Time to Think

I have been feeling very disturbed the last couple of days and I really don’t know why. I tried thinking about it but every time I would zero in into a cause, it didn’t make me feel any better. So I tried to go through as many reasons as possible to figure out the reason for my unrest. Then it slowly dawned on me. It was not a single reason or reasons. It was the generally apathy and stupidity which I had to endure daily when reading the sensational headlines. I have to read the morning newspaper in the morning daily or my day doesn’t start. And what do our front pages offer? After turning over two or three pages of full scape advertisements for luxury apartments or phones or online shopping festivals or even grocery shopping, when I do finally reach the “first” page of the news, it shows some silly headlines. I mean how does one start off the day on such a note? I really want to ask my other newspaper reading friends does this bother them too or have they too become immune to such things?

Gau rakshaks, social vigilantes, farmers. The list of well-meaning citizens is endless. To get what they want they resort to senseless and often unnecessary violence, all in the name of asking for what is their right. Right? No. No farmer in his right mind would ever think of destroying his produce. It’s the result of his hard work and sweat. It’s not easy money. So when I watched pictures of cans of milk being spilled by smiling, camera-friendly “farmers”, I just couldn’t get it. Trucks filled with farm produce getting spoilt waiting for reach the markets could have been sent to some of the remote areas where children are dying of hunger. Wouldn’t they have then made a point, a very strong point, with the unfeeling government? That they, the farmers, are the providers, nurturers, and their grievances should be given a fair hearing. What one doesn’t do for keeping the chair! Sad!!   

We seem to have developed a taste for witch hunting of late. And the favourite is the Army. Any Tom, Dick and Harry can pass a judgemental comment from the confines of his or her air-conditioned accommodation. But to understand why they do what they do, one has to be there. The human shield became a big issue. Wonderful, you well informed citizens. But why didn’t you speak out when the trouble makers used women and children as shields and fired from safe confines of some of the houses? Oh you couldn’t because they would’ve come and shot you in your homes. I feel bad for the Army, the CRPF, and for each one them wearing the uniform. They didn’t sign up for this. It’s because of them, their courage and sacrifices that today YOU are able to safely type away on your iPhone and macPros. They should make military service compulsory for every healthy citizen. Our powers to be will be the first to object. They will use their wily brains to wriggle out of it. Their baba log will have every health problem that is possible to stay out of the uniform. And then they will say – Army kuch nahi kar raha hai! Ha, patriots!!

Oh and how can I forget my dear gau rakshaks, the new sword wielding protectors of the holy cow. Thank god my grandparents sold off the cows they had at their house or god knows what all they would have had to do to prove that they are good caretakers. It’s total nonsense I tell you. If they are so worried about these cows then do something for them. Build them shelters, educate and train people. But then all this takes effort and more importantly is neither financially profitable nor will get them their two seconds of fame. Cows have always been holy to the Hindus. I don’t understand this new fanaticism. If they really want to lynch and kill then do it to all those rapists who do not think twice about their victim, age is certainly no bar for them. Kick them, castrate them, hang them. Do anything and the citizens of the country will thank you. If a holy cow can invoke such passions then why don’t they feel the same way when something happens to the women? Are they on an even lower social stratum then these animals? Instead of concentrating on banning beef eating and cow slaughter, maybe we should first deal with the real threats to the society. Totally misplaced priorities. Very sad state of affairs.

I know it reads like the ranting of another cynical Indian. Maybe it is, maybe it’s not. I don’t know. All I know is it’s the voice of my frustration, my inability to do anything. One can fight anything but not something as abstract as non-existent IQs and nationally acceptable apathy. My humble request to the occupants of the fourth estate – the next time you are covering any incident, please brush up on your adjectives. We have had one too many “gruesome, horrifying, chilling” news to deal with.  

      

Book Review of SITA - Warrior Of Mithila

So, the wait was finally over and I slept peacefully after devouring the second book of the Ramachandra series. This book delves on the other significant central character of the epic Ramayana, Sita. It’s written in the same simple, easily flowing signature style of the author. No big words, no heavy philosophy, just simple interactions of the regular people, which though are not as simple or straightforward as they appear. 

It’s the story about how King Janaka and his queen Sunaina found the baby Sita in the woods, resisting the wolves, fighting to survive. It took one strong woman to recognise another. Sunaina nurtures and moulds the little Sita to become the future ruler of the small kingdom of Mithila. Sunaina's dreams for Sita and Mithila are intertwined and become the core of the mother-daughter relationship. 

What I liked about the book was how the character of Sita was developed. She’s no longer the docile, subservient pati-parneshwar woman who meekly followed her husband into the jungles without as much as a word of protest. From the very beginning Amish has focussed on the individuality of Sita, as a strong, self-willed, intelligent,  sensitive, pragmatic individual. Even as a child, she had clear ideas about right and wrong. Her feisty nature is evident when she breaks the royal seal which Kushadhwaj, king of Sankashya, brings with him when he tries to assert his superiority and manipulate Mithila into becoming its vassal. Amish brings out her planning and strategizing strengths from time to time. Not demure beauty waitng for her prince charming, Sita manages to get Ram to Mithila to participate in her swayamvar. Her heart may skip a beat whenever she’s with Ram, yet it’s her head which works overtime trying to evaluate every action. Both as a husband and as Vishnu, if Ram had to be her partner, he had to pass through a series of evaluations to meet her expectations. That Sita was also an able diplomat was brought out in several instances in the book. The way she handled the sensitive ego of the Maharishi Vishwasmitra, avoiding confrontations with Maharishi Vashistha, and convincing the Ayodhya princes about their participation in the swayamvar. It all needs dexterity and subtly which she exhibits with aplomb. Sita has being created as the perfect combination of beauty, brains and brawns. Yes. She could fight like tigress, has the stealth of a cat and the eye of an eagle. 

Now for the drawbacks or things I didn’t like. For starters, there were too many references to our present society and social conditions. Similarities like the gang rape and brutal murder of Manthara's daughter is very similar to the infamous Nirbhaya case. Or the mention of Jallikattu, the controversial game from Tamil Nadu which burned the headlines for a long time. Or the constant jibes referring to "India" and our lack of respect for rules and laws of the land. What was most jarringly out of place was the use of “India” instead of Bharat. I mean, I don’t think India even existed then; it was Bharat. Such socio-political innuendoes were not palatable, at least to me. Comparison to the Shiva trilogy is unavoidable and inevitable. Yet the one thing that stood out distinct in the earlier series is the way the society was described and developed that it made the reader feel as if he or she was living there. It engulfed the reader in its flow and rhythm. This kind of connect was missing in this book. There was something seriously amiss. Maybe the characters were incomplete and aloof. Or the flow of the story was not keeping up with the characters. Or maybe an absence of some form of seamless continuity.

On the whole, was a wonderful book. Certainly, worth the wait. Looking forward to reading the third instalment. It’s about Ravana (have read the promotion booklet which was sent along with the book). Ravana is one of my favourite characters from the epic. Became my favourite after reading Anand Neelkantan’s book “Asura”. Anyways, keeping my fingers crossed and waiting with bated breath.