Beats (BH:D69)

October 11, 2011

In school, I was taught that India is one of the oldest civilizations in the world. More importantly, it is the only alive civilization in the world. All other great ones are either extinct like the Greeks or have radically altered themselves without any trace of the ancient like the Egyptians and the Chinese. To be civilized, as I had understood, meant, to be less animalistic, less tribalistic etc. 

Within India, Kerala supposedly is fully literate and has been the proud home of one of the very first lineages of mankind out of Africa. According to Michael Woods, the very evolution of human language can be noticed in prevalent rituals in north Kerala. 

Clearly, all these are ideals visions. 

The main news today in Kerala has been the horrible murder, by beating and kicking, by the passengers in a government run public bus, of a suspected pick-pocket. The man had some money with him which he pleaded was his own. But the mob would have none of it. 

They beat him to death!! 

Please read that again. 

A bunch of people beat another unarmed, defenseless man to death! 

Without trial, without jury, without even a visit to the police station, without any forethought. 

Men who have looted billions of this country's wealth are scotfree, drinking their scotch and plundering even more by the hour. The public worships them, elects them, elevates them! A poor suspect becomes a punching bag and dies of internal bleeding!

The police has charged three passengers for manslaughter. Shouldn't every single passenger be charged for not preventing this? Where is the humanization that thousands and thousands of years of continuing civilization is supposed to have provided?

Afternoon TV news showed the shocked relatives huddled outside the victim's home. Couple of kids were getting excited about the TV cameras without realizing what had happened. The loss will entirely be the family's. After a couple of days, may be by tomorrow itself, the media and the rest of us will become too busy to care. 

But each of us should be aware that this is the society which we walk into from our homes everyday. This is the lawless mob who surround the children when they go to school. 

If anything the oldest surviving civilization has taught, it is to keep your head low, mouth shut and weep inside in silence and fear of the barbaric urban jungle outside. 

This timesless culture will help you with its hundreds of millions of gods and more created everyday because when your daughter is raped and brother is beaten to death like a straydog, only imaginary sources of power can be your refuge. 

Elsewhere in the state, buildings are stoned and vehicles are burnt because a young man has been admitted to the 5th semester of engineering course into a government college, without the proper channel. How much violence does it take to resolve this issue? For how long will the society provide reckless young men ready for destruction and bloodshed at the beck and call of the so called "leaders"?! How long will the democratic system continue to churn out such sub-human leaders?

On one side, India's supreme court stays the death sentence of the terrorist who murdered dozens in cold blood in Mumbai. The supreme judges believe that he should get a fair hearing. On the other side, the great Indian mob executes a suspected pickpocket with their bare hands. He will not speak anymore.

My society: the planet's oldest running and stupendously successful Stanford prison experiment!

Musical solace from all this depression. Introduced Achan to Coke Studio via youtube while he was making beetroot 'mezhukkupuratti'. There was an article in today's Manorama about the composer/singer Jassie Gift being called to lecture at the University of Chicago. Amma doesn't have a high opinion about him. So when I read to her that he is finishing his PhD in Advaitha and Buddhism, she assumed a stoic silence. I think she didn't want to tell me that these days anyone can get a PhD!

Achan has become a fan of Noori, Tina Sani and Sanam Marvi. After lunch, watched a few minutes of the old Tamil film, Vanjikottai Valiban. Remarkably mature performance by the villain for that era of that industry. 

I booted up my old laptop this morning to get the presentation at IIST ready. But by afternoon, it was confirmed that the talk is postponed to next week. 

The slight unease that came back with me from Munnar is refusing to leave quickly. Wonder if the devil from old Chekuthanmukku had something to do with it! Nothing happened yesterday (BH:D68) except nursing this dis-ease and typing up three notes.

Ravi Menon's book lists 15 of Lata Mangeshkar's self-sung favorite songs. The first in the list is from the film Padmini (1948). Ghulam Haider, the composer, immigrated to Pakistan soon after this movie. In those days, every song had to be recorded twice, once for the film and once for the record disc. Lata and her sister waited all night for Haider to finish composing. By 7am, when the tune was ready, Lata had nodded off. But in a couple of hours, she was ready to record. Two weeks later, a slightly shorter version for the long play record was made. Here's the song:http://youtu.be/JFLlRA12KP0

Since I mentioned Coke Studio, here are the links to some of my favorite songs from that collection. Much gratitude to the good soul who provided excellent closed captioning for these youtube videos

Tina Sani: Nawai Ney, Tina Sani, Coke Studio, Season 3 "Kaat kar laayi neisitaan se yaahan, mard o zan meri nawa se, khoon chakan" Heartbreaking lyrics

Noori: Aik Alif, Noori & Saieen Zahoor, Coke Studio, Season 2 "Jo na jaane haq ki taaqat, rab na de wei usko himmat". 

Sanam 'the queen' Marvi: http://youtu.be/lxFaUIxezkc "Sachal sach kareenda zahil, illah kaan qital"

At the RBI cash dept in Kochi with public counters for exchange of coins and soiled notes, there is a quote from the Atharva Veda posted on the door: “The wealth earned through pious means flourishes. Those who earn through dishonest means are destroyed“ Perhaps this is why India has been making snail-paced progress over the centuries. Well, you rule the airwaves and airways for two decades and then the Central Bureau of Investigation comes knocking on your door!