these days. Where are they now? Or is this because that there has been no or not enough media coverage on this issue? Is an hour worth of "prime-time" slot in a news channel- enough to discuss and come to a conclusion about depletion of  intellectual thinking or "scientific temper" in India?

I read somewhere that critics of Dr Dabholkar had called his Bill too vague and abstract- and something that cannot be understood by common man. Aren't the concepts of "religion" and "superstition" themselves abstract? The Bill- in reality does not target any religion. It presents a general outlay of illogical practices that are being used to target victims. Political parties that have opposed this Bill have claimed that the Bill could be used to ban or make some of the religious practices like puja or pilgrimage unlawful. The claims are absurd. But on another thought- so is the concept of secularism in India. 

Had our education been more effective, it should have helped people to think and come to a logical conclusion about the relevance of religion. "Religion is a way of life"- are we capable anymore- to understand what the statement tries to convey? When the society was largely uneducated- there was a need to govern a mass. Hence a blind faith in religion was encouraged. And religion, with its set of rigid rules was able to help rule the society back then. But there always comes a time when the old system becomes redundant and a new one takes its place. And this time can be recognised by growing intolerance on the part of groups that have vested interest on existing system. The logic seems simple enough to me. 

I can only make an appeal to people who read this article or people who have read about the murder of Dr Narendra Dabholkar in the news papers. "Is religion relevant"? Or rather "Are we secular enough"? Please think about about it. 

Photo: Thanks, Times of India.

DEFINITION

Sometimes I wonder what this heart seeks;
The ideas and thoughts that flash through this mind
What do they mean,
Or what do they wish to mean?
I wonder if they were real;
Real- is that even a possibility?
For some claim the real to be unreal;
'What then is real?' seems an obscure question.
To define oneself- one must aim,
Or so a few have claimed.
How do you contain what you are,
Within the boundaries of mere few words?
"I am..." 
The sentence is destined to be eternally unfinished.
A constant evolution- is what the self is;
If that be so- then why do some
Find this pleasure to be caged?
Caged into self-created ideological prisons.
A constant struggle to finish the sentence.
"ism"s and "ist"s- do not define one;
For one is born to be many-
Or so they say, hence let go of beliefs
For who knows- 
As the mind sways away
What new world- may it encounter;
And that world may present with
What new definitions;
One wonders...

Picture Courtesy: Google Images

DAMINI

A meeting was organised, to discuss "Women's Rights".


The netas attended the meeting but few had anything to say. Suddenly, one of them thought of something "intelligent" to say and came up with a plan to cover up the "dented and painted" women with "over-coats".

"Let's forbid them to speak with the boys".

"Let's ban skirts for school girls".

"Let's stop women from going out on the streets after 6 pm"- another said.

"Let's enact a 'Nirbhaya Act'...", one said.

“Clever plan”! A few shouted.

“Wait-wait”, said a spiritual guru. “We need to teach them Indian culture”, he said.

The politicians had not thought of that earlier. So they invited the Swami to their meeting.

“We need to ask the girls to address the rapists as ‘brothers’..” said the Swami. “She needs to fall at his feet and plead for mercy”, he said. “She has to chant Saraswathi mantra”, he said.

Politicians were mesmerized with this Swamiji. They lauded him.

“A woman is bound by contract to serve her husband” said a neta.

“A woman”, another said “shouldn’t talk back at men. Shouldn’t stay out at night or wear clothes- that are inappropriate”.

As they spoke, reports are in, that say: Girls/Women raped. Aged: 2 yrs old, 5 yrs old, 6 yrs old, 10 yrs old, 15 yrs old, 16 yrs old, 23 yrs old, 29 yrs old, 33 yrs old, 40 yrs old, 45 yrs old....70 yrs old, 75 yrs old...

Damini: As she breathed her last, a nation lay exposed.

Note: All statements mentioned in the post were actual statements made by our Indian 'netas'. Image: Google Images