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THIS ABOVE ALL
Touchstones |
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GROUND ZERO
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THIS ABOVE ALL It sounded like a New Year resolution. In the 97 years of my life I have made many resolutions on New Year eves but failed to keep them beyond a few days. The commonest was not to bear malice against anyone nor write malicious pieces about them in my columns. It did not last more than a week as my column is titled “With Malice Against One and All”. Malice provides me with my livelihood. So far I have got away lightly with whatever I have written. A couple of people took me to court but did not pursue their grievance against me. I have never been fined or put behind bars. Only one Judge of a High Court ordered my appearance before him as he felt I had maligned him. He threatened to send me to jail if I did not apologise to him. It was in the height of summer and I could not bear the thought of spending some months or days in jail. So I readily tendered an apology. Nightmarish in verse Night is failing, to home they all head,/ The roads are unsafe so everyone's read,/ Young and old do it daily, hoping 'twill be alright/ God keep us safe, they all pray,/ Let there be light!/ Sunday, the sixteenth, the night that tragedy fell,/ Six young men did it! May they just rot in hell!/ A young lady of twentythree and her male friend/ Rode home in a bus but landed in a dead end!/ She was brutalised and raped, both thrown out of the bus,/ Those six men who did it, their heads full of pus!/ Hell has since broken loose there's yelling and crying,/ Everyone wants justice, and for that, the public's trying./ A woman is raped, yes, it happens, twenty minutes intermittent./ Whose daughters are bridges burnt? Not, I think, very infrequent!/ Who the families? Of Child Girls circling seven times the bridal fire,/ We hear this daily, why no tears shed? Are not these cause for ire./ When such things happen, shouldn't hair be torn, calls made for action?/ Neither politicians, police nor government can give us much traction./ They just pass laws, set up systems, they prevent ill occurrence;/ Only change in people, homes, thinking too! Will give true deterrence! Courtesy Wg Cdr SJ Nazareth (retd), Nagpur
RAPE Dr Gursham Singh, Senior Agriculture Adviser to the UN, was posted in Baghdad. He found the climate and soil of Iraq suitable for cultivation of mustard, which was not being done. He pioneered the cultivation of RAPE, a special variety of mustard in Iraq. Soon it became a joke in international agriculture circles that Dr Gursham Singh has introduced RAPE in Iraq.
Sets of three The three Cs fast spreading in India: Cricket, corruption, cancer. Three Ps confronting India: Population, poverty, power shortage. Three Es India should lay stress on: Economics, education, environment. Three Ms every Indian wants to possess: Money, mobile, motorcar. Q: Whom External Affairs Minister SM Krishna owed his position to? A:His initials told the tale — Sonia and Manmohan
'Bada' peg The terminology drinking men have devised to describe big and small peg — Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan peg.
Morning prayer What new thing schoolchildren have included in their morning prayers? A: That there be no power grid failure. Contributed by KJS Ahluwalia, Amritsar
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Touchstones Keeping the gloom alive was a cold wave that made headlines as well. The net result was that it was difficult to stir up the energy and mood to go out in the foggy evenings to enjoy a play or music performance. The NSD's annual Bharat Rang Mahostav that brings plays from across the country and the Sangeet Natak Akademi's music conference came and went without much public attention. Among art shows and exhibitions, memorable shows such as Pablo Bartholomew's photographic exhibition of work done over 30 years ago on Calcutta's Chinese community had as a counterpoint NemaiGhosh's black and white photographs of Ray at work. Interestingly, both were highly influenced by their friendship with Satyajit Ray and it is not a coincidence that some of Ray's pared-down elegance is clearly visible in their work.
To add some life to this black and white world was a feast of colours and textures at two festivals arranged by Laila Tyabji of Dastkar and Jaya Jaitly of Dilli Haat. Their annual bazaars are eagerly sought out by people who prefer traditional crafts and textiles to the glitzy fashion garments promoted by our Page Three fashion designers. For decades, they have worked closely with artisans and not just kept handlooms and handicrafts alive but brought intelligent design interventions to provide these simple artists with a market in big cities. Since opportunities to go out were limited by the weather and general mood of non-celebration, what else could one do but turn to books and television for comfort? The news channels that had first broken the story of Nirbhaya and must be credited for keeping her flame alight must now also turn to introspection. Using stories such as hers can also become a tempting opportunity for some milking to their advantage. Provoking extreme reactions and raising the pitch to hysterical levels as is done by some irresponsible TV anchors is an option from which they must abjure. Take again the case of the present situation between India and Pakistan. Night after night we have been exposed to hawkish talk pushing the government to 'do something'. Families of the martyred are brought on to lend pathos and heighten the public's sense of outrage but what if it escalates out of hand? With the present mood of anger and frustration, who knows where this can lead to? These thoughts come to me after a moving memorial I recently attended for the legendary teacher of St Stephen's College, known by all as 'Amin saab'. Students and colleagues spoke of his inspirational teaching and the great influence he had over their lives. The last tribute was paid by a colleague, Dwivediji, who — like Amin Saab — taught history. Although there must have been a lifetime of stories to share, he decided to dwell on just one because it brought into focus a tradition that has slowly vanished. Dwivediji's mother, a deeply conservative and orthodox lady, had once come to Delhi for treatment. Amin saab came to ask after her and generously invited the Dwivedi family to his place for dinner. Dwivedi recalled how he was forced to call Amin saab to say that although she would accompany the family, he begged that she be excused from sharing the meal given her food taboos and religious beliefs of eating in a Muslim home. Amin saab said he understood and when they went over, she was amazed to discover that he had arranged for the college canteenwallah, Sukhiya from UP, to bring across a platter of barfi for her. The story illustrates tellingly how Hindus and Muslims once instinctively understood and respected each other's eccentricities and taboos. They may not break bread together but the love they shared in that age should tell us that all of Pakistan cannot be branded fanatical and barbaric because some have chosen to take that path. Just as all Hindus are not Muslim haters, all Muslims are not jehadis. Often when I see television panel discussions or hear the voices from the street brought to us on our TV screens or newspapers, I marvel at the prejudices that are foisted on viewers and readers. I urge all of you to go back to the early nationalist poetry, Faiz, Iqbal, Kaifi Azmi, Sahir Ludhianvi, Josh Malihabadi to start with, and see the true secular fabric that wove us together. This is not just a romantic longing for togetherness but an acknowledgment that humanity cannot progress unless we learn to listen to each other with our ears and, more importantly, our hearts. This is certainly my new year resolution.
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IN my diary I came across something I had scribbled on the last page some months ago. It read: “God mystic in night, wake up bright in the morning light, and do what is right, with all my might”.
Let me assure my readers that I bear no ill-will against anyone. If I look down upon anyone — mainly politicians — I keep my contempt for them to myself. I promise to stick to the rule for the rest of my life. I am over 97 and have not very long to go. I wish all my readers a very Happy New Year and for years to come.
THE concluding week and the opening week of the new year are always important markers. In a tradition followed by across the globe, newspapers, magazines and TV channels review the year's best and worst. There are sad and good tidings shared with readers as editors bring the opinions of important men and women to their readers. This must have been a unique year-end for all over the country, there was just one mood: one of deep disgust at the state of our attitude to women. It is not as if sexual abuse was an unknown crime, it is just that it was not until it appeared before us in its most inhuman avatar that the country awoke to the need to address it.