Reports came via the news channels that the world famous Palestinian intellectual Edward Said, the author of the most popular book “ORIENTALISM”; expired in US. The author, though born as Palestinian was in fact a resident of US for yeas. His book “Orientalism” is well-known among scholars of the orient as a trenchant critic of the occidental teachings and understandings on the East specifically the Middle East cultures and people. Most post colonial studies about the East, cite and quote, Edward Said with approval and appreciation.
I have completed re-reading the book titled “Hinduism Re-consided” a collection of essays. One of them was by Gaya Charan Tripathi named ‘Hinduism through Western Glasses’ (12 pages. 121-132). The author resorts too extreme generalizations basing unquoted sources that were supposed to represent Western readings on Hinduism. Let us make it clear that many of the Christian missionaries and or linguists ib fact did not try to present Hinduism in its glory. Whatever attributes are ascribed to Christian West, in their depiction of Hinduism, by the author might justifiably, ascribed to him and many others of their own understanding of the West. In both cases, one could see a lot of bias, misunderstanding and misreading between each other. Surprisingly, Tripathi abstains from quoting any relevant source or author from the west in his support. Yes, he quoted Monier Williams; characterizing Hinduism as not a religion as the same is understood in west or western scholarship. At least Tripathi himself labours to claim that Hindism is not a religion in western sense.
I might go a little further and say that most of the north Indians intellectuals never understand the region and people of south of Vindhyas. For them India means the geographical area upto Narmada and Godavari and below south are just Madrassies. Most of India whether north or south do not recognise the forest dwelling tribes in their own areas as parts.
In todays condition the nomenclature ‘orientalist’ exactly fits the RSS and its parivar. They are the ones who adopted lock, stock and barrel, the attitudes and norms of the Victorian and Elizabethan mores and criteria. They exhibit an amazing similarity of ideas and practices of the medieval colonists. The Sangh never claimed any specific religious understanding of the ancients’ traditions and practices.
The antics of VHP & Bajrang Dal in Gujarat society exhibit the inherent fascist nature of the Hindutva fundamentalists. The Hindu right divides the society between a supposed majority Hindu nation and minorities if not anti-nationals, half nationals. They will be considered as fully national only when unconditionally accept the tenets of the Hindu traditions as their own.
The ignorance, arrogance and stupidity taunted by Hindutva fundamentalists could be illustrated by their abusive attitude towards Kanchi Kamakodi Shankaracharya, Swamy Jayendra Saraswathy. They termed the seer as Shaivaite without bothering to know that Adi Sankara’s legacy is neither Shaivaite nor Vaishnavaite or any other deities. While propagating and expounding the fine points of extreme advaita, Adi Sankara allowed every known Hindu deity to be worshiped. He composed devotional poetry (hymns/stotra) in praise of all gods and goddesses. Calling him Shaivaite is the height of illiteracy, stupidity or plain defamation. It shows a pathetic understanding of what Adi Sankara stood for. It also shows the venom, the Hindutva right harbors against all those who are critical of Hindutva even so slightly. The whole Hindutva family was fulminating against secularism and secularists; the minority Muslims, Christians and those who claim their identities as dalits. The latest to be grouped with the above is the Kanchi Seer and Shaivaites. It seems that the Hindutva groups are yet to recognise and identify the Smarthas that is most widespread in the South India from millennia.
What is surprising that this idiotic interpretations of Hinduism by Hindutva goes unchallenged from most pious and learned people like the former President Venkatraman, former Prime Minister Narasimha Rao and many more, The ones like Togadias, Giriraj Kishores, Ashok Singhals had to be challenged to show their credentials to speak for all hindus before a learned audience. It is going to be a long fight to recover real and genuine values of Hinduism from the myths and fantasies perpetrated and propagated by RSS/BJP and Parivar.
There are credible historical evidences to maintain that there were innumerable sects spread all over the land from historical times. They fought each other for supremacy in the minds of the faithful. They even fought among within. They were vociferous and at times violent. Even during the periods of Bhakti movements, the most pious and peaceful ones in Indian history, at times did ahow antipathy towards other sects.
The other day, a news item said as against Togadia’s Trishul Deeksha the Alliance for Democracy, distributed copies of Bhagavad Gita among people. Was it real? Do these people believe that teachings of Bhagavad Gita encourage social harmony, communal peace, non-violence or secularism among different sects and or religions? It will be good to refer back to Togadia the international President of Viswa Hindu Parishad (VHP) His understanding on teaching of the message from Gita was explained in his last lecture in Mumbai exhorting his ardent followers to kill the enemies by hook or crock as is personified by Lord Krishna in Mahabharata. According to Togadia, in Mahabharata, the Lord Krishna did adopt many stratagems, not sanctified by Dharma, like killing of Drona, Karna, Duryodhana and felling of Bhishma. In the process the Lord was party to the demise of Ghatotkacha, Abhimanyu and five sons of Draupadi. Togadia is said to have continued that Lord himself used tricks to kill his own kith and kin beside the enemies. Togadia further said that it is well established that Muslims, Christians and others are enemies of Hinduism and therefore any stratagem to finish off them is sanctified the Lord and Dharma.
11.7.2003.
For the last few weeks a fantastic farce is being enacted in the name Ayodhya dialogue. The Kanchi Seer was in the centre of the stage. There were a good lot of speculations in the media. The latest bout started with celebration of 50 years of Peedharohanam by the Seer. The seer is a known supported of RSS & VHP when has the junior seer under Swami Chandra Shekharendra Saraswathy. The initiative to enact the new farce came from the Prime Minister, A.B.Vajapeyee, who earlier occasion promised to solve the Ayodhya tangle, but failed to start a dialogue, as there was no response from parties concerned. Whatever might have been the behind scene activities, the Kanchi Seer took upon himself to re-start the dialogue. At first, the RSS parivar favoured the seer’s efforts but when speculations gained currency, the RSS started spelling out their conditions, for a dialogue with All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB). It re-iterated its original stand of un-conditional handing over of the Babri Masjid lands to the VHP. The VHP also was strident with denunciation and abuse of the Kanchi Seer, for his supposed favorable offer to the AIMPLB. They fulminated against the seer as being a Shaivaite (which is not true) and therefore not entitled to say in a Vaishnavaite issue i.e. Ram Janma Bhumi temple. Not all vaishnavites but only Ramananda Pandhies hold the right to decide on a RamTemple.
It will be interesting to know, when the Ramananda Pandhies were formed in historical time. The claim will be frivolous if it was found that this was later to the Babri Masjid.
It is disheartening to note that no ardent devotee of the Kanchi Seer came forward in the press to refute the VHP canards against the Seer. May be, the devotees also were feeling that their Seer has compromised on the Ayodhya temple issue.
12.7.2003.
Looking back at the high strung drama enacted with knowledge and support of BJP specifically Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the Prime Mnister, one wonders at the audacity of the ruling junta to claim that initiative taken by Kanchi Shankaracharya, is that of a well meaning religious leader on his own and not at the prompting of the PMO. Whom are they trying to convince? The ruling BJP at times took a stand that RSS & VHP are separate in identities and both might take independent policies that might even in contravention with that of BJP. This also failed to click since, all those concerned are in attendance in RSS jamboree at Kanyakumari and thereafter in Chennai offering obedience at the feet of the RSS Sar Sangh Chalaks. The so called Uchadhikar Samiti of the VHP is where the RSS top brass shines today. The RSS meetings meeting with the PM and DPM are eloquent enough to show that all are in thick as theaves to hoodwink and mis-lead the Hindu masses, with poised arrows of communal and fundamentalist ideas of theirs.
ASIAN AGE of 19 & 20.6.03 news features about VHP getting angry with Kanchi Sankaracharya for his reported plan to settle Ayodhya temple issue. There is nothing authentic except some rumors. According to VHP the Kanchi Seer is not and cannot represent Hindus as a community and he cannot go about with a plan without getting it approved by VHP which claim the role sole of representation of all hindus. Also according to VHP leaders, Kanchi Sankaracharya is a Shaivaite and therefore do not qualify to meddle in the construction of a Vaishnavaite temple. Once the Prime Minister Vajpayee contented that the construction Ram temple in Ayodhya is a national issue meaning concern of all sections of Indian nation. Now the VHP comes with the idea that the issue is exclusive to Vaishnavaite alone. However, a majority of hindus are either Shaivaites, Smarta and or Devi bhaktas. Vaishnavites are part of Hindus but not a majority. The temple was a hindutva issue not accepted all hindus.
The narrow mental make of the people constituting the VHP leadership show clearly the motive behind denigrating the KanchiSeer. They are too sectarian who cannot claim any representative character of the Hindu community as a whole. The outburst against the Kanchi Seer is a sure sign that the VHP is an obscurantist group disrupting communal harmony, even making out a discriminating statement, differentiatingVaishnavaite, Shaivaite etc. Such statements are extremely harmful to te unity of the nation.
First was Hindus against other minorities, then Hindus against all secularists. Now Vaishnavaite against Shaivaite. They might not be aware that even among Vaishnavaites there are different groups worshiping Krishna and not Rama. Where will all these end up? Even the VHP may not know.
The VHP contention that Ram temple is some exclusive issue for Vaishnavaites, not all but the sect called Ramananda Pandhies exposes its real intentions. The have not only divided the nation Hindu and non-hindu; religious and secular but Hindus into Vaishnava and Shaiva and many others. Then Vaishnavaites are seperated as Ramanandis and others. However, the VHP did not give us the methods to identify each sects whether by birth, temple going practices or their ancestry. No questions and no answers. But some where some one will raise these questions and demand answers from RamTemple Zeelots.
TOI article Science & God. Charles H Towner in his Speaking Tree article, titled A Physicist is Faith in science & god; makes out a case for accepting religion and therefore god as scientific on an ostensible reason that science requires faith. The author is Nobel winner for his innovation in mason and laser but his scientific temper is questionable. Though science requires faith, science itself is not faith. They undergo rigorous testing and re-testing before they are accepted as facts. Future researchers will bring out new facts necessitating changes to his old understanding or faith. It is never so in the case of religion and god. The author failed to consider that there are great number of gods and religions owning them and not just one god or faith. They do not admit change through testing or researching their faith. Even those who tom-tom their creed “Vasudhaiva Kudumbakam” and “Ekam Sad Viprah Bahudha Vadanti” do not show it in their practice.
I was reading and re-reading your letter so that I could respond to it in a proper manner. I don’t know you and anyone else should feel rootless in ‘a foreign country’. I think that my family and I also should feel like outsiders in Mumbai since we left our original home while we were out of our teens. If you mean to say that religion, region, or language defines your roots, the same will have to be taken true for people all over the world. Archeology, anthropology and sciences have established that human race is one and the same having trekked up down the several continents thousands of years back from the original home in North African deserts. During their trekking, they picked up several traits making them different in their physical and mental make up. The Australian aborigines and tribes of Andaman & Nicobar Islands were from the same roots but did not go beyond a stage while so many others progressed up several steps in the ladder. I for one am against differentiating people on any basis. Unfortunately, today people are being divided and discriminated in almost all countries around the world on these really fictitious grounds by people supposed to lead them ie. Politicians mainly and sociologists in general. I would like you to read some writings of Richard Dawkins, Karl Sagan and others on the evolution of humans. Evolution is not a lineal process but multifaceted and moving back and forth-in line. Some progressed and slid back in more occasions than one. Only in this sense, human beings are seen different. Therefore, while everyone’s root is same they branched off into several shapes, sizes and colours. The families in Mauritius are insular as the case in many other groups. This has resulted in inseparable differences among religions through historical times ending in mutual killings that has yet to see an end.
Man evolved from his animal ancestors and carry vestiges of that origin and tradition. I have a slim book titled “Naked Ape” by Desmond Morris a zoologist, where in he has convincingly mapped the evolution from ape to man. I have also copy of “Ancestors’ Tales” by Dawkins, which starts from present to back in time through evolution. Another one (just now, I don’t recollect the title & author) which details the life from its beginnings as single cell organism to present day human.
The term Hinduism is an indefinable word. While other religions could be defined more or less precisely Hinduism is an amalgam of several ways. The most earliest seem to be based on Vedic rituals and practices. It was prevalent for some centuries. In time it slowly under went a transformation to be philosophical during the years of Upanishads. Crude Vedic rituals were refined and some of them diminished. The third stage starts with several separate sects claiming authority to separate gods based on Puranic lore or may be that the puranic came into being after the sects. In between the second and third there were several prophets who advocated their views completely in contradiction to earlier two. The main trends were that of Jain and Buddhism. According to historians, these two dominated most of land from north to south. However, the Brahmanical Hinduism gained again after Ashoka and Mauryan dynasty collapse. The Puranic face also had several sectarian conflicts in it. There were efforts at isolating one another since the kingdoms were in conflict mode after the great Gupta period. Todays Hinduism is the results of conflicts and conciliations among all sects facing with foreign invasions.
Now let me try to explain my own understanding about the gods of Hindus. The Vedic corpus are a collection of family hymns supposed to have been heard (Sruti) from the mouth of Brahma which is not specifically mentioned in any texts at that time. The later texts attributed such an origin. The Rigveda hymns are not of uniform view. There are several versions of the origin or creation. There are down to earth prayers to obtain wealth of cattle. There are praises of chieftains for bestowing wealth and cattle to Brahmins. There are some which a discerning reader might find evasive about life here in earth. A few are some kind of exorcisms from perceived evils. There are hymns with sexual connotations etc.
There is no Brahman mentioned in the earliest Rigveda. The word Brahma occurs very rarely as compared to the word Prajapati. Prajapati is the priest of the gods born much before the gods. The Vedic gods are Indra, Agni, Varuna, Soma, Maruts (seven in number), Rudras (eleven), and Adityas (twelve) and so on. None of these gods remained in their position in later day Hinduism. Instead some selective ones like Vishnu, one of the Adityas, Shiva one of the Rudras and some goddesses. Each of the Puranas upheld one or other of these deities as the sole and omnipotent etc.
The word Brahman comes in the upanishads and later in Vedanta philosophy. The other strands of philosophical thoughts do not subscribe to any Brahman. Nagarjuna the scholar of Mahayana Buddhism conceived the world as Sunya (void) which then borrowed by Sankara to mean Maya or false image. For centuries, the philosophies were debated using rhetoric among great scholars. However all these debates and discussions were confined to learned Brahmins in the main. The vast majority of the populations were denied access to any literacy and they were innocent of learning those philosophies.
But people cannot be kept out of thinking for themselves for too long. This might have been the reason for puranic lore to spread among common people. Lore was the making of Brahmins mainly though some contributions might have come from others. It is also possible for local lore of deities getting mixed and absorbed by Brahminical ones making those Puranic gods and goddesses. Still, the literates were Brahmins the contours of these lore became Brahminical, There seems to be a lot of mix up which we are unable to unravel. For example, for years no one outside Kerala seems to know or understand the origin of Sabari Mala Ayyapan.
(The legend is that a chieftain or king of Pandalam a very small region in Kerala prayed to gods for a heir in his family. His queen remained childless for too long. Once king went on a hunting trip as usual, found a baby boy abandoned in that forest. He took the boy as a gift of the gods and presented him to the queen to care. He was growing with lot of love and care bestowed on him. The boy was christened Ayyapan. As years passed, the queen became pregnant and delivered a boy. The love and care changed from forest boy to her own. But she was not satisfied. She expected the king to bestow the kingdom to Ayyapan. Then she pretended to be sick and restless. Ayyapan took note and asked the queen about getting some medication. She told him that her sickness would not go without taking tigress milk. It is said that Ayyapan went inside forest and brought a herd of lactating tigresses riding himself on a tiger. King, queen and all people present were astonished and prayed to Ayyapan to calm himself and protect them. Ayyapan conveyed that he has finished with the kingdom and going back to the forest. He got a friend named Bava a muslim to accompany him and keep guard at the foot of the hill Sabai Mala.)
The legend completely Keralite transformed as Brahmanic in the form of Shasta a son to Vishnu as Mohini and Shiva. Similar is the transformation of Murugan or Andavan of Tamils into Kumara or Karthikeya etc.
As I said earlier gods and rituals differ from region to region and caste to caste. I might refer to another Kerala ritual. Almost all the Kerala temples celebrate an annual festival with caparisoned elephants with elaborate accompaniments on them. Trissur Pooram is biggest show of them. They are taken in procession accompanied by drummings that are specific to Kerala alone. Panja Vadyam & Chenda Melam. You have to witness it to know its specifics. This system of temple celebrations were adopted in Tamil Brahmin temples in Kerala. Such celebrations did not go anywhere outside Kerala.
Just completed Navaratri/Dassera celebration, though spread all over India; has differences from region to region. It is observed as Durga Puja of nine days in Bengal ending with immersion of murthies in rivers or ponds. Little further, west it is celebrated as part of Ramayana battle against Ravana. On tenth day evening the effigies of trio ie. Ravana, his brother Kumbhakarna and son Meghnad burned publicly to the delight of the people with fire works added. In Gujarat the nine nights of group singing and dancing are performed. Women alone take part in Garba Dance while Dandiya is for the mixed men and women of young and elders. Nowadays all these are commercialized. In the south the Nava Ratri is performed more soberly, people visiting all nearby temples. At home they prepare a Kolu an exhibition of metal and ceramic figurines of animals, birds, humans and gods. Neighbors and families visit each other in the evenings. The ninth day is observed as Sarasvati puja when books and manuscripts are gathered from shelves and made puja for them. Tenth day morning is auspicious for initiating children to start learning. It is called Vidyarambham. In Kerala, they conduct Aayudha puja devotion to weapons. I have not conducted any investigation on many other ways of celebration in other regions. The concepts of gods and goddesses so varied among Hindus, it is impossible to list them all by any group of individuals.
You could find more of my thoughts in the blog.
N B. For Trissur Pooram photos try click in google.
This book re-enforces the theory that there are no indigenous crop of people as some self-centred nationalists argue. The author mentioned the multi origin theory, which justified racial differences. He also mentions the Sino centric ideas propagated by some Chinese scientists. But the author is ignorant of the claims made Hindutva brigade like Bhagwan Gidvani, B.B.Lal and their like that there was separate home lands of Hindus in India. However, their period goes back only to 10,000 years BCE. Wells in this book points that the people of South India were the earliest arrivals through the sea coast from South East Africa who then reached Andaman and Australia in those far off time 50,000 to 60,000 years. The major parts of the North Indians are subsequent arrivals 15,000 to 20,000 years. His statements hints at the possibility that the Harappans and so called Aryans were of one gene stock but immigrants in historical times. Among all the books read recently, The Journey of The Man is most important and magnificent. Wells’ language is tough being scientific but that is due the subject and one should not complain. In the group of number of treatises on the oneness mankind this one is the latest incorporating evidences from genetic researches, paleontology, archaeology and linguistics. However, genetic evidences are central to it.
This book needs to be disseminated more widely in all our languages. But without a basic scientific bend and background the theme of this book may not get sufficient appreciation. This is an antidote against all religious fundamentalisms propagated here.
12. INTERPRETER OF MELODIES by Jhumpa Lahri, a collection of short stories.28/29 March 2003
The book has 9 stories one being a little. A Real Darwan and The Treatment of Bibi Haldar are based in Calcutta. The remaining are on Indian diasporas bases in US. The title story narrates an NRI family on a visit to Konarak in Orissa. Why Konarak and not any other pilgrim centre? Any other also could have the effect. The story lines are from ordinary life. The American background did not make any significant effect. The infidelity of the characters in the story “Sexy” are so ordinary that no one get involved in any way. “The blessed House” though a little irrational carries a point that religion carries an emotional significance and exclusiveness in one’s life. Both in “Sex” and “Mrs.Sen” there are signs of attraction two teenaged boys and matured women. The scene gets sidelined making ambiguity to intervene.
The language used is very simple and strait. There is nothing explore by the reader except in the little story. The melodies are carried for long by Mrs. Das were strange ones. It is not clear how Mrs.Das come out with her melodies, to an absolute stranger Mr. Kapasi on the basis of the later being an interpreter to a doctor. The author left the matter to the reader to follow his/her way or mental conditioning. After all the stories may not last in our memory. For the first readers the stories might ring fresh.
13. LONGITUDE b Dava Sobel.
A popular science book. The treatise mainly deals with the significance and importance finding the location in any sea voyage far distant from land. Chronometer was the answer and equipment but it took a long time to get acceptance with mariners. This book narrates in simple language all the mysteries in the developments regarding Lunar measurements and other signs to determine location. A very useful book.
14. THE FEAST OF THE GOATby Mario Vargas Llosa.
Translated from Spanish.
The main character in this novel is named Urania or Uranita the only daughter of Sr. Cabral a collaborator of the erstwhile dictator Trujilo of DominicalRepublic. Through her, the author unfolds the last decades of the ruthless and inhuman dictatorship once patronised by the US and later abandoned. The megalomaniac rulers of the tiny republic confronted by their factional enemies sustained with little help from outside US. Only in extreme situations US sided with the people; taking care to keep any left or progressive group. Except for the narrative directly connected with Urania, the sections a large part thereof semms to be dry history. The author did not try to speak through his charectors step by step developments so as to show how Trujilo at such a young age outsmarted the political parties to reach high in the ladder. The history of such dictators inLatin America are legion.
15. LIVES TO TELL A STORY byLewis Thomas.
This book reads like a science fiction but is not one. It is a popular account of the researches and discoveries connected with basic biology. A solitary cell goes on several lives by deviding endlessly. Cells get organised in such a way that it turns into living organism. The articles collected here are more than three decades old still reading them gives fresh insight about biological processes and facts.
16. IAP book on Sabarimala.
Joseph Idamarugu a formost atheist thinker and founder Indian Atheist Publishers and head of Indian Atheist Association, Delhi, authored it. The book sums up many stories and facts found by historians about the temple and beliefs connected with it. Many myths are demystified such as sighting an eagle rounding the sky above PandalamPalace before the procession with jewels starts to Sabari Mala. Since most of the forests surrounding the place cleared in the course of time sighting eagle is very rare. But some one shouts that he did sight an eagle though no one else did see it. This is done in order to start the procession in time to reach the temple far away. There is connivance of the authorities in the phenomena of sighting the “Makara Jyothy” in the night horizon above the hills. Some kind of fire work is time to light up the horizon by few devotees permitted by the authorities. Blind faith is sustained by using such magical turns for decades. However, I feel that the writing needs much more deeper dwelling on the superstitions surrounding Sabari Mala.
(The legend is that a chieftain or king of Pandalam a very small region in Kerala prayed to gods for a heir in his family. His queen remained childless for too long. Once king went on a hunting trip as usual, found a baby boy abandoned in that forest. He took the boy as a gift of the gods and presented him to the queen to care. He was growing with lot of love and care bestowed on him. The boy was christened Ayyapan. As years passed, the queen became pregnant and delivered a boy. The love and care changed from forest boy to her own. But she was not satisfied. She expected the king to bestow the kingdom to Ayyapan. Then she pretended to be sick and restless. Ayyapan took note and asked the queen about getting some medication. She told him that her sickness would not go without taking tigress milk. It is said that Ayyapan went inside forest and brought a herd of lactating tigresses riding himself on a tiger. King, queen and all people present were astonished and prayed to Ayyapan to calm himself and protect them. Ayyapan conveyed that he has finished with the kingdom and going back to the forest. He got a friend named Bava a Muslim to accompany him and keep guard at the foot of the hill Sabai Mala.)
17. SIMBIOTIC PLANET by Lynn Marguilis.
The subject explained in this book is evolution and genetics. One is intrinsically with the other in milliards of ways. The life in earth evolved and sustains by using food (energy) and leaving waste that in turn is food for others. They go on in circles. Mutation takes place at times and it is cause for a different life mode. The earth system works in such a way that no single group living being from bacteria to man may be in apposition to overcome or destroy themselves.
The book is a little tough but readable if we grasp some of the technical terms used. For me it opened a new world. It looks that the ardent protectors of ecology and environment are carried away by self-importance or even interest. On the protection of human species, the earth itself is indifferent. Information, ideas and lessons are packed in this slim volume.
18. CRADLE TO CRADLE by Williams Mc Donough and Michael Fraungeart.
This book goes beyond many similar ones where some kind of crude and extreme naturalism are being advocated. The authors are eminently sensible to advocate re-designing all industrial and consumer products and infrastructures like homes, factories etc.etc. I would like to hope that more and more scientists, philosophers, administrators, engineers and such others start thinking to re-design everything, which ultimately ends up with redesigning our own life itself.
However, there is some doubt. Are we not interfering with nature through this re-designing? When did interfering in nature started? It is said that it started when food-gathering man started food production. But according to this book it started through intensive industrialisation. Where do we go from here? The route is perilous for my little intelligence.
19. MISMEASURE OF MAN by Stephen Jay Gould.
This is an excellent book highly engaging to one’s intelligence. Most of the central figures in the world of science in 18th, 19th and even 20th centuries were believing and propagating a theses that among god’s creation there are grades and classes that could be assessed at high, middle and low i.e inferior. The high is composed of the so called Caucasian or so called Aryans that included Western European and Hindu Indians. The never gave much importance to Indian or India. The enormity of their ignorance about Indian antiquity, history and civilization is exhibited by their Euro centered vision about every thing. Secondly, they strived to support and justify Christian religion through interpreting their discoveries in an uncritical way. They never thought, realised or acknowledged some un-parallel civilizations other ancients, some of them lost to history; when Europeans were just pagan tribes level. Even today such a mind set continues as evidenced in the American invansion of Saddam Hussein’s Iraque.
Stephen J Gould extensively deals and analyses the craze to measure human intelligence through comparing facial, sculls and brain and then differentiating people Asian, Chinese, Mangols, American Indians etc. Measuring others is to establish as fact that Western is the most superior in intelligence, rationality, inventions etc. This arrogance is clothed in perfect scientific terms backed with statistical tables ans assumed facts. Gould did not highlight the historical fact of the backwardness of the Europeans compared with Middle East and Eastern ones only a millennium earlier. Gould also extensively criticised the basics of I Q tests that were adopted and upheld by American authorities from the beginnings of 20th century going through three fourths of the century.
20. HERE’S TEETH and HORCE’S TOES
By Stephen Jay Gould.
This is the 2nd book by Stephen J Gould that I was reading on his specialised subject evolution of species. It is a collection of articles penned by the author at different times and occasions. Broadily speaking these essays are concerned with evolution as against creationism of the fundamentalist Christian clergy. These essays also try to rectify misunderstandings about Darwinian evolution as lower to higher, from simple to complex. They show up the ingrained prejudices in the minds and thinking of many scholarly personalities in the West and US who in fact otherwise contributed in an enormous measure to further and popularize scientific thinking. Those prejudices limited their conclusions, in some cases deliberately. I have heard andread about Pierre Teilhard de Chardin as a theologian and religious philosopher. Also I have read about the ‘Piltdown Man’ and how fraudulently this discovery was propagated to show and convince people about the superiority of Western specifically the Englishman. I never had the idea that these two were connected. Thanks to Gould certain things are getting clear. Similar was the court case against teaching evolution in some American schools. Gould gives reasoned and therefore a reliable version of the case in detail but did not update on the practices adopted in todays America. He pronounced about the text books he learned from his high school days. I don’t think that anyone could surpass his rigors
of rational thoughts exhibited by Gould in these collections.
My egret is that my own knowledge of English language and the subjects dealt in Gould’s books came as impediments to fully understand and absorb the fine points made out in all the arguments. Still I am convinced that reading Stephen J Gould broadened my vision and thinking and disabused certain notions that I was carrying for long. They imparted clarity of thinking in me. Stephen J Gould says that his parents were rebels and leftists in their times. He himself carried then as heredity trait in the formative years. But the matured Gould no Marxist. His stand against Lysenkoism in genetics in the then Soviet Union gives an idea about the kind of leftist ideology that he wanted to nurture. Lysenkoism crippled all scientific enquiries in the Soviet land. Unfortunately the idea propounded by Lysenkoism became a norm among all shades of Marxists. Very few escaped the fate. They fell pray to confusion and lethargy. Today there are no authentic Marxist who might be without prejudices or blemishes from the past Soviet Union.
21. CRIMSONPETAL and THE WHITE
By Micheal Faber. 15.5.2003.
This is claimed to be a historical novel, reflecting the Victorian society in the last quarters of 19th century a society reflecting through fiction. It is less of a history than a fiction. It is also well written. The starting is unconventional when it talks like guide like person in a street scene. A little later the guide is not visible. It did not affect us from continuing to read the narration. One might take offence to minute details on certain episodes without enhancing the story in any way. There are at least two scenes that do not make any value addition to the novel. The first is there at the beginning of the book itself, where the hero Mr. William follows the maid Clara with his suspicion that the maid is cheating or defrauding her Mistress Agnes, while purchasing materials from a big store. The narrator shows that the maid Clara is really a cheat but there is no follow up in the matter upto the end of the book. Then Clara was discharged from service because of the death of Mrs. Agnes.Similar is another scene much later in the story. Ms Sugar goes with the driver Cheesman to an excluded corner of the couch house and allows herself to be sexually used by the coach man, as a bribe to keep him silent about the where abouts of Sophie and herself. But when William questions the coach man the later disclaims his share of action or inaction in preventing Sugar and Sophie to leave the house and go out.
Both these and several other episodes or scenes do not contribut to smooth flow of the novel. I have no complaint that the novel gives only one or a little more of the picture of the London society during the last quarter of 19th century. We don’t expect a novel to be an comprehensive record of history of people and society.
However, it is a fact that while the educated of the society is divided as believers and non-believers in religion; the lower rungs exhibit no particular anxiety about religion. Still they are not anti-religion. Further lower classes doreject everything religious as not relevant to their present day life. . Sometime one might feel that the lower strata revel at their fate and are happy about it.
The suspense at the end of 800 and odd pages of the novel is intriguing. What happened to Sugar and Sophie? Did they redeem their future? What happens to William? The guide who was present at the beginning disappeared without giving us the fullpicture.
Shall we called it a post modernist novel? The novel moves smoothly from one scene to other without jerk or slip. There are no unwieldy backward and forward motions. The novel is constructed from believable and reasonable episodes during a limited period of 9 to 10 months in 1875-76 following a classical under path. But the are not sounding vulgar as appropriate words are used in depicting sexual scenes. They do not obstruct the flow of the story.
22. UNCOUPLING by Kaveri Madhavan.
This is a readable novel only for once. The story told is typically south Indian tamil. The couple are Janaki and Balu and they ae at the end of their middle age. The story prior to their present stage is given in bits and pieces though coherently. There is need to labour about connecting the threads. An uncomplicated narrative. Balu is a typical example of upper class Youngman of the 1942 struggle for independence. Youngman is not obsessed with religion and rituals leaving them to the womenfolk at home; mother, sister and wife. I still remember about this kind of society of those days. They are considered as normal to the time. Mainly arranged marriages. No sense of sexuality or understanding. The repression practiced and internalized were paraded as tradition in the land of Vatsayana, Kokkoka and several authors of Sanskrit Bhanas that could be seen as explicit sexual manuals. Even our elegies to gods and goddesses are not free from sexual expressions and picturisation. With all these backgrounds, we still imitate Victorian/Anglican morals as our own tradition. Yes, at least in one important sphere the colonialists left us believing their mores as our own. The moderns are trying to overcome this internalized Victorian moral oppression. However, our Hindutva brigades advocate and try to impose those Victorian morals in these days.
When they are confronted, “ancient” get a knockout and that is what happens to the couple in the story. They went on a holiday trip of European countries in their middle age. They become confused and unable to seek out from the bondage of “ancient”. The suppressed libido of the man bursts out when he sees public and uninhibited display of sexual objects in a Belgium street. He is mesmerized indeed. Unwittingly he caused his wife to drink. She is encouraged by a newly found Panjabi couple. The wife goes to their hotel first. The man follows much later. When he entered the room he finds his wife asleep in bed discarding much of her cloths. Her sex and breasts are naked and exposed in light. During the 30 odd years of their married life, the man never saw or tried to see his wife as naked as now. All their sex were performed in dark and covered underneath bed sheets or rugs. Now it was a revelation He imagines so many pornographic postures that he missed in the long past years but did not try anything so gross. He gets into the bed and only later in the morning, he had sex with wife. The world has changed for him. The wife while unaware of the sexual thoughts in the mind of her husband; carves out a separate path for herself. No sex at all. At the end of the tour they were separated and finally found themselves at home in Madras. The wife acquired an independent identity and started a tailoring class in the afternoons to the needy and poor girls. A stange end.
23. IN THE NAME OF DEMOCRACY
BY Bipin Chandra.
4.8.2003. Today I completed reading this book. Before requisitioning tis book I read a reviewer of it in Sunday Express. The reviewer opined that the contents of the book by Bipin Chandra are in justification of the policy and practice of the Communist arty of India towards Jayaprakash Narayan’s movement and in favour of the decleration of emergency by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. I don’t that it was a prejudice on the part of the reviewer but prejudgements. In abook of about 300 pages there are very few references to CPI’s policies and practices. The whole contents of the book are based on literatures accumulated so far on the subject of JP’s movement and emergency. A good lot of such literatures relied upon were too contemporary to the JP movement. Bipin Chandra examines the political positions and claims between supporters of JP movement and that of Indira Gandhi in the given context and goes on to conclude that both were too flawed. Both went on to test the endurance of their power. First JP failed but Indira also failed. Today we look back and say that the emergency was an aberration of Indian democracy. Near about three decades after emergency a retrospect of those times might help us to learn the lesson. The communal forces that were in the fringes of the Indian society assumed certain respect and got some political space in the mainstream though the JP movement and the gross character of the emergency regime. If the 20 point programme was carried through the post emergency scene would have been different. Also if the emergency was withdrawn much earlier when Indira Gandhi’s popularity was high the situation would have changed for good. But neither did happen. Inspite of the later years electoral support to Indira and thereafter to Rajiv, the communal forces did not disperse from the space occupied by them.
24. FUTURE OF FREEDOM
By Fareed Zakaria. 9.8.2003.
I have completed reading this book today. The autor tried to findout the relation between freedom and democracy going through the history mainly the Western and American. As per the author; liberty, equality and fraternity, the slogans raised during the French Revolution are the outcome of the earlier surge in creating wealth through private property laws. The slow demise of feudalism in England and then in other European countries brought into being capitalist development. It was creation of wealth by private entrepreneurs that added the momentum to manufacture. The logo of freedom, equality and fraternity were formulated in the context of rules that enforced by restrictive practices of the day. This author in fact quotes Karl Marx. This shows that even those disagree and denounce communism and its ideas has to adopt the methods and reasoning of Karl Marx in analysing the economic and social developments.
The author has divided the western world into liberal and iilliberal democracies. The American and British head the former and Russia in later. He included India in the later category with some reasoning.
Zakaria makes a case for graded development for countries that were considered as authoritarian and dictatorships. According to hm it was the dictators who adopted the idea of freedom and liberty against religious fundamentalism. He seems to be wrong to bracket all into one. Dictators in Pakistan and Bangladesh atleast were convinced fundamentalists for too long a period. In the West the early Christianity opposed the authoritarians and fought for freedom and liberty. I don’t know whether this is a correct reading of history. Evenif it is true the later day Christian churches were strong supporters authoritarian kings and feudal lords.
Much of what Zakaria writes about are palatable to any reasoning person for the simple reason that he emphasises freedom and democracy as the corner stones the society of the future. One can surely agree with him on the need for a balance between liberty/freedom and working democracy.
After reading the whole book one notes with apprehension that unless the elites in society do selfless social work and thus guide the functioning of democracy the future is too forboding.
On page 129 “Most Arab writers are more concerned with defending their national honour against the pronouncements dead orientalists”. It seems this is aimed at scholars like Edward Said the author of “Orientalism”. Zakaria did not seemed to mind that orientalist and orientalism defined the imperialist mindsets and distorted everything oriental. At certain place, Zakaria alluded to the fact that East was civilised thousand years prior to Christianity. Zakaria also exhibits orientalist influence in explaining history and society in the Arab and Eastern worlds. The most glaring deficiency in this book is the silence on the British, French, American and other European conquests of the world, enforced slavery and slave trades practiced by them all for many centuries. He did not mention and evaluate the genocide practiced on the original inhabitants of America and Australia and many smaller countries all over the glob. “Liberty, Freedom and Equality” indeed? It was the result of asserting superior origin of white race. If they had a chance, they would have exterminated all non-whites. They refrained from it because they needed non-white slaves to labour for them and necessity to rear their cattle. There were innumerable instances of whites characterizing all non-whites as hordes of cattle and dealing with them as such. All Eastern colonies had a more developed culture and civilisation than their conquerors. The imperialist measurement of development of culture and civilisation were weapons of war and torture equipments. They debased everything of value in their colonies. In their colonies, the imperialist regimes not only enforced their own “superior” values on the defeated populations but completely obliterated some of their past from memories itself.
Zakaria did not dwell on these ugly and reprehensible parts of the European histories and to that extend this book is deficient.
25. MY INVENTED COUNTRY
By Isabel Allende. 13.8.2003.
One reviewer called this slim book as a rehash of all the author’s earlier novels and autobiography and there is nothing new here. As a memoir, also the book does not get interesting enough. He may be right. A new memoir will not necessary be better than the one earlier penned.
I read only one book so far of Isabel that was published a little earlier to this. “City of Beasts” is a story in magical mode about an expedition into the deep Amazon jungles to locate and study certain remote tribes. That book was not of any high order still fascinating enough to highlight the arrogance of the half baked scientist exploiting capital and honest tribals.It was all a magical tale.
The latest book is not a fiction. Another reviewer said that she is well captivated by “My Invented Country” as her first encounter with Isabel’s work. Anyway self feels that the book by Isabel is her confession with all her good and bad sides. She deeply dwells on the basic roots of her current thoughts and actions. She unfolds the historical canvas of Chilean society with an eye on details. There might be some exaggerations as she herself admits. However, they are based on hard realities experienced in life. Her own families both from father’s and mother’s side were in contrast opposites.
26. THE DEMON HUNTED WORLDby Carl Sagan.
Though Karl Sagan authored a number of books to popularize science and scientific thinking, I somehow missed reading them earlier. Possibly, they were not low priced to my pocket.
The contents of this book are most engaging and stimulating one’s mind. One gets a close picture of the widespread beliefs in un-scientific superstitions among otherwise developed populations in US. One hopeful phenomena is that thee people like Sagan in societies trying to dispel the untruth.
27. CLASH OF FUNDAMENTALISMS
By Tariq Ali.
This book covers topics left out or disregarded in Fareed Zakaria’s work “Future of Freedom”. Tariq Ali brought his book updated just before the US and UK sponsored attack on Iraq. Ali provided an extensive historical background for the current situation, where the industrial and military complex of the US dominates the global sphere and UK acts as an extended arm.
Even before Second World War, the US was assuming super power role. After the WW II, it went on extending itself to new areas that were earlier under European domination for decades. The US imperialism adorned a new garb of saviors from godless communism. They brutalized a large segment of world nations/populations. The brutalized nations were Middle East and Africa.
28. OUTCASTE by Narendra Jadhav.
13.12.2003.
The narration seems to be too honest in most of the details in the life of the outcaste Mahars, and all untouchables. It is transparent except when political issues were debated between Congress and Babasahib Ambedkar. The auther seems to suggest that it was not the Hindu or national reform movement which high lighted the life of untouchables but the efforts of the colonial army. May be it gave the force but the spurt was that of national liberation struggle which in turn realy changed the attitudes of a significant part of the people towards caste oppression.
The “Outcaste” is a constructed memoir and not sourced from any written diary or something else. Still the features ring true and several could recollect the past from those pages. The author did not attempt any deeper study of the caste system in Hinduism. It was more specific about Mahars in Maharashtra.
Damu’s wife Sonu raises certain questions about conversion to Buddhism. They are very cogent, very basic to the life in religion. There are no answers from Damu or from Babasahib, who advocated the conversion of Dalits to Buddhism. The author also has no answers. It seems that those who are deeply commited to their religious beliefs could not be converted to any other religion. The converts are asked to follow another blind beliefs and rituals. To reject Hindu gods in favour of Buddha made into a god with appropriate rituals are no answer.
At the end the author deliberates about the caste system in Hinduism. There is no solution to this cancerous system. Dalits remain dalits in Christianity or Islam in India. Converts to Buddhism remain the same untouchables in the eyes of caste Hindus. The struggle againsdt the caste system was part of the freedom struggle. Freedom came but the system persists. Why? What for?
29. DROP DEAD GEORGIOUS. 10.1.2004.
This is book of fiction, the first book of the author. It is a run of the mill fashion. It gives an idea that people or specifically girls entangled in glory, journalism, TV presenters, rock & roll artists and all such kind of people are glorying in their egos. The influences affected on individuals in the nature of happy go lucky is very negative in life.
Though the prose is good, the theme is pedestal Victorian morality play. It also gives an idea that western society is tolerant of all libertine pursuits as freedom of choice. Is their any chance with media posing larger than life features? There is no way to measure. Let us be clear in our mind that no society is perfect in terms of any ideal. It evolves. There are no objectives to be attained.
The book narrates one heroine’s life and others ae just there to pack up the narrative. Why the rock star could not be a serious lover? The portrait is, just a type prepared to it. To imagine that the man was really in love with the mega star and gets depressed by the untimely death of the desired one, a little convoluted. The picture of the rock star with a super model gets insulted and rejected but later they become cozy to each other, less convincing. Similar is the way the heroin turns to Adam as a solution. At the end, all is well that ends well. There is no tragedy. One doesn’t get to the idea that the heroin could not have survived the sordid experiences in her profession. The encounters and going on between the mega star and rock star are not in fact a part of her professional life. The induced drug addiction also does not help make a convincing story. The life of a TV celebrity could be without those sordid parts narrated here. The impression created here is that for a woman life outside home is a perilous one. Better be a housewife and mom at home.
30. SEXUAL LIFE OF CATHERINE M. 13.1.2004.
It is termed as an autobiography of a French art critic. From a conventional point of view, the narration and episodes are bizarre But for a more modern will find the critic’s sexual life as natural enough. One cannot but approve of her honesty in describing those episodes. When it comes, it is accepted, not sought after. Even when it was a group sex, she being the lone woman in the group it occurs naturally. She has no preferences. Also she is indifferent in forming and or keeping a relationship. Twosome, threesomes and assembly line sex; all are in the game. There are no class differences. No question is asked nor any answer expected.
Since, teen age to maturity she goes on from one coupling to another singular or plural, whatever is available at the time. But in many pages the scenes are repeated word for word and in many cases whole sentences. Only one that she leaves out is intercourse with a dog. One of her friends promises her to bring a trained dog but never materializes it. Then she fantasizes the situation and revel in self-stimulations. All positions conceivable are examined in their every detail. But there is a but!!
As the narrative unfolds one cannot but be amazed at the audacity of the author to go on making with both known and most unknown ones day after day even hour after hour. She and her group has shown no inhibitions about the places where they are coupling, whether on the road side, in gardens, in bye lines of the city or in the open countryside. Though she mentions about a condom at a place all her indulgences are without any protection against STD or precautions against pregnancy. She reveals that she enjoys the most when her pussy was oozing out with the semen pumped in it, from men lined up as many as fifty or more whose number she never keeps count. This is just not one night session but something regular. This gives an idea that all her sexual encounters are her imaginations and not real. At certain places, she acknowledges them. Does she live a real life at all?
This book was published in the first quarter of 2007 while self and Annam were in the US. This was selected by Anil for my reading though at first I was sceptical about the seriousness of the writing by an ex administrative. From the pages I found that Al Gore is not just any politician he has to his credit near about a dozen books on politics and allied subjects. On first reading I found that Al Gore is well trained academic and intelligent political writer. He has grasp of the subject and control of language to present it. He has history at his side andmasters evidence and arguments on the theme he presents.
This book is well considered exposition and critique of the Bush administration both in foreign and domestic spheres. Al Gore goes back to history to find flaws, transgressions and outright contradiction with the intentions of the founding fathers of the US. He traces as how the values and morals advocated and based by the former are being subverted by the present day administration. It is sad fact that the well-meaning populace of the states has given the consent to Bush to head for a second term.
In Al Gore’s view the Bush administration has all the while assaulted reason that should be countered by right thinking persons and brought before the electorate as one of the main responsibities in order to get out of the rut. In a lengthy and reasoned introduction Al Gore summarises the whole contents of his book. He makes out that the enlightenment brought from the European renaissance was essentially the results of the printed word.“More and more people gained an appetite for current information about contemporary events and confidence in their own ability to use their reasoning capacity to sort through the available evidence relevant to decisions that affected their lives.” (Page 12) Again “You could say that the age of print begat the Age of Reason which begat the age of Democracy.”(Page 12)
Al Gore goes on postulating the changes from the age of print to present age of TV visuals. What he calls market place of ideas where thoughts are not only expressed but debated had the decisive role in the working of democracy. Literacy aids the market of ideas to function unimpeded. People read and react in assenting or dissenting. Such discussions culminate in viable policy decisions on part of the rulers. Democracy of the people by the people and for the people. But during the historical period from the print media to TV discussions and debates lessened. The TV medium did not allow the people to interact as in the case of print media. “it is important to distinguish the quality of vividness experienced by television viewers from the “vividness” experienced by readers. I believe that the vividness experienced in reading words is automatically modulated by constant activation of the reading centres of the brain that are used in co creating of the representation of reality the author has intended. By contrast the visceral vividness portrayed on television has the capacity to trigger instinctual response similar to those triggered by reality itself-and without being modulated by logic, reason and reflective thought.” (Page 19)
Further on Al Gore states “Any new dominant communication medium leads to a new information ecology in society that inevitably changes the way ideas, feelings, wealth, power and influence are distributed and the way collective decisions are made.” (Page 20)He explores “the connection between withdrawal of reason from public sphere and the resulting vacuum that is filled by fear, superstition, ideology, deception, intolerance and obsessive secrecy as means of tightening control over the information that a free society needs to govern itself according to reason-based democracy.” (Page 21)
On chapter one Gore takes up the subject of politics of fear. He says “We often take snap judgements based principally on our emotional reactions rather than considering all options rationally and making choice carefully.” He goes thru history and finds occasions when emotions carried rather than reason. Gore ventures through the research on the brain and shows that the centres storing the emotions are too frequent in showing up. He gives an example of the communist witch hunt during McCarthy era and follows with the present Bin Laden, Al Qaida and Saddam Hussein. The Bush administration specifically manufactured a fear psychosis among the US citizens to garner support to the unjustified measures in domestic and foreign policy. Al Gore takes the media as well for surrendering their reason and independent thinking.“Terrorism relies on stimulation of fear for political ends. Indeed its specific goal is to distort reality of a nation by creating fear in the general population that is hugely disproportionate to the actual danger that the terrorists are capable of posing.” (Page 38-39)
In chapter two; Gore takes up the issue of blinding the faithful. Though the United States was not formed on the basis of religion they were confidant in the capacity of people reasoning to come to fair decisions. However, there was always the possibility of religious sects intervening in national politics. There were enough instances of such interfering to distort the reality and construct it to their favour. Al Gore says “I am convinced, however, that most of the president’s frequent departures from fact-based analysis have much more to do with his rightwing political and economic ideology than with the bible.”(Page 61) Again “Bush uses a religious blind faith to hide what is an extreme political philosophy with a disdain for social justice that is anything but pious by the standards of any respected faith”. He says that it a coalition of certain interested groups that have their basic credo “there is no such thing as “the public interest”; that phrase represents a dangerous fiction created as an excuse to impose unfair burdens on the wealthy and powerful.” (Page 63) Today there are powerful and wealthy groups that propagate that “government is very bad and should be done away with as much as possible—except the parts of it that redirect money through big contracts to industries that has won their way into the inner circle.” (Page 66)
The facts and evidences massed by the author goes to prove that Bush administration thruits deliberate moves has deviated from traditional democratic norms. It does seem that administration is bent upon and succeeding in establishing a caucus of right fundamentalist rule. There is no difference between a totalitarian dictatorship and Bush administrations in today’s America. Unlike the press where dialogue is possible the TV media is one sided with no interaction with the audience. It is a devastating indictment on administration, TV media, congress and senate for not keeping to the side of the constitution of America in words and spirit.
It is unfortunate that Ms. Taslima Nasreen has to run around this secular country for protection against the threat of Muslim fundamentalists who in fact form a miniscule body of the community. What is more shameful is the attitude and acts of the CPI(M) and its govt. in West Bengal. Instead of standing up to the threat of the fundamentalists both buckled and allowed the writer to seek, fresh abode in other parts of India. Once in the past the Rajiv Gandhi Govt succumbed to fanatical fringe of the same groups and amended the constitution in order to deny maintenance to divorced Muslim women as ordered by our Supreme Court. The result of such abject surrender to Muslim fanatics pawed the way for the Hindu groups headed by BJP to come to power. Similarly, the CPI (M) has given up the secular space to communalists. Even if liberal minded Hindus come to the conclusion that secularism is sham idea one may not be surprised. The so-called pillars of secularism crumbled at the first test against real communalism. It seems that Islamic fundamentalists became bold to act in West Bengal because of the misguided stand of the left supporting the Islamic regime in Iran in the name of anti-imperialism. The left Govt. in West Bengal banned Tasleema’s book Dvikhandito at the behest of the same forces.Then judiciary stood up to secure secularism and ordered the ban to be withdrawn. When in last year the Muslim fringe protested and threatened death to creators of the Prophet Cartoons communists were prominent in the crowd at Azad Maidan in Mumbai.While our own nuclear projects suffer from lack of technology and material the left constructed hurdles in the way of the Nuclear Agreement 123 again in the name of fighting American Imperialism but firm in supporting the Iranian efforts at becoming a nuclear power. The leaders of CPI (M) like Biswas and Yechuri were bending backwards to wriggle out of a situation that is unconvincing. They acted to mollify the anger of communalists at the cost of secular values. The results could be predicted in advance. As in the aftermath of Sha Banu case, the Hindu fundamentalists headed by their political outfit BJP will be the party to benefit from the left betrayal. No excuse and or correction could make amends to the situation. A final question. If communists could not stand up for secularism who else will?
However, Tasleema is in good company with Rushdie, Hussain, and Ayan Hishie Ali. As in, the case of the last who was given space by a far right think tank in US Tasleema is backed by the BJP spokespersons. They in fact demanded giving citizenship to her. Does this mean that only antagonists will protect the dissidents in other’s camp? The religious fundamentalist believe that those who were born in their faith have no choice but remain in it and not speak against it. At the same time they want to convert people from other faiths i.e. speak and act against other faiths. What a monstrous perversion!!
On 6.12.2007 the TOI carried an article titled Kunti Personifies Mother Earth by S.M.Bhaskar in Speaking Tree column. It is a fashion of our learned to find heroes, heroines and episodes from epics and impart new meanings according to the inclination of the writer. They might be moralists, mystics, spiritualists and else. The Sanskrit language used in our epics is so flexible that each word could have many meanings and sometimes contradictory. In Sanskrit words, have roots and syllables denoting different meanings. It facilitates the scholar to go beyond the felt ones. It is a game that is going on for centuries. The exemplary examples are the commentaries to ancient works like Brahma sutra and Bhagavat Gita by adherents of advaita, visishtadvaita and dvaita. In fact Bhagavat Gita has more contradictory commentaries from ancient times and additionally expanded by modern scholars.
So I was not surprised to find one like Bhasker interpreting the Mahabharata character Kunti mother of Pandava trio. By depicting Kunti as the mother earth the writer admits that the story of Mahabharata is just story teaching some mystical truths or so. Be it so.But…
Take the birth of Karna. The writer gives a meaning that the birth of Karna signifies the seed and growth of trees with their barks and fruits. Could we accept the story even if it has other meanings hidden? Kunti was a virgin and not married. She gave birth to Karna and abandoned him to float on the river. At a very late stage of the story she tried to claim him as her eldest son. Could we not conclude that virginity in girls is not as understood today at those ancient times?
Bhaskar takes up explanations for the birth of five Pandavas. Yes, the elder three were from Dharma, Vayu and Indra. But the two younger ones were born of Madri and not Kunti. If Kumti is the Mother earth then there is no need for Madri in the story. Why hide Madri so as to interpret Kunti as earth?
Next the author introduces a twist in his interpretation. The sequence of the five or is four births are first brain next mind third energy fourth twin legs. What a wonderful way of interpreting epic episodes? We all should appreciate Bhaskar for enlighten us and be thankful for it.
