Say it rained all night yesterday. Thunder growled, the wind wentberserk. Jagged streaks of lightning split open the skies. Raindropspelted the earth without stop, streams swelled, the ocean churned,rivers overflowed. A downpour as powerful as a waterfall. A wild beast of a storm, devouring everything on its way. Stomping across smalltowns and cities. In its wake, glinting towers of chrome and steel quaked. In villages, homes turned to rubble. Thatched roofs flew in the wind. Four-poster beds and pots and pans danced in the air, the wind jerking them around like puppets on a string. Deep in the woods,ancient trees uprooted. With a deafening thud, they crashed.
But when morning comes, I declare: "It never rained."I am sound of mind and body. All my faculties are intact. I can see,hear. I am sensitive to touch. Adequate supplies of oxygen areentering my lungs. I am not stretched out on a hospital bed in a coma.My brain, both left and right lobe, works.
But I stand up, spine erect, squint into the sunshine and declare: "It never rained last night."No, I am not insane.I am in denial.Denial is a many-splendored thing. It has a stunning range of uses.During his visit to New York this October, Iranian president MahmoudAhmadinejad stood before an audience and denied the existence of gaypeople in his country. All it took was a simple statement. The president stood up, spine erect, squinted at the flashbulbs andtelevision cameras and declared: "There are no homosexuals in Iran."
When gay people (who actually exist) in Iran heard about it, they aresaid to have been "shocked but not surprised."Homosexuals in the country are used to leading a secret existence.They camouflage their gay identity out of fear. They do not demandlegal rights or protection. Iran – in spite of the president's confidence in the absence of a gay population – has severe lawsagainst homosexuality. If a homosexual relationship between twopeople is proven, their punishments include lashings and even death.The president's denial sent out many messages at one go. Message togays: stay hidden or else…message to an interfering Western press:mind you own business. Message to human rights activists: yeah, gaypeople are human. But go tell that to countries where they exist.Message to gender rights activists: we don't have gays, so where's the question of rights?
A masterstroke in the annals of denial. Felling many birds with one stone.History is teeming with instances of denial. About 80 years ago, 1.5million Armenians were wiped out in eastern Turkey. They were not annihilated by floods or volcanoes or famine. A cold, calculated orgyof man-made violence snuffed their lives out. Blinded by its frenzy ofbuilding an exclusive Turkish identity, the state decided to murderthem in cold blood. But for years after the genocide, the country drifted in the twilight zone of denial. Text books never mentioned thegenocide. It was never discussed in universities or pubic forums.Children grew up hearing the tales of valour of the state, never itsbrutality. The dead Armenians did not exist in their collective memory.
History was written by people who agreed to perpetrate the crime of denial.When a Nazi sympathizer was sentenced recently by a European court, he was asked how he had lived with himself after aiding and abetting the holocaust. Day after day, month after agonizing month, didn't theghosts of Auschwitz haunt him? How did the mirror not shatter when hesaw his reflection in it every morning? How did he not smell the bloodon his hands?The man had found the perfect alibi in denial. "I had no choice. I had to do it."Denial is a million times more lethal than a lie. It coats monstrous decisions and their macabre consequences with the gloss of inevitability."My actions were inevitable. I had no choice."Closer home… in Bombay, Gujarat. When communal riots wrecked the livesof thousands, a compromised police force responded with the same.Inertia disguised as inevitability."We had no choice. Our hands were tied."
Denial is the luxury of believing that the easiest way out is the onlychoice you have. Without the crutch of denial, you are left with thetruth that you didn't behave differently because you simply chose not to. That's a terrible confession to make. That's a terrifying ghost towake.
Denial is used to score political points. To build empires. To justify invasions.If there is a master class on Imperialism, chapter one will definitely be devoted to the power of denial.Remember how Bush and the cowboy brigade justified the war on Iraq? By denying the existence of factual evidence. Denial of the reports byweapons inspectors who went to Iraq in search of the mysteriousweapons of mass destruction. They didn't find any because they weren't any to find. But one of the most brutal wars of our time is wiping out platoons of American soldiers and an entire generation of Iraqicitizens. Day after day.Because those who were baying for blood chose to live in denial.So Baghdad burns...
Is denial invincible? Do we have weapons sharp enough to penetrate its shield? Any missile that can shatter its fortified premises? The answer, mercifully, is yes.When the stench of denial poisons the air, art tries to give us cleanair to breathe. Films, about the Armenian genocide, the killingfields of the Khymer Rouge, the silenced voices of Auschwitz, Fascismand its silencing techniques. Novels which record the screams which were ignored. Poems and paintings which navigate us through the mazeof denials, bring us closer to the truth.Symphonies which immortalize those who were wiped out. Stanzas which celebrate those who were silenced. Bombard denial with stanza and verse. Bring on the metaphor and the apt simile. Illuminate the darkness with the glow of oil and canvas.Sing, speak out , drown the silence with full throated abandon.
In this lies our only hope.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Monday, October 22, 2007
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Smpli 4 U
In the UK, the buzzword of the day is simplify. Classical Comics has> decided to turn Shakespeare's works into the quick text format.> Accompanying the text, there will be comic strips in case the reader> happens to be allergic to words, no matter how simple they are. These> quick text versions are targeted at primary school students and> teenagers.> A sample from quick text Shakespeare:> One of the most memorable lines from Henry V "once more unto the> breach, dear friends, once more" becomes "take a deep breath and> fight."> When Lady Macbeth goads her husband to murder, "Wouldst thou live a> coward in thine own esteem letting 'I dare not' wait upon 'I would,'> like the poor cat in the adage?> Quick text translates: Don't be afraid!>
If UK simplifies, can India be far behind? In the global village, we> must keep up with the best of them, musn't we? If the Americans are> stocking up on nukes, we try to be up to speed. Get a few ourselves.> Or sign a pact with them, grovel and genuflect, till they agree to> show us how to make the nukes ourselves. If the Russians are> stockpiling fighter crafts, we do too.>
Looks like a global simplification drive is about to kick in soon. The> drive may start with Shakespeare, but it will spread like a blazing> forest fire. Across the realms of poetry and prose and music. It will> invade dance and drama and opera. Why leave cinema alone? There is a> whole treasure trove of films rich with complications, layers of> meaning which must be made simple. For the viewer's convenience, they> will broken down into easily understood (consumed?) snippets. The> drive will bulldoze its way through our lives in a million terrible> ways. Imagination will be made redundant simply because there will be nothing left to imagine. Any piece of art or music or poetry that is
enigmatic will be reduced to its bare bones. Like taking a clock apart, and laying bare its innards, operation simplify will demystify the world mercilessly.
Getting back to the Bard. Simplifying him will give a whole generation of young students the chance to breathe easy. Erase a major worry from their list of troubles. No more time wasted on decoding Shakespeare. No grappling with the complexities of poetic language. No need to peel off layers of intricate metaphor in the pursuit of meaning. Similes? Oh, please. What a waste of space. Metaphor. What a bore! Alliteration. Duh! Delete them. Dump them. Strip language of complexity. Goodbye tiresome figures of speech. Hello quick text. Wlcome 2 our midst!
In the simplified world many books will be revised. Volumes of poetry will be cut down to size. Films you have watched over and over again will sport a new look. No novel will be longer than a few pages. No poem will wander through the badlands of subtle shifts of meaning and metaphor. All will be clear. And quick.
A few samples: Playing at a theatre near you. The new, simplified, quick-texted Citizen Kane
Scene 1: Guy walks in with sledge. He has a faraway, dreamy look on his face. Camera zooms into the letters engraved on sledge. Rosebud.
Scene 2: Guy looks into camera and says: As a child, I skied a lot. This sledge is part of my childhood.
Scene 3: Guy has risen to eminence. He is a man of power and position. Scene 4: Guy in his office. He dreams of his sledge
Scene 5, 6 and 7: Guy fights with several people including colleagues, business competitors, wife, mistresses
Scene 8: He is now overweight and all alone. He is surrounded by slowly falling snow
Scene 9: Guy holds on to sledge and looks into camera. He says: I used to ski a lot. Lonely people end up alone. Modern man is alienated. END CREDITS (All names are written in quick text for the viewer's convenience. For example, Orson Welles reads as O Wlls)
Say you are in the mood for reading. You pick up Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman, revised and simplified.
Act 1: Mother: I refuse to believe my son died in the war.
Act 2: Son: My brother joined the war. He died. Because of my father's crass capitalism. My father is an American salesman.
Act 3: Father: What have I done? I have killed my son. All the soldiers who died in the war are my sons. I should never have sold faulty parts to the army. Oh god. I am going to kill myself.
Act 4: Mother: My son died. My husband, I believe has shot and killed himself
Act 5: Son: My brother died. My mother cried
Epilogue: There is a war going on in Iraq. Many soldiers – American, Australian and British – have died. Many more will. Iraqi people are also said to have died. The American troops are trying hard to bring democracy to Iraq. The White House is proud of their efforts.
CURTAIN
Or you might turn to fiction. A classic, finally shorn of annoying complications. No philosophizing. No more wandering through the wilderness of agonizing moral questions. Simple, reader friendly. Like instant noodles, all it takes is a minute to get to the point.
Anna Karenina for example.
Chapter 1: Married woman looking for love.
Chapter 2: Love found, outside marriage
Chapter 3: Woman must pay a price for transgression
Chapter 4: Flings herself in front of a moving train. Dies.
> Or The English Patient
Chapter 1: A patient can't remember who he is. Could be an Englishman Chapter 2: Nurse falls in love with him Chapter 3: The world war is slowly ending. War has turned the world upside down. Patient tells nurse his tragic love story
Chapter 4: Nurse listens to tragic story
Chapter 5: Patient wants to die. Nurse injects morphine into his veins Chapter 6: Patient dies. Nurse is sad
In the new world of simplicity, emotions will be colour coded. Say, you are angry. Or sad. Or elated. When you are angry, you simply hold a red card. When sad, use a blue one. Happiness and a bright yellow card go together. In case you are mystified about this system, there is a simple explanation. By holding the cards aloft, you are avoiding complications. Dispelling mystery. People around you do not have to tax their perceptive faculties trying to figure out what mood you are in. The colour reveals all. In one stroke.
Many more such innovative practices will be in vogue in the simple new world. But let me not list them all here. Might get a bit too complicated for you, dear reader….
If UK simplifies, can India be far behind? In the global village, we> must keep up with the best of them, musn't we? If the Americans are> stocking up on nukes, we try to be up to speed. Get a few ourselves.> Or sign a pact with them, grovel and genuflect, till they agree to> show us how to make the nukes ourselves. If the Russians are> stockpiling fighter crafts, we do too.>
Looks like a global simplification drive is about to kick in soon. The> drive may start with Shakespeare, but it will spread like a blazing> forest fire. Across the realms of poetry and prose and music. It will> invade dance and drama and opera. Why leave cinema alone? There is a> whole treasure trove of films rich with complications, layers of> meaning which must be made simple. For the viewer's convenience, they> will broken down into easily understood (consumed?) snippets. The> drive will bulldoze its way through our lives in a million terrible> ways. Imagination will be made redundant simply because there will be nothing left to imagine. Any piece of art or music or poetry that is
enigmatic will be reduced to its bare bones. Like taking a clock apart, and laying bare its innards, operation simplify will demystify the world mercilessly.
Getting back to the Bard. Simplifying him will give a whole generation of young students the chance to breathe easy. Erase a major worry from their list of troubles. No more time wasted on decoding Shakespeare. No grappling with the complexities of poetic language. No need to peel off layers of intricate metaphor in the pursuit of meaning. Similes? Oh, please. What a waste of space. Metaphor. What a bore! Alliteration. Duh! Delete them. Dump them. Strip language of complexity. Goodbye tiresome figures of speech. Hello quick text. Wlcome 2 our midst!
In the simplified world many books will be revised. Volumes of poetry will be cut down to size. Films you have watched over and over again will sport a new look. No novel will be longer than a few pages. No poem will wander through the badlands of subtle shifts of meaning and metaphor. All will be clear. And quick.
A few samples: Playing at a theatre near you. The new, simplified, quick-texted Citizen Kane
Scene 1: Guy walks in with sledge. He has a faraway, dreamy look on his face. Camera zooms into the letters engraved on sledge. Rosebud.
Scene 2: Guy looks into camera and says: As a child, I skied a lot. This sledge is part of my childhood.
Scene 3: Guy has risen to eminence. He is a man of power and position. Scene 4: Guy in his office. He dreams of his sledge
Scene 5, 6 and 7: Guy fights with several people including colleagues, business competitors, wife, mistresses
Scene 8: He is now overweight and all alone. He is surrounded by slowly falling snow
Scene 9: Guy holds on to sledge and looks into camera. He says: I used to ski a lot. Lonely people end up alone. Modern man is alienated. END CREDITS (All names are written in quick text for the viewer's convenience. For example, Orson Welles reads as O Wlls)
Say you are in the mood for reading. You pick up Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman, revised and simplified.
Act 1: Mother: I refuse to believe my son died in the war.
Act 2: Son: My brother joined the war. He died. Because of my father's crass capitalism. My father is an American salesman.
Act 3: Father: What have I done? I have killed my son. All the soldiers who died in the war are my sons. I should never have sold faulty parts to the army. Oh god. I am going to kill myself.
Act 4: Mother: My son died. My husband, I believe has shot and killed himself
Act 5: Son: My brother died. My mother cried
Epilogue: There is a war going on in Iraq. Many soldiers – American, Australian and British – have died. Many more will. Iraqi people are also said to have died. The American troops are trying hard to bring democracy to Iraq. The White House is proud of their efforts.
CURTAIN
Or you might turn to fiction. A classic, finally shorn of annoying complications. No philosophizing. No more wandering through the wilderness of agonizing moral questions. Simple, reader friendly. Like instant noodles, all it takes is a minute to get to the point.
Anna Karenina for example.
Chapter 1: Married woman looking for love.
Chapter 2: Love found, outside marriage
Chapter 3: Woman must pay a price for transgression
Chapter 4: Flings herself in front of a moving train. Dies.
> Or The English Patient
Chapter 1: A patient can't remember who he is. Could be an Englishman Chapter 2: Nurse falls in love with him Chapter 3: The world war is slowly ending. War has turned the world upside down. Patient tells nurse his tragic love story
Chapter 4: Nurse listens to tragic story
Chapter 5: Patient wants to die. Nurse injects morphine into his veins Chapter 6: Patient dies. Nurse is sad
In the new world of simplicity, emotions will be colour coded. Say, you are angry. Or sad. Or elated. When you are angry, you simply hold a red card. When sad, use a blue one. Happiness and a bright yellow card go together. In case you are mystified about this system, there is a simple explanation. By holding the cards aloft, you are avoiding complications. Dispelling mystery. People around you do not have to tax their perceptive faculties trying to figure out what mood you are in. The colour reveals all. In one stroke.
Many more such innovative practices will be in vogue in the simple new world. But let me not list them all here. Might get a bit too complicated for you, dear reader….
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