Why is it a man’s world, again?
For reasons biased than anything else, courage is mostly associated with men. Firefighters, soldiers, policemen, lumberjacks, etc. You get the picture. Forget real life, even the fictional world is not entirely alright with a shift of (im)balance. Which could explain why the term ‘superheroine’ never took off, and also probably why ‘sheroes’ won’t accomplish what it set out to achieve during the Woke Age. Men saw themselves as brave and did everything within their power to perpetuate this image. In fact, things always seemed fine as long as the brave men wanted this historic campaign to continue. It was only when the not-so-brave men wanted to fit into the pre-set mould and failed, that we realized how fragile manhood is. Contrary to what men want us to believe, brave women — belonging to different species — quietly run this planet.
Circling back to women, one can only wonder will they ever find parity in our society. When the most advanced countries can’t bring themselves to do much about basics like ‘equal pay’ and ‘maternity leave’, the situation can only be dire for the not-so-developed world. Particularly when you consider the fact that the majority of the people — and by extension, the majority of the women — live in these parts of the world. Take for instance the much-celebrated Aurat March that unfolded in Pakistan recently. Their demand is plain and simple: stop mistreating them. And even though they speak for all the women in that country — and probably the whole subcontinent — it’s amazing to see how their brazen attitude has ruffled conservative feathers.
Calling oneself a feminist is neither a compliment nor an insult. Feminism might appear like a collective call for women’s rights when in practicality, it’s about uplifting women in your orbit. Irrespective of whether you are a man or a woman, it’s important that you make an attempt to support those women who are bereft of any agency. So, if you really think about it, feminism is rooted in kindness and compassion for the neglected and oppressed. If you call yourself a feminist and are more interested in sloganeering than doing actual ground work, then maybe you are no different than those who take pride in resenting feminism.
Humour doesn’t know how to knock on the door. It enters whenever it feels like. Let’s call it Kramer Effect. You might be peering at a sensitive issue and something will happen or somebody would say something that would make you smile or laugh; and during moments like these, you are forced to recognize the unadulterated power of joy. Of course, you will grieve and go through the motions but sooner or later, you will think of a funny instance from the yore and smile like a fool. Sometimes, humour would be hidden in tragedy too.
Or worse, impending catastrophe.
I recently experienced one such moment with my dad who, at the age of 72, doesn’t care about anything anymore. He is finally free I guess.
Me: “I hope you are washing your hands regularly.”
Pappa: “I haven’t washed hands since you left home.”
Everybody acts like they have the best playlist of all time. As if such presumptions weren’t delusional enough, each one of us enjoin others to listen to our songs. The idea is to share the goodness of one’s musical taste and hopefully bait some songs onto our suspects. It’s a lame trick but it does work sometimes. What’s the harm in trying? For example, you are in your friend’s car and he plays 10 tracks back-to-back. Not an economist but I believe the laws of probability dictate that you’ll like at least one of the songs. Once it makes it to your playlist, then you will continue the good ol’ tradition of propagating to the musical infidels.
Exactly 2064 years ago, Julius Caesar was killed by some of his confidantes. When they were done with him, his body bore 23 stab wounds. Interestingly, more than 60 men were involved in his murder. Which means they either didn’t want to stab him — hoping somebody else in the crowd would do the bad deed for them — the way we expect the butcher to murder the animals we wouldn’t dare kill — or they somehow weren’t good at stabbing a human being. It apparently happened very quickly and the crowd dispersed like a flash mob. Et tu, brutal? Indeed. As a strange twist of fate, the spot where Caesar was murdered is now a sanctuary for cats.
In 1986, the year I was born, there were 3600 centenarians living in Britain. As of now, there are 15000 of these oldie goldies. Safe to assume that humans are living longer than ever before. Everyday, about 180000 people die but to upstage them, over 350000 babies are born. Our species is literally exploding and set against these bare facts, our fear of COVID-19 is elementary. When the Black Death (bubonic plague) killed over 200 million people, the existential fear must have been pretty similar to what we feel about coronavirus today. You can still fight a rogue lion but you can’t fight something that is completely invisible. Your best chances are in following the advisories passed by the healthy ministry and do what is necessary to avoid the spread of disease. In other words, be responsible, not fearful.
When a dervish goes round and round and round, the universe dances with him. He embodies the spirit of oneness when he moves in that circular fashion. He doesn’t need music to accompany his steps and the sky is left with no choice but to imitate him. In a social unit— although social distancing is strongly advised nowadays — your estimation of drunkenness isn’t based on how much alcohol you had or how much water you consumed to stay hydrated and avoid hangover the following morning. It depends on how drunk your companions are. It’s a gentle competition. Not very different from the one shared by the dancing dervish and the universe above. Neither of them know how drunk each can be.
There are many principles I hold dear but nothing can top decency. Whether a person is online or offline, it’s imperative for everyone to be decent. Our education system tells us what the D-word is but our society teaches us what it really means. Be it in speech or in action, some characteristics are non-negotiable. One of the main vectors of indecency is the normalization of unacceptable behaviour. If something is indecent, call it out. Remember, it’s just words. Similarly, if somebody is acting funny, don’t tolerate it. If such behaviour can be normal today, then their unacceptance can be normalized tomorrow. Going by the sheer tilt in cases, indecency is a masculine problem and needs to be addressed at every public and private level. If more men were decent, less female IG accounts would have been on private mode.
Those who can’t read between the lines often miss the entire paragraph. Since we lack the patience to understand the depth of a given situation, we paint simplistic pictures and conclude narrow-mindedly. As a result, we invent villains who never last long enough and pine for heroes who are cursed to be flawed. Skin in the game? No, thanks. Time for a revolution? Next week, maybe. Our love for entertainment is so fucking strong that we do little other than getting entertained. Just because you support the good guys doesn’t mean you are one of them. Your actions speak for you. Everything else is mere posturing for external validation. Perhaps we need to up our standards of morality and reckon an honest awakening.
Expect a crisis to reveal the idiocy of religious zealots. Some saffron-clad men are advocating the usage of cow urine as an antidote to coronavirus. Where science couldn’t reach, these self-appointed representatives of the oldest surviving civilization have apparently found the cure. The sad part is mainstream media wastes valuable time and information on these morons, instead of focusing on dispensing correct measures. Other major religions aren’t far away in this league of extraordinary men. Clerics in Islamist nations are going on record against social distancing, claiming that consuming food eaten by fellow Muslim can never be harmful. If only faith could absolve such illusions of piety! If you’re thinking Christianity is sound, please note what a pastor in Italy — the worst affected country outside of China — said about congregation. Despite strong warnings by health officials, he went on record saying that he is willing to lick the whole church, if need be, to prove that there can be no virus in a holy place. And let’s not forget how several cases of COVID-19 in South Korea were traced to mass gatherings in a church because the religious authorities didn’t want to lose out on attendance. We do live in the craziest era of all.
Speaking of religion, you’d be remiss to ignore the role culture plays in it. Two years ago, Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-populated country, revealed its tallest statue. Depicting a mythical character from Ramayana — even their flag carrier is named after the same due to its avian features — the Garuda Wisnu Kencana statue is much taller than the Statue of Liberty. During the unveiling ceremony, the president of the country hailed his people for not forgetting their roots. They progress wide into the future because they are in sync with their yesterday; they aren’t trying to shed off their history. On the contrary, they have embraced it, just like the way China and Japan have embraced their Buddhist past. And therein lies the crux of the so-called social divide on religious lines. Especially in countries like India where we don’t have the time to dig deeper into history and see how things were, so that we could understand why things are the way they are. Failing which, we declare myopic statements like “Hindus hate Muslims” or “Muslims can’t wait to convert Hindus”. Our eastern neighbours can help us see things in a broader light. Maybe what’s going on right now is not a religious battle but a cultural war.
