Malayalam is not an easy language, and to weave into melodious entrancing soulful songs, that everytime you hear it takes you right back to Kerala (indeed lazier part of Shankumugam beach on weekday afternoons, sleepy bylanes, sight from college window where you could see trees every moment and Indian coffee house where I saw ONV once) and loftier meanings to life that knocks you all the time. Significantly, his Malayalam rendition of poems, an art in itself, was always a pleasure to listen to. His concern for Malayalam is as alive, as Indian languages are threatened by English and market driven superficial ways
Threat to integrity
of nation cannot be tolerated
Nation State is duty bound to
protect its integrity and cannot tolerate any attempts to undermine it. The kind
of sloganeering that was carried out in JNU is highly seditious and therefore should
be dealt accordingly. Ideas can be debated and disagreed but call to break up
the country cannot be tolerated under any circumstance. This blogger understands
that draconian sedition act is a British legacy and hence should be modified to the suit
the context of the time. It is horrible that in seven decades of sycophantic and
incompetent leaders didn’t have the time nor had any intent for these
basic changes, it is an amazing travesty. Further, this blogger always held that Article
370 is discriminatory and is the source of misery for ordinary kashmiris. To maintain this Army is put under severe pressure, hence violations. Societies work by exchange and amalgamation, and not by artificial boundaries. Atleast
the law should allow people from different part of the country to settle in
Jammu&Kashmir, it cannot be kept frozen in time and be exploited by competing forces, especially
the mullahs (with connivance from rabids across the border) and to work out their
angst. The angst that Left always found compelling as they have least
connection with the marginalised and exploited, hence the hobnobbing with elite
muslims is easy getaway. This too is a British legacy, and you can find traces in
regressive multiculturalism in contemporary Britain as the society plunges trying
to accommodate cruder ways. The celebration of different worldviews, faith, culture
and tradition exists in context of equality and egalitarian ways, hence within what
is promoted as different ways or culture it should be reflected. It cannot work
in competing regressiveness. How much Indian elite, who migrated to London,
have exploited these colonial guilt angst and deviously worked out to spread out squatter
ensconced crude ways as they hid under mullah concerns and high sounding human
values so on should be scrutinised.
JNU is a premier institute and
provides lots of opportunities to outsiders in what is essentially a highly exploitive
and discriminatory insular world of Delhi. This blogger too was in JNU briefly
though I didn’t get the stream that I was keen on, as also the hostel facility
(that was a critical factor, as I had to focus on earning) but did utilize the opportunity
to explore the place, must add a terrific library that one, gives me serious nostalgia,
I was mostly here and rarely attended any classes. If Sahitya Akademi library
opened me into amazing world of fiction writing (I had no idea about fiction
hence started to read alphabetically at the rate of one or two books a week, keeping
the thicker ones for the end of the month as the money drained these books kept
me occupied. Amit Choudhari should know how much alphabets in name matters!!), then
exemplary nonfiction writings were in JNU (though much earlier I stumbled upon
Naipaul&Co in air conditioned and amazingly silent, dusty books at Central Secretariat library as I avoided the terrible Delhi heat). JNU provides the opportunity and
freedom but it shouldn’t be misused. State must be, and should be questioned,
stridently so, but threat of physical elimination and disintegration, is
crossing the line, the state therefore is duty bound to respond. That however doesn't mean that right wing should have a free run under the guise of nationalism and state patronage, this is evolving into threatening dimensions.
Soldiers dying in Siachin have
become a regular affair, its time government look for technological options. Human
presence must be avoided at these inclement conditions that seriously compromises
the health and is constant threat to life. I recall about two decades back I was
in Chennai and used to drop into transit camp mess for dinner, met these
officers on transit. Sometimes used to go out with younger ones for movies so
on (watching Cliffhanger movie few times free of cost was an achievement), I being
conversant in the language as also the place. There was one young officer, I distinctly
remember, who had swollen fingers from his stint in Siachin, he also got headaches.
He, meanwhile, was proud to have served at such dangerous conditions. I still
recall feeling extremely amused. But then that is army man for you, the reason
why they should be adequately compensated for their services. And yes no two
ranks are similar it’s the risk and sacrifices that should be factored.
I recall a funny instance here,
once we went for movie at a seedy theatre (I forgot the name but it used to be
opposite American consulate, next to the fly over) the disgraceful place had
the system that you could buy the ticket and be inside forever, as they repeated
the movie again and again, needless to say there were many other ‘activities’ happening
inside the theatre, movie being a distraction!! Frankly I wasn’t really aware
of this place, and ended up as there weren’t any good movies running in nearby theatres,
the lieutenant who was with me thought the movie was wacky, meanwhile he
informed that the guy next had placed his hand on his thigh, we dismissed it as
accidental but soon the hand was determinately climbing up and that’s when the
upright lieutenant let it be known that he was counting ten, if the fellow doesn’t take
his hand off by that time then he is going to break his skull. When an army man
says it he means it, there is no thinking on these matters. Alarmed I immediately
confronted the creepy fellow with ‘enappa epidi’ and try to play it down as the
fellow shirked away. When I met the lieutenant next day for dinner I found him
still seething, as furious, itching for a good fight.
