Fallen idols, rising voice
Since China is a hot topic, my brother was asking amma whether she knew what Middle Kingdom is. It’s amazing how we kids tend to decide beforehand what and how much our parents know. No consensus required here. Anyway, he told her that in Mandarin, Middle Kingdom is called Tianxia (pronounced: tiank-sha). And before he could add anything, she mentioned Trishanku. Apparently, this place has something to do with an Indic sage who tried to enter heaven directly. A clear case of trespassing. On noticing this aberration, Lord Indra pushes him away from the gates of swarga. Interestingly, Trishanku didn’t land back on earth. He got stuck somewhere in between heaven and earth. And hence for someone stuck with a decision or is caught in a catch-22 situation, the term Trishanku is used. Middle Kingdom, remember?
They are pulling down statues of dead and gone personalities with roots in confederacy and slavery. Popular surnames like Rhodes, Churchill, Lee are in the reckoning. In some African universities, even Gandhi is doing the rounds thanks to the unsavoury remarks he made on blacks back in his younger days. In simple words, given the set standards, a lot many statues must fall. And while we are at it, why spare the founders of the USA? A majority of them were slave owners, weren’t they? Just because they could scribble poetic prose doesn’t mean their racist leaning can be forgotten so conveniently. Go big or go home. That said, I know for a fact this down-with-the-statues movement won’t last long. At its peak, we’ll get some op-eds and a few insightful articles. That’s all. It’s not going to trigger a rehaul of our past. Because if we were to do that, very few would remain fully clothed.
Speaking of the falling statues, I am curious to know what the sculptors have to say about it. Everybody else — from entertainers to eminent academicians to journalists to media personas to social media warriors — have shared their piece of mind. Except those from the field of arts, those who actually study, research and design these sculptures in the first place. Am yet to come across any credible news/information outlet with an authority on this topic sharing their views. But then, it’s understandable because we are way past the Age of Expertise. Everybody is a scholar in defense, economics, health, cinema, etc. nowadays. I am curious because we live in an era where there are more statues of lions than there are lions themselves. Statues, to some, mean a lot while to others, they don’t mean anything. To give you some more context, of the 20 largest statues in the world, 15 depict Buddha. Now, this pattern is very intriguing because Buddhist principles aren’t in favour of idolatry. At the same time, those paying visit to these magnificent statues aren’t into idol worship either. And that is the reason why I feel statues are best left to gods. Humans don’t deserve it.
Two years ago, Baba Ramdev foresaw Patanjali becoming the world’s largest FMCG brand by 2025. When I first read it, I chuckled to myself. It was a premature laugh. This man, under the disguise of a yogi with such worldly ambitions, shows you deeply entrenched consumerism is in our society. Although he continues to claim that he is least interested in money — despite the fact that Patanjali’s chairman ranks in the top-10 wealthiest Indians list — and is doing whatever he is doing to encourage Indians to go back to Ayurveda. A rather tall claim, with a lot of technical loopholes. To add another feather to his marketing glories, Ramdev launched a dubious cure for coronavirus this week. As expected, its entry quickly walked into several controversies. So much so even the health ministry, despite its history of quiet patronage over the recent past, raised suspicions against it. One can only ponder at what point does one separate capitalism from spiritualism, particularly when the rigorous hands of science are involved. Yes, even the mightiest of brains have stumbled in history. Aristotle once randomly concluded that women have fewer teeth than men. Heraclitus fatally covered his body with cowdung and laid out in the sun, hoping to cure his oedema. During the height of a pandemic, Newton suggested toad vomit would help cure victims of the plague. Yes, beautiful minds indeed. The bigger problem in our times is the lack of accountability and an excess of idiocy.
When you let somebody occupy your mind, for whatever period of time, you are at the mercy of that person. At first look, it’s an inferior position to be in. However, when you zoom out, you will acknowledge the weakness of your mind. It could have been anything or anybody but your stupid head made its choice already. The person isn’t to be blamed. It’s you.
To feel bad for a dying language is like watching the rain fall. You aren’t doing shit. And this has been my personal assessment of the slow and painful decline of Sanskrit. You can’t love something so much that you don’t do anything about it. If you truly care about a language, the least you can do is attempt to learn it. When you read the superfluous thoughts of linguists — several of them can’t even hold a conversation in the language they are supposed to profess — and indologists and the so-called indophiles, you’ll realize where the problem lies. They are ready with their eulogies; only the funeral is to be held. But then, again, it’s not their fault. Our institutions have failed this ancient language. Post WW2, when newly independent countries were writing their destinies, we shied away from ours. China stayed true to Mandarin while Japan stayed true to Nihongo and South Korea to Hanguk-eo. Even the vanquished Germany stayed true to German language. It was India that simply chose to ignore the most common civilizational thread and created a Babel instead, allowing Hindi hegemony in the long run. In the meantime, Israel managed to phoenix Hebrew back from decay. The only positive I can surmise from these developments is nothing, absolutely nothing, is here forever.
I am flowing.
I don’t stick to nobody.
No point, no thought, no bend.
My form is liquid now.
It was gaseous yesterday and shall revert.
Nowhere will you find me stop.
Nowhere will you find me go.
I am here sometimes,
I move quickly onwards.
I am something to beckon.
I am nothing to invoke.
Part of a life, figure of a speech,
Caught in a motion, without a blink of sleep.
Restless, yet calm, impure and deep
— I obstruct your mirror to see you.
I am still flowing.
You can hear me at night.
My waves won’t reach your banks though.
Out of mind, never out of sight.
I am a crash course in existential crisis.
You can’t seek me anymore.
I am a translation lost in language.
I am a body without a soul.
I am Ganga.
