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The worst is over
Lost to fog |
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Ratan, he is
Convert anger to energy
Getting aligned with reality
Popular culture and the male gaze
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The worst is over
The
New Year may be better for the economy than 2012 because the RBI has done enough of monetary tightening and the loosening process will start soon, resulting in lower interest rates and cheaper loans for individuals and industries. This will benefit the realty, automobile and banking sectors in particular.
A pick-up in the construction industry will mean more work for labour. The shortage of sand and gravel had hit housing, leading to layoffs. Despite a fund crunch the government has not cut its spending on welfare schemes. This has put more money into villagers’ hands, boosting consumption and keeping industry going in a difficult period. Agriculture needs better attention to control food inflation. Despite a record production of cereals, cotton and milk in 2012, prices went up. At the same time producers did not get remunerative prices. The monsoon still decides the fate of farmers – and also the economy. The New Year, hopefully, will not witness scams that had slowed UPA-II decision-making in the last couple of years. Governmental activism seen in the second half of 2012 may continue, and reforms, even in bits and pieces, will keep up investor and business sentiment. The 12th Plan has lowered growth expectations but it is better to be realistic than adventurous. The Prime Minister has hinted at a spike in energy prices. How far the UPA is able to, or is allowed by the allies and the Opposition to, take tough decisions will be watched closely. Though India’s growth is driven largely by domestic consumption, global uncertainties do play a role. Due to troubles in Europe and the US exports were hit. The pressure of global developments and oil prices may subside. The coming Union Budget is expected to be populist and poll-oriented. Will the Finance Minister be able to resist pressure to splurge and take steps towards fiscal consolidation? He can at least avoid the hype or promises he may not be able to fulfil. The UPA leadership will be hard put to balance good economics with good politics.
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Lost to fog
The
gruesome death of a couple and their two children in an accident on the GT Road near Ambala on Sunday is a reminder of how perilous a simple drive down a road can be. It would be good for all concerned, from the driver to the administrators of roads and traffic, to take stock of why accidents happen and keep the thought uppermost. Weather conditions, such as the fog in winter, only worsen the dangers. As such conditions last only a few days in a year, not much attention is paid to them — whether in terms of road engineering or driver training — but these often prove to be the most tragic. Not much can be done to manage the weather conditions, but we can take preventive measures and be cautious while on the road. For drivers, it is important to first make themselves aware of what the conditions are, how they impede driving, and what precautions to take. Often, inexperienced drivers are caught in situations they don’t know how to handle. The other thing people have to focus on is the condition of their vehicles. All lights and indicators should be regularly checked, especially at the beginning of winter and monsoon, and the tyres should be serviceable. Do not cut corners on any of this, and avoid venturing out in bad conditions as far as possible. There is a lot to be looked into on the part of those involved in road and traffic management and the governments concerned too. Commercial vehicles being allowed to ply without lights or driven by people without licence is unpardonable; violation of traffic rules is obviously something that has to be tackled foremost. The truck into which the car rammed in Ambala was wrongly parked. To make the roads safe, more has to be invested in highway patrolling as well as engineering. Proper markings and lighting don’t cost much, but the lives saved are priceless. A winter can last forever for those who lose their dear ones.
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Ratan, he is
He had big shoes to fill when he took over the reins of one of India’ s most respected companies from the legendary JRD Tata in 1991. However, in the two decades before he retired at the age of 75, Ratan Tata led the 144-year-old group to unprecedented growth and increased its prestige. During his watch as the Chairman of Tata Sons, the company that controls various Tata ventures, the overall sales rose 43 times, and the company was globalised to an extent that today much of its revenue comes from overseas. Ratan Tata capitalised on the advantages of liberalisation and aggressively sought overseas acquisitions, be it in tea, automobiles or steel. He turned a company known for its trucks and buses into a major car manufacturer, although not without hitches. Ratan Tata is one of the most important voices of business in the nation, and he has often spoken against corruption. He has led by example, and the Tata group came in for particular praise in the way it supported its staff members who had been affected by the 26/11 terrorist attack on the Taj Mahal Hotel. The group that Cyrus Mistry has taken over is a conglomerate producing tea, coffee, software, steel and motor vehicles; it now has a global presence. It is for Mistry to expand on the vision of his predecessor. He can, perhaps, take the group to a truly global level, where it could be compared with other Asian companies that are international giants. As for Ratan Tata, he has a much larger role to play in his retirement than before, since his retirement frees him to be a true visionary of Indian business. Even after he has retired, it is safe to say that Ratan Tata will not fade away. Jewels do have a tendency to shine, no matter where they are.
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In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer. —Albert Camus
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Convert anger to energy There was understandably widespread anger and sorrow over the death of the Delhi rape victim who was so brutally assaulted on December 16. She bravely struggled for life but was finally cremated over the weekend. As sadly, “the victim”, “the young woman” or anonymous “Braveheart” was robbed of her identity and died a largely unnamed heroine as the media avoided using her name in keeping with the practice of not shaming rape victims. Ultimately, it was not she but the nation that was shamed by the loss of national values and social standards that permit such gross indignities to occur and often go lightly so punished, if at all. The anger against the government was palpable as people are tired of pomp, protocol and routine delays at every level masquerading as governance. Authority’s inability to communicate with anybody is proverbial and so there was no soothing balm of words and simple deeds that would have suggested a reaching out to comfort a wounded national psyche and a holding of hands at a time of anxiety and grief. Yet, to argue that the government should not have taken precautionary measures to safeguard law and order would be to push the envelope too far. Delhi has had experience of many rallies through 2012 that have got out of hand and could not risk letting nefarious elements exploit the situation. This, especially after attempts were made to storm Rahstrapati Bhavan. In the event a police officer lost his life, whether he was manhandled or not, after taking ill. Taking a lesson from this, news of the tragic death of the victim in Singapore led to the Central Vista, from Rashtrapati Bhavan to the India Gate hexagon being closed to the public to avoid any untoward incident. There was no prohibition against people marching, taking out candle light processions or keeping vigil elsewhere, in parks or other open areas. But insistence on taking over the Central Vista, a very governmental space, seemed to suggest that some “protesters” wanted the mob symbolically to seize. No surprise that this was prevented as that could only have led to a worsening of the situation and a wholly avoidable confrontation over a totally different agenda. If indeed that had happened, the argument would then have been, “What was the government doing and why was not the police better prepared? Could none anticipate events”? Heads I win, tails you lose it is. And what were the demands? Instant justice and an immediate change in laws. Apart from due process, the government had already set up a high-powered committee under former Chief Justice J.S. Verma to sound public and expert opinion and make its recommendations within a month. This was like the Anna movement’s absurd demand that it’s Jan Lok Pal Bill and that alone must be immediately accepted. This time too, the Ramdevs and V.K Singhs came crawling out of the woodwork to stir the pot. As before, mass mobilisation countrywide was fuelled by anger catalysed this time not by corruption but by a sense of non-governance, unemployment, high prices, discrimination and disparities in all walks of life. These surely are real problems and none will say that the government has done a brilliant job. But collective action over time, with improved policies and implementation, is what is required. There are no instant solutions and any lurch to anarchy would be ruinous. Sections of the media, while portraying unfolding events, magnified them by endless repetition and focussing on trivia and sensation to conjure up “breaking news”. There were outpourings of undigested sentiment and puerile discussions with panellists who had little to say. Political parties that dutifully voiced their disgust glossed over the fact that most or all of them have consistently nominated electoral candidates who are self-confessedly charged with rape, murder, forgery and other crimes. True, the trial process is under way and it would be premature and unfair to adjudge them guilty. Yet, purity in public life demands that such persons not be nominated and should shun public office until their names are cleared. There is no reason why the Election Commission should not now be empowered to disqualify such candidates as well as others who are unable to explain a mercurial rise in their assets. It will be argued that court processes are tardy. This is because of case overload, a shortage of courtrooms and magistrates/judges and a tendency to tolerate filibustering arguments and grant long adjournments all too easily. Likewise, India is a highly under-policed nation. Yet here the immediate issue is not numbers but diversion of limited staff to needless personal security and VIP duties. There was also an unfortunate spat between the Delhi Chief Minister and the city’s Police Commissioner over jurisdiction. Delhi’s administrative structure is balkanised and inefficient, with multiple authorities fighting for turf. The Police Commissioner comes under the Lt-Governor or the Centre and does not report to the Chief Minister as would be prudent. While this arrangement needs to be tidied up, the issue in the instant case was not jurisdiction but authority to act. Police autonomy has been set at naught by political pulls and pressures. This matter has been closely examined by successive police commissions but their findings have been set at naught by the unwillingness of our political masters, whether at the Centre or in the States, to give up power and patronage over the police so as to be able to use and abuse them at their will. The current demonstration of public anger at governance failures must force overdue acceptance of police reforms. The Congress states should be the first to fall in line instead of making bogus pleadings like the others. Likewise, the CBI and the Vigilance Commission must be made truly autonomous without such absurdities as needing governmental approval to prosecute senior officials found guilty of malfeasance or dereliction. The big lesson that must be learnt from the current mobilisation of national anger is that India is changing. Numbers have grown and, with it, empowerment of the underdog in huge cohorts. These underprivileged groups are impatient and wish to see early fulfilment of their aspirations. They are rightly intolerant of nepotism, corruption, disparities and mis-governance. The anger of these young people must be harnessed to energise progress and change. Time is a financial as much as a social resource. None is prepared to wait until tomorrow, next week or next month or the next Plan if the job can be done or at least begun today. It cannot be jam tomorrow any
more.
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Getting aligned with reality
MY middle-aged car felt a little wobbly. I had hardly taken it out the past few years. The chauffer-driven official car had taken its place. The white Ambassador would arrive promptly, take me everywhere, and drop me home each evening. I hardly noticed that my own car looked so forlorn parked in the driveway. Now I felt guilty. Promising to take good care of it, I drove it last weekend to the service station. The manager walked up to me promptly. “You did well, sir, to bring it to us” he said, while he went around the car, observing it closely. “Hopefully, there is no serious reason for it to feel wobbly. But just a minute, sir, our expert mechanic will take a test ride to see what all needed attention. If nothing else, wheels might need alignment and balancing.” I joined the mechanic in the test ride. We chatted a little as he drove around. Finally, he turned back and looked me in the eye. “You look like a good man to me, sir, and I will be honest with you. Your car looks good to me. All it needs is wheel alignment. Get just that done. No balancing is needed, even though the manager will try to convince you otherwise. That is because he is a cheat and wants to make money every which way.” I felt very touched by his advice. As we reached the service station, I told the manager I would want only wheel alignment to be done for the moment. He looked at the mechanic questioningly and, I thought, somewhat menacingly. The mechanic tried to look suitably helpless. The car went in. I sat in the waiting room, sipping on the complementary coffee. It did not take long for the car to come out. I insisted that the mechanic took it for a test drive again. I wanted to ensure that the alignment had been accurately done. As we drove out, I couldn’t stop myself from telling the mechanic how touched I was by his sincerity and honesty. There are very few men of that kind left in this vile wicked world, but thank God there were some. The mechanic slowed down the car and kept quiet for a while. Then he said weakly, “You are a good man, sir, but I must tell you I am not all that honest. Your car did not need even wheel alignment. But you will understand, I too need to keep my job.” We went back in silence after that. I did not know what to say to him. I felt foolish and let down if not outrightly cheated.
As I drove home, the car felt fit and fine. It no longer had that wobbly feel. I wondered what had changed. Did it need alignment, or did it just need a human touch, from the mechanic as well as me.n
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Popular culture and the male gaze
A
shaken and stirred nation outraged by the horrific gang rape of a 23-year-old paramedical student who succumbed to her injuries in Singapore is trying to come to terms with its grief. But while the brutal incident might have broken its insular composure, it has also been looking for reasons that give birth to such deviant men who can use rape as a weapon of terror against a hapless girl. As it grapples with the ugly reality, as it searches for answers among other things the popular culture comes under its radar. Is popular culture misogynist that is anti-women? Does Indian cinema, particularly Bollywood, objectify women and more importantly what are item songs doing to the collective male psyche of the country that is by and large sexually repressed? As the Internet sites are flooded with livid responses many are also asking — what else can you expect in a country where raunchy item songs rule? So is the outburst against Bollywood’s projection of women justified or misplaced? No doubt each time a rape happens in India, invariably the discourse shifts to the peripherals and trivia what was the girl wearing… what time she was out and with whom? Mercifully while this time over the numbing brutality of the sexual assault prevented people from asking ludicrous questions, it hasn’t stopped them from looking for scapegoats. Or red herrings, as celebrated theatre person Neelam Mansingh Chowdhry puts it. So is the connection between the popular culture that has shades of misogynism deeply ingrained in it and the warped mindset far-fetched? Eminent playwright and director Dr Atamjit doesn’t think the linkage is unwarranted. On the other hand, he feels that we need to reject the demeaning aspects of the mainstream culture with as much vehemence with which we are rejecting the rapists today. Filmmaker Habib Faisal wonders aloud why people aren’t doing it in the first place. He agrees that, yes, in some films the camera gaze on a woman’s body is akin to that of rapist. But then why is it that more people watch these films where women are being objectified and not ones where fully clothed strong female protagonists are the central leitmotif. He actually brings us to the chicken and egg debate…. Does popular culture feed bigoted mindset or do people lap up sexist and regressive kind of cinema for that’s in sync with their inner selves? Either way there is no disputing that much that is happening in the world of entertainment is an antithesis to basic cultural values. So film after film is packed with item numbers where women are no more, no less than a piece of flesh, with lyrics that make them sound and seem ‘available.’ Indeed, no one is suggesting that item songs have been discovered recently. Go back in time, unfurl the pages of Hindi cinema and there was always a Helen, a Faryal doing the sexy cabaret songs. So what’s the ado about in modern day world where as things exist, women’s sexuality can’t be kept under wraps? Besides, she has every right to express herself sexually too. But what are those vehicles of expression is what Dr Atamjit wants us to delve into. He feels that when a woman gyrates to the tunes of Yo Yo Honey Singh, whose lyrics are without any doubt disparaging to women’s dignity, somewhere wrong signals are being sent out to men. Many, including Chowdhry, however, feel that this thought is too linear, the cause and effect relationship an oversimplification of a problem with a much deeper malaise. Even if it is granted that certain strains of popular culture do accentuate fault lines in our patriarchal male driven social structure, this can’t possibly be the main discourse, at best an aside. At the same time, it can’t be denied that those in the business of popular culture do have a responsibility or accountability. There is an urgent need to bring more real and credible characters on the forefront rather than sex sirens. Who are our icons does in a way decide where we are heading. But it’s nobody’s case that all this can be regulated. Or items songs can be banished. Or even that these should be, for as Chowdhry states, after all society has many layers, it has its fun moments too which is what many of these songs represent. Aesthetic or vulgar would anyway be a matter of personal choice. Besides, wouldn’t regulation mean another face of Talibanisation. In a way, it would tantamount to an extension of the same psychology that blames the victims for inviting rape. But Dr Atamjit feels that some regulation, especially where borders have been stretched to the extreme, has to be there. He argues for checks and balances in public spaces where people don’t have the choice of choosing what they want to see or hear. The provocative lyrics of Honey Singh’s songs for instance he asserts need to be monitored for content as these are blaring out in all public spheres. So, he might grant more liberty to cinema where people buy a ticket and watch it, he feels that when movies come to television the potential to corrode minds can’t be underestimated. Indeed, even Anurag Kashyap of Gangs of Wasseypur fame whose films have come under fire for projecting violence has tweeted that women can’t be objectified. Now, here comes the crucial point. Is there a difference between women as sexual beings who have a right to choose how they live their sexual lives and their portrayal as consumable, dispensable objects? Ironically, the lines are wafer thin here too. One odd film like say Ishqiya is able to delineate the difference. With rest the lines are blurred, hazy and confused. So much so that often women in the glamour industry don’t know and don’t care that there is one. So it’s not just Hollywood actress Cameron Diaz who says, “I think every woman does want to be objectified. There's a little part of you at all times that hopes to be somewhat objectified, and I think it's healthy,” even our own gorgeous beauties echo similar sentiments. In a talk show, Priyanka Chopra remarked that she has no problems with being objectified. But then she is part of the glamour industry where even shirtless men are depicted as objects of desire. Clearly in the world of beautiful people sex, sexuality, beauty, desirable are all put in one basket, under one nomenclature and governed by one rule—what sells. And it’s a rule that doesn’t apply only to Bollywood. Critiques of Hollywood too have cast fingers of accusation at the manner in which women are essayed on the silver screen, often as beings who are of little consequence on their own, their self-defined only in terms of their relation or hold over men. Indeed, objectification of women is not a phenomenon unique to India but in a socially diverse country as ours, responses can be very typical to our social fabric. So while there are no easy answers to whether popular culture reflects what it observes or throws back, images that sow the seed for deviant behaviour, to deny any kind of correlation between popular culture and its ability to impact impressionable minds would be wishful thinking.
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Anurag Basu, Filmmaker — Habib Faisal, Director — Jackie Shroff, Actor — Neelam Mansingh Chowdhry, Theatre person — Dr Atamjit, Playwright and director — Kirron Kher, Actress |
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In this land of Khajuraho I feel that ultimately everything depends on the eyes of the beholder. It's how people look at and perceive things; as an art of beauty or as an obscene entity. I think by and large women's portrayal in cinema is not degrading to their being. An odd film could be regressive or sexist but all this can't possibly provoke people into abominable behavior if their upbringing was right.
If we are saying that films are responsible for injecting venom into society will we give credit to movies for the good conduct of honest individuals too? I am not denying that there aren't insensitive filmmakers but then I am also questioning the insensitivity of audiences who make such films enter into the ~100 crore club.
Sure cinema is akin to religion in India but the ultimate teacher of values is the home. Let's not confuse issues and assume that certain strata of society are more impacted by what they see on the screen. I too came from a chawl but respect for women was something that was ingrained into me by my mother.
It's easy to get into a moral huff and accuse the popular culture including cinema of distorting values. But let's not forget that popular culture has always been risque, a little vulgar, often full of double entendre. But that does not mean it set men on the rampage. If we were to monitor popular culture, it would automatically lead to moral policing. By the same argument all women should be in purdah and stay at home. But we can't and why should we reverse the order of things.
I view what is happening today as a clash between nature and culture. While nature has granted us few basic hungers ,culture has shown us the way to satiate them. In a society where cultural values are in flux how and what popular culture shows can be a key determinant in affecting people's behaviour. Sadly, today’s culture is commerce driven and commerce has no gender and I am afraid to say women are as much a partner in the way they are being projected.
See it's simply a question of demand and supply. If item songs sell the makers will keep on incorporating these in their films. But at the same time there has been a positive reinforcement of women in many a film too. Cinema can't be blamed for the regressive male mindset of this country. In a society that only wants men and indulges in female foeticide, gender sensitivity is easier said than inculcated.