Being a woman, and certainly not against the women folk, yet critiquing a person of my own race.
Everywhere there are chants of the youth being the future of the country, not just ours but any. But how can the youth be banked upon when there is no certainty about what there childhood has been like?
I saw a young woman, must be in her early prime, early in the morning, perfectly following the saying “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”
But what about the common knowledge that lack of cleanliness is also bound to take you to the doctor?
Enjoyed her apple to the full and when nothing remained in it, dropped it midway. Simply!
I certainly felt angered. But further introspection made me question what she learnt in childhood? I realized, she isn't the one to be blamed, the upbringing is, which she got.
Before going Gaga over the youth and it's power, it's necessary to ensure the same youth gets the ideal upbringing for a future perfect youth.
Tuesday, 6 March 2018
Serious issue here
Book Review: Untouchable (Mulk Raj Anand)
I finally took a plunge into Dalit literature and began with a landmark text by Anand. Highly recommended read by all readers, I had to read and write what I felt.
The novel in itself is a masterpiece by a non-dalit writer. He remains detached and let's the characters come to life completely on their own, this novel mainly revolves around the events that happen in one day in the life of the protagonist, Bakha.
The novel clearly brings out the cruelties suffered in the name of caste distinctions and the effects it has on the people. Also, it touches other issues like position of women, hypocritical nature of society, clash of religions and cultures while the subjugation of Indians by the British continues in the background (the arrival of missionaries to the scene and their attempted conversion of Hindus to Christianity) giving reference to the presence of colonialism.
Interestingly, Indians are shown to discriminate amongst each other on caste basis, while Britishers are shown discriminating against all Indians together on race basis.
The text shows how the caste system is present in the remotest corners of the society and people irrespective of castes have blindly accepted it as their fate or God's will (as they put it). In the name of God's will, they suffer inhuman treatment at the hands of society by cleaning other's dirt, being bestowed with the title 'polluted' and begging for food. What would happen if they for once refused to clean that dirt? The 'polluted' people clean the dirt of the 'unpolluted' who pollute the place themselves.
But people like Bakha are so submissive and fearful because they don't have any power and resources. They have resigned to their destiny (Bakha's father Lakha has) considering this is what they were born to do. Yet, Bakha dreams. He dreams to be able to wear the English saheb's uniforms, play hockey etc.
Ironically, lower castes are called polluted (as is with Bakha) but molesting the lower caste women does not pollute the 'unpolluted' people (as in the case of Bakha's sister Sohini). Gandhi's speech towards the end serves to heighten the irony more vividly when all shout "harijan ki jay". In the morning as the day progresses, the same people abuse and shun the same Harijans and by evening the shout "harijan ki jay" for the same Harijans in congruence to Gandhi's speech.
Gandhi's speech also brings different reactions among the crowd. This is where Anand brought about the powerful effects of English education on Indians (Indians in blood and colour but Englishmen in tastes ideals and morals, as Macaulay would say). They boast of the English writers they have read but there is no mention of any Indian writer which speaks for the snobbery and cultural disconnect Indians had to suffer from and continue to suffer even today.
Saturday, 3 March 2018
Exam phobia
A kind of phobia found in everyone, children, adolescents, adults; irrespective of age are prone to the stress and worries an examination brings along. The question is, why is this fear? After some thought, I could come to a sensible conclusion. That was:
because some uncontrollable force beyond our reach and knowledge, an unknown force is going to interrogate us and on the basis of our knowledge, understanding and application we have to answer and our saviours, our resources, our books wouldn't be in our access to save us.
Everyone feels the same in the examination scenario, no matter what age group they belong to. Adults handle the examination time and stress on their own because they have become accustomed to it but younger ones, adolescents and children are the most vulnerable ni victims. The sense of competition frightens them and they have sleepless nights coupled with loss of appetite. Of course examination is necessary to evaluate the learning of the students and I am certainly not against it, but there are certain simple things that can be done to avoid the stress and anxiety here. If everyone is told competition is only with themselves and their previous scores, perhaps things would be much better. The comparisons that parents do have a lot of effect on the young minds which can hamper their overall social development. Its best to make them compete with the scores they had earlier, that would for sure bring out better of their potential.