India :: Cynicism and Hope

Every home has a certain particular ritual that is unique to the family. The ritual, like rituals are meant to be, is followed religiously and is often reflective of the people that make the family. Coming from a family of journalists, 'news watching' is a ritual in our home. Irrespective of other shows on other channels, exams and other mundane routines that life has to offer, the whole family tunes into news at 9 every night with an excitement and enthusiasm akin to a child opening presents. As a child, I was very fond of the ritual. I loved watching the news. Getting to know what happens in the world, seeing how politics shapes lives and how people run (or sometimes ruin) the baffling country I call home. But lately, I have become disinterested. Whenever I see the familiar word 'headlines', flash across the TV screen, something inside me cringes. I become uneasy and look for reasons to do something else. To distract myself. I earlier thought it was something to do with the fact that i was growing up, but today I suddenly realised that its not the concept of news that I have come to dislike. Its the content of the news which I have come to detest.

Sample the headlines for today:

  Sanjiv Bhat, a senior IPS officer, has filed an affidavit regarding the Godhra Riots in which he mentions a meeting where the then chief minister of Gujrat, Narendra Modi, allegedly tells the officers assembled there 'to go soft on the rioters as the Muslims need to be taught a lesson'. Godhra Riots, for those who don't remember (and public memory can be a fickle thing), occured in 2002 and sparked off one of the worst communal riots Independent India has seen after the Partition. Its been 9 years. Narendra Modi is still the chief minister of Gujrat. Parties like the BJP still issue statements saying the affidavit is 'a conspiracy to discredit Modi'. Congress still wants to milk the issue for political gains. The survivors of the riots still wait for justice. Nothing has changed. And by the looks of what a Congress spokesperson said- 'We will patiently wait for the Supreme Court verdict'- nothing will change. Maybe the numerous TV discussions will be held on SmartTVs.

 Digvijay Singh and Mayawati join the latest in the long line of politicians to target the already mounting pile of corruption charges against the very people who- in a twist of irony- had taken upon themselves to make India a corruption free country. I am not going to say who is responsible, who is clean, who is being targeted because I don't know. And truthfully I don't even care. I was a part of the protests that shook the country and raised a glimmer of hope in the eyes of many optimistics like me. After visiting Jantar Mantar and being a part of all that is good and vibrant about democracy, I even came back home and texted my friend, what a proud Indian I was. That day despite its many pitfalls, I fell in love with the concept of India a little more. But today, seeing the politics and the smear campaigns, I am starting to think that I never really understood in its entirety the complex concept of India. I feel betrayed. But more importantly, I am hurt. Just like the many who were there that day shouting slogans, singing and walking. It was a festive atmosphere. Someone remarked in the paper 'It was too good to be true'. I am thinking that the 'someone' was right.

In a move that has caused widespread anger Pakistani High Court has acquitted 5 of the 6 men accused of gangraping Mukhtar Mai. For those who switch the channel or turn the page on seeing the word Pakistan (and trust me there are a lot of people like that), Mukthar Mai is a Pakistani woman from the village of Meerwala in Jatoi of the Muzaffargarh District of Pakistan. She was a victim of gangrape in the name of 'honour revenge'. By custom, rural women who are raped are expected to commit suicide. But Mukthar Mai spoke up and filed a complaint against the men. She won many awards for her courage but her real reward lay in the men getting punished. Did she get that? No. It may be war ravaged, politically instable Pkaistan we may be talking about but as far as women and crimes against women go, India has nothing to be particularly proud of. In the recent Census, the sex ratio was recorded the lowest in the country since Independence. Crimes against women in Delhi, the capital of the country, are on the rise and the numbers show no signs of coming down. Despite all the talk about women empowerment, a girl child is still seen as a burden even among the rich and the well educated. Despite all the talk of India being an economic superpower, we still value the life of a talented sportswoman at a paltry Rs. 25,000. They say that the real progress of the country is seen by the amount of respect and progress the women of the country make. In that case, we live in a very under developed nation. We as a country have not forgotten how to respect a woman. We never knew how to respect them in the first place.

As a person, I am a highly optimistic person. Ever since I remember I have been a proud Indian. I still watch all the parades, I still sing the national anthem with my head held high and every 14th August at midnight I listen to the Independence speech made by Nehru on the radio. I believe that we have the potential, the power to be a strong, independent and mature democracy. Which is why the name of this blog has the word Idealist in it.

But there are times and days when not only I feel disheartened and sad, I feel bitter. I feel that everyone else was right. That I am a fool. That nothing will ever change. That we will still play dirty politics and that corruption-which is slowly becoming a part of our collective DNA- will still probably be the only thing with which Indians will be known the world over. It is days like these, I want to be a cynic. To sit in an armchair and say 'Yeh India hai saab, yahan sab chalta hai'. To give up on the country and proudly declare to anyone who would listen that 'I am leaving the country as soon as I can and never coming back' like a lot of my friends say. To just stop believing that things will be all right and just criticise and question everything. To become a non believer. Kuch nahin ho sakta. End of discussion. Khatam.

But as I lie in my bed thinking how I will never hope and how I should concentrate on my studies so that I can get out of this country as soon as I can, I hear the musical call of the azaan followed by the melodious ringing of the bells in the temple, I see the rays of the sun light up the sky and illuminate the soil. I feel a certain peace. And I know I never can leave. And I know that I will never stop believing. And I hope that maybe today will be a new day. Just Maybe. 

     

The Lonely Life

You know whats my scary movie of all times? You know, the one which you think about days and mostly nights after seeing it and it sub consciously leaves an indelible impact on your psyche? Its not The Ring, not even Jaws and definetly not The Exorcist. Its a little known documentary (which was later interpreted as a HBO movie) called Grey Gardens. Its about the lives of Edith Bouvier Beale and her mother Edith Ewing Bouvier.The women were the aunt and the first cousins of the famous Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and lived in a wealthy neighbourhood of  New York. The movie traces the lives of these two women. Seems idyllic enough right? Maybe fun. But you couldnt have been more wrong. The mother daughter duo suffered a series of setbacks through the earlier 20th century as a result of which they turned complete recluses and lived a life of complete isolation for decades together. The beautiful house where they lived was in shambles and the women were deprived of running water and food. It was a spectacular fall. And one which haunts me till today.

The original documentary

                                                          
I was reminded about the movie and the fate of the two women when I encountered something uncannily familiar in real life. Two sisters, Anuradha Behl and Sonali Behl were recently discovered in their Noida flat starving to death, alone and away from the world. The sisters were discovered starving and dehydrated with the elder one, Anuradha being in a near comatose state upon being discovered. According to the story that emerged later, the sisters went into depression following the death of their father. The depression and the ensuing loneliness was further aggravated when their younger brother left them. The last straw was the death of their pet, after which they refused to talk to anyone and completely shut down any contact whatsoever with the real world. The elder sister died of cardiac arrest just a few days ago while the younger one is said to be in a critical situation.

The Noida sisters after their rescue

The pictures and the videos that emerged out of the incident were freakishly and uncannily familiar to the scenes from Grey Gardens. They were photos and other recollections that showed both the pair of women as happy, vibrant young women, looking forward to all that life offers. What happened to the hope in the eyes and the promise in the smiles? How did life change so radically for them that they shunned the very world which they had yearned to explore?

I dont know. Maybe it was the loneliness. Maybe it was the realisation that inspite of everything, no one would care for them. Perhaps somewhere down the line the mind did not want any contact and was satisfied with its own thoughts and feelings. I dont know. But what i know is this, the mind is a powerful thing. Even more powerful than we give it credit for. It can save you and it can also destroy you. and if you are not careful, it might even play tricks on you. And i dont mean it in a good way.




PS: Grey Gardens was one movie that left a huge impact on me. I thought about it for days and nights on end. It gave me nightmares and haunted me like never before. The realisation that the line between sanity and insanity was a very thin one and it could be crossed easily scared me. The fact that the two women were considered the cream of American society and their slow and horrifying decline, made me realise that no one is immune. It was the most frightening turn the human psyche could take. And also the most haunting.  

First Day, First Show :: Practical Idealism

Practical Idealism: What?

According to Wikipedia, that great trove of information, practical idealism is defined as 'a philosophy that holds it to be an ethical imperative to implement ideals of virtue or good. It further holds it to be equally immoral to either refuse to make the compromises necessary to realise high ideals, or to discard ideals in the name of expediency.'

That is what the definition states. There have been numerous books, papers and thesis in this subject. But how do I understand the concept? Practical Idealism is a way of life. When you are talking about this, you are attempting to combine elements of two completely different ways of living into something which enables you to survive the highly competitive and mean world that we live in with your conscience and beliefs intact. In simple words, it means that while you dream of a better world, a world without hunger, poverty and war, you also know that in order to fulfill these dreams, you need to wake up and work hard.




Practical Idealism: Who?

People who believe in this way of life are called Practical Idealists. There are numerous people who follow this and propagate its advantages in a world like ours, but the most famous, in fact the man who coined the phrase 'Practical Idealism' was Mahatma Gandhi. Throughout his life, the Mahatma waged many battles against injustice through his satyagrahas. He believed that non violence was the only way in which a people enslaved for so many years could truly attain freedom. But all his various struggles- whether the satyagraha in South Africa, the Champaran struggle or the Civil Disobedience Movement- were rooted in the various problems faced by the common man on the road. They were not abstract ideas of freedom, liberty and injustice. But something the people could relate to. He did not 'give' them the freedom or the strength. He just showed the way for the people to discover the freedom and the truth within themselves.




Practical Idealism: Why?

Finally, why should we pay attention to this philosophy? Lets do what we do, work, earn, marry, enjoy life and leave the decision making and changing the world (if it can be changed) to the politicians or worthless dreamers? Right?

Wrong.

We should pay attention to this philosophy and work towards achieving something worthwhile not because we should or because its our duty, but because we can. Because the world wont become a better place on its own. It would become one if we get up out of our comfort zones, open our eyes to the world around us and DO something. Things will change, if we want them to change. This does not mean that you leave your job or your studies. No. You can do both simultaneously and exceedingly well if you want.

Its easier to sit back and criticise. Agreed. But its more worthwhile to get up and start working and start believing. Whenever i say this to people around me like my friends they reply "What can we do? We can do nothing" No, you can do lots of things. If you see a small child working somewhere, speak up. Teach the woman who comes to work at your home. Be aware. Make people aware. Raise your voice when you can. And sometimes even when you cant.

Do something.

Become a Practical Idealist.

Cheers. :)