Here is the most critically aclaimed moments of bollywood.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0TW6xMl9l0&feature=related
Film directed by Gurudatt, Pyaasa (1957), meaning thirsty. These are the moments where an artist reject the society, even when society is worshipping him (under the illusion that he is a dead poet) The lyrics says
'this world it is consisting of the enmeies of men.
It is the society of throne, palaces, crowns. it is the society hungry for rituals of wealth
even if I get this world, how does it matter.
Each body is wounded, each soul is thirsty.
There is dilemma in eyes and sorrow in heart
Is it this world or the humans gone mad.
Even if I get this world, how does it matter
Here, existence of a man is a toy,
this settlement is the settlement of dead worshippers,
here death is cheaper than life,
even if I get this world, how would it matter.
Youth is strayed,
young bodies are decorated like shops
love happens as the trade
even if i get this world how does it matter
this world, where man is nothing
loyalty is nothing and nothing is friendship,
where there is no value of love,
even if I get this world, how does it matter.
Burn this world, Incinearate this world,'remove it from my sight,
It is yours, and you only arrange for this,
Even if I get this world, how does it matter.."
Gurudatt's three movies Pyaasa, Kagaj ke Phool and Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam, all directed and and acted by him between I think 1950-1960 were placed among top ten bollywood movies by India today magzine. And those who admire Gurudatt consider these moments (of this song) as most emphatic expression of Gurudatt. And they are true- Gurudatt committed suicide. How tragically true these words would have been for him too. After all, after the material success of Mr. and Mrs. 55 he was also considered cash churning director ot the day.
Many will consider it as an art- and quantify it- top 10 bollyoood or top 100 or top 1000. I was not surprised when I saw a programme conducted on an american channel as top -100 quotes from the movies.
What I consider as art is something which can make even somewhat vaguely- even represent the truth of the matter. And the truth never brings depair, it might bring laughter, it brings the lightness of the existence in the forefront.
Compare this with Gurudatt's or Sahir's (whom I think is the lyricist), it is from Namdeo, a sixteenth century poet from Maharashtra. Gurudatt is talking only in terms of how poor and down trodden are screwed by rich humans- there is no love and so on- this world is not worth living-the protagonists goes away- as we;; as Gurudatt who committed suicide eventually.
Now Namdev, as he prepared some chapatis, for offering to God and subsequently his own consumption, a dog broke into his hut and ran away, taking all the chapatis in his mouth.
Now Namdev is running behind the dog, with the container of ghee in his hand, "please don't eat these chapatis as such, let me apply ghee on them. They won't taste good without ghee".
I don't know why, I find that there is art in Namdev's, not only because it is religious, but his psyche has travelled much more freely into the experiences he was having rather than one, where whole "world" is not worth living just because some humans treat others humans like shit.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
This is more terrifying than any terrorist attack or Pakistan
I did not write any thing in response to Mumbai terror attack. Tragic as they were, there was something really comic about those attacks and the response to them. I will elaborate about them in later columns. Let the whole comedy play itself, though it is dark or black humour as one would call it.
But the following incident about lynching by people led by a politician in UP reveals something about us, which really threatens us as a civilization. And I can say that this incident is not an aberration, but these incidents are much more common and there would be many more if people are not paying up to these antisocial criminals. More than such incidents themselves, real threat comes from those elements in our society which perpetrate such incidents, which tolerates such incidents, those who take advantage of incidents, those who ensures that such acts can be committed with impunity, those who colludes with them and the mob which supports these incidents.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/engineers-death-sp-cong-call-bandh-ljp-backs-it/402569/
Why this is real threat. Because it happens in almost every area, every state, almost every village. This lynching mob. And they are in power in democracy. or worse this is the only way to get power. Mao said power flows through the barrel of gun, here it flows through the stones of the mob. And this mob is to be respected, worshipped if one has to get power, to win an election. How can they be wrong? How dare anyone chastise them? Even if leader points out to them that they are lynching, he will loose election if lucky or lynched with family if unlucky. There are these criminal elements, whose place should be a psychiatric treatment in jails; but they are out acting as leaders. And those sophisticated leaders who would not openly incite mob, who are not like Thakre brothers, have their agents who would do this jobs. And even if one may succeed in putting these leaders in jail, what will this unthinking, following mob would do? Is there anyway to reform it? Can it be reformed by force? Because even if this mob refrains from doing something illegally, is not these mindless, dimwits, with no sense of moral conscience, with no sense of empathy, would create disaster in whatever they are doing?
And this my friends is the biggest danger.
And most of the issues which arose during and after Mumbai attack, whether comical response to the ongoing attacks, or the preparation for such attack after being repeatedly warned by terrorists themselves as well as intelligence agencies (even in absence of such warning, any numbnut would have guessed seeing the attacks occurred in past months), the coverage by television channels, the following warmongering or rumours- all this is because the only mind we have is mob mind. And so do our neighbours.
Freeing this mob mentality requires education- not what the middle class means by education which is merely that which is leading to job and prosperity (and now we can have little sex education thrown in it), but learning about one's own structure by oneself (because no other can teach it) because what we all are, one is and in that learning lies the liberation from mob mentality. This would require enormous patience and most of our GDP. But when any investment in education is measured only in terms of income it will generate, who wants to 'learn about oneself' or 'any such metaphysical crap'. Should not such person go to monastry, they would ask.
But the following incident about lynching by people led by a politician in UP reveals something about us, which really threatens us as a civilization. And I can say that this incident is not an aberration, but these incidents are much more common and there would be many more if people are not paying up to these antisocial criminals. More than such incidents themselves, real threat comes from those elements in our society which perpetrate such incidents, which tolerates such incidents, those who take advantage of incidents, those who ensures that such acts can be committed with impunity, those who colludes with them and the mob which supports these incidents.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/engineers-death-sp-cong-call-bandh-ljp-backs-it/402569/
Why this is real threat. Because it happens in almost every area, every state, almost every village. This lynching mob. And they are in power in democracy. or worse this is the only way to get power. Mao said power flows through the barrel of gun, here it flows through the stones of the mob. And this mob is to be respected, worshipped if one has to get power, to win an election. How can they be wrong? How dare anyone chastise them? Even if leader points out to them that they are lynching, he will loose election if lucky or lynched with family if unlucky. There are these criminal elements, whose place should be a psychiatric treatment in jails; but they are out acting as leaders. And those sophisticated leaders who would not openly incite mob, who are not like Thakre brothers, have their agents who would do this jobs. And even if one may succeed in putting these leaders in jail, what will this unthinking, following mob would do? Is there anyway to reform it? Can it be reformed by force? Because even if this mob refrains from doing something illegally, is not these mindless, dimwits, with no sense of moral conscience, with no sense of empathy, would create disaster in whatever they are doing?
And this my friends is the biggest danger.
And most of the issues which arose during and after Mumbai attack, whether comical response to the ongoing attacks, or the preparation for such attack after being repeatedly warned by terrorists themselves as well as intelligence agencies (even in absence of such warning, any numbnut would have guessed seeing the attacks occurred in past months), the coverage by television channels, the following warmongering or rumours- all this is because the only mind we have is mob mind. And so do our neighbours.
Freeing this mob mentality requires education- not what the middle class means by education which is merely that which is leading to job and prosperity (and now we can have little sex education thrown in it), but learning about one's own structure by oneself (because no other can teach it) because what we all are, one is and in that learning lies the liberation from mob mentality. This would require enormous patience and most of our GDP. But when any investment in education is measured only in terms of income it will generate, who wants to 'learn about oneself' or 'any such metaphysical crap'. Should not such person go to monastry, they would ask.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)