Connected histories through caste. From 1857 mutiny to 2015 Dadri lynching

History flows like a stream, or in India, crawls like a glacier.

It is not a collection of big bang events the way we learn of it..1857 mutiny, 1947 independence, lynching of Mohd akhlaq in 2015. These are all connected intimately. The dominant caste sepoys of Bengal Native infantry, mutinying in 1857 have a lot in common with the folks who lynched Mohd Akhlaq in 2015. Spread across 1.5 centuries in United Provinces.

In both cases the primal fear of losing caste. The pressures and anxieties of pollution, by mere association with an impure source... firangi Army in former, a lone Muslim family in latter...is what drove them.

The fact that cartridges of sepoys didn't use cow fat or that Akhlaq didn't have cow meat in his fridge..were immaterial. The fear of losing caste, of losing your status in the pecking order of jaati, is more informed by how others and your fellow caste perceive you.

Perhaps it isn't realised how very crucial the performative part of casteism is. Be it the blind adherence to rituals, be it recording videos of beating/lynching and then circulating it on social media. You have to constantly perform and prove your status, lest it leaves a doubt.Just by mere association, real or perceived, to an 'impure' act/ person/ food/ practice can make you lose your status in the eyes of others. Hence the effort to outwardly denounce any such thing.

Especially more so for the non Brahmins, since they need to pass the ritual purity exam continuously. They aren't the defacto gods on earth, or arbiters of the caste order.

This is a nation of counter revolutions. You get a glimmer of social change followed by a barrage of counter revolts to maintain the caste order. It seems even the thought of upending the caste order becomes an existential question for India and its elites

All this a long winded way to ask how do you even begin to fight this monster ? Facts don't matter, centuries of time doesn't matter. What is an incentive bigger than a good rebirth?

Aranyer Din Ratri and the Colonizer gaze

Satyajit Ray's 1970 film Aranyer Din Ratri, while on the surface is a 'philosophical' thoughtful exercise on the relationship between man and nature and interplay of human interactions, but scratch the surface and it is a pretty offensive film, especially if you are a Santhali tribal or any working class man. 

A few bhodroloki brahmins in the films have 'epiphanies' and 'discover' their inner selves, all the while behaving quite horribly with every 'chhotolok' person.

And the director the great Satyajit Ray no less, perhaps enamoured by exotic western films where the white man turns his colonial gaze to 'study' other cultures while condemning them simultaneously...he does a better job than those racist film makers. 

For starters, a tribal woman is played by Simi Garewal in blackface. No kidding, in 1970. Then the way she is portrayed as amoral, sexually promiscuous, 'free' to drink and make merry for a dime - it all is reminiscent of early British notions about Indian women!

Then the matter of the chhotolok men - either totally subservient, to the point of being a prop in the larger drama of the brahmins getting life lessons (the chaukidar for example) or cruel and untrustworthy, eager to kill (like Lakha). Even when bribing the watchman, against his wishes, the hero quips 'thank god for corruption'. All the while, the chaukidar remains a pesky character, who keeps disturbing the protagonists' plans of attaining inner knowledge. It seems almost inconsequential, that the chhotolok seem to lack any agency in having their own epiphanies, their own discoveries.

And the bit about Lakha, violently attacking one of the protagonists in the end. Like it never happens, never have the tribals, the dalits, bahujans in this country rose up against the hegemony of brahmins, violently, a few exceptions aside. Never has India ever seen a violent social upheavel like in Communist Russia, China. One of the reasons for the same is, Indian state is permanently on alert against such organizing by the dalit bahujans and is ever eager to suppress even their mildest protests. 

The reason for my digression above, is the use of such films, literature in enabling the Indian state. Indian ideology is heavily dependent on such cultural products, which reproduce the fantasies of an eternal India of yore, one where the brahmins are the natural, liberated souls, while every one else serves as a threat or as a prop. You only have to look at Kashmir, to understand how the same colonizing gaze appears again and again in films, literature on Kashmir.

Every moment of the film reeks with an exploitative framing of a colonizer, inspecting its subjects. It made me very uneasy to watch it. The director asks us to be sympathetic to these bhodroloki men who are in a way, reflection of the primary audience of the film too. Hence, barely any commentary on this problematic framing in any of the reviews of the film.

The saving grace is Soumitra, looking all dapper and with his abundant natural charm and elegance which frankly doesn't belong here.

Curious case of Dharmaputra (1961) and Bollywood's brush with Hindoo nationalism

Perhaps the earliest depiction of RSS/Sangh in Bollywood is from 1961, in a film called 'DharmaPutra'. 

Shashi Kapoor plays the role of a proud Hindoo bigot, who seems like your average Hindutva warrior from 2020. 

https://youtu.be/LwHivJQCNXM

See for example from: 1:29:30

The films however, has no ambiguity in ridiculing him for his beliefs.

"Pehle Hindi Hindu Hindustan". His harking back to Hindu dharmshastras as ideal is rebuked by his own MOTHER!! She talks of Sati, Child marriage and asks him to remove his bigoted lens!

Still Shashi is somewhat ideal Sanghi, he actively hates westerners too, unlike today's sanghis who fantasize about west adulation.

From 2:02:04 Shashi talks of genocide of muslims. Talks of Akhand Bharat, forced conversions, temple destruction..how consistent Sangh's talking points have been!!

But the important thing is, he is countered actively by his friends. He is shown as a lunatic...never normalized

2:06:06 He actively participates in a riot with an interesting call...'Naara e Bajrangbali'. Almost always curious to see how much modern Hindooism derives from Organized religions...even while admonishing them.

2:08:00 he talks of Hindoo culture being defiled by muslim patient, but again is rebuked badly by his own FATHER!! He admonishes him for his communal views.

2:10:11 "Akhand bharat ki saugandh khata hoon" with raising the slogan 'Naara e bajrangbali' and 'har har mahadev'

Have to say this is an effective rebuttal of Sangh's call for religion. The parents call Shashi 'adharmi' and say they will kill him if he keeps to his bigoted way. This is like the cinematic version of Nehruvian imaginary Indian i guess.

Product of its time too. And the director is none other than Yash Chopra! Yes the same guy who made all those escapist romances later on.

Apparently, people rioted in some theatres and the movie was a flop. Which prompted Yash Chopra to never make a political film again! (According to Wikipedia). No wonder!

For what its worth, the film ends with the state police coming in to separate the warring religious groups. And Rajendra kumar speech about india being for all.. while fusing into actual footage of Nehru. So deference for the state/union government was always the norm, regardless of the issue. Oh well.

All in all a surely oddball and curious bit of time capsule.

गर बाज़ी इश्क़ की बाज़ी है, जो चाहे लगा दो डर कैसा

कब याद में तेरा साथ नही, कब हाथ में तेरा हाथ नही 

सद शुक्र के अपनी रातों में, अब हिज्र की कोई रात न

मुश्किल है अगर हालात वहां, दिल बेच आयें जां दे आयें 

दिल वालो कूचा-ऎ-जानां, क्या एसे भी हालात नही

जिस धज से कोई मकतल में गया वो शान सलामत रहती है
ये जान तो आनी जानी है, इस जां की तो कोई बात नही

मैदान-ए-वफ़ा दरबार नही, यां नाम-ओ-नसब की पूछ कहां
आशिक़ तो किसी का नाम नही, कुछ इश्क़ किसी कि जात नही

गर बाज़ी इश्क़ की बाज़ी है, जो चाहे लगा दो डर कैसा
गर जीत गये तो क्या कहना हारे भी तो बाज़ी मात नही

Gorgeousness that inflicts pain

Breathtakingly gorgeous. It is really difficult to express just how excruciatingly beautiful she is! I lose my speech when she flicks her hair, when she giggles or even hints a smile... and oh that glorious smile, entire paens could be written just on that. ? Every little gesture, every shy nod of the head, every whispered word, every arrangement of her aanchal is so completely stunning that it becomes painful. You cannot help but most hopelessly fall in love with her.

How could one be so beautiful? Is that face even real ? It was not so pleasant to watch her in earlier films, even a bit disturbing, since she looked a child, barely into here teens (she was 14 when her first film as an adult star released ). But as the years went by, oh my, what a gobsmackingly beautiful lady she became! The transformation is quite amazing, and needs to be seen to be believed...from the barely recognizable teenager of Neel Kamal to the heart pounding lady of Barsaat ki Raat! I can only imagine how many men, women developed complexes upon setting their eyes upon her. The men would definitely have lost their minds, never able to recover from the daze of her beauty and unable to appreciate any other girl they encounter, for she would always fall well short. And one can only imagine the insecurities that would have bred in women folk, upon seeing her perfect face! So actually, if you look at the larger picture, such extreme beauty shouldn't exist in the real world, it should not happen for it causes more harm than anything else...oh the heartburns, the disappointments! Apart from the face, the squinting eyes, the fulsome, rose like cheeks, the pearly teeth, the braids on her locks, the slenderness of her neck and shoulder, the attractive lips, alight with a crooked smile, apart from all of that...the other stunning things about her were...her voice. Oh that hint of mischief in the inflexions, the mesmerizing timbre of her speech...ohh I get goose bumps just listening to her.

But the sad part is, I know my life is doomed, it will probably only face disappointments now, there would never be any solace, for nothing could come even remotely close to her in beauty, in pure spell-binding gorgeousness. I will endlessly compare everything to her and endlessly feel sad when it doesn't measure up. Probably it was better if I hadn't set my eyes on her ever; probably I would have been happier that way, at least satisfied. That is why I say, her beauty is searingly painful, in the long term.

It only leads to perpetual heartbreaks and disappointments, with there being no hope of getting what you desire. 

The haunting melancholy of Meena Kumari

Verse after verse, in every breath, she breathes sadness. Raw and unflinching sadness. Melancholy so haunting, it can move mountains.

ज़िन्दगी में अगर तमाम तमन्ना पूरी हो जाये तो वो ज़िन्दगी ही क्या हुई, अलादीन का चिराग़ हो गया |
ज़िन्दगी तो बोझिल बोझिल साँसों का गुच्छा है, ऐसी ऐसी गिरहें लगी रहती हैं, कि न नाख़ून से खुले न दांतों से.....

Or these lines from her own recital...her own words and voice! And what a voice at that! Every strain, screams of scorching pain and suffering

~ 

हंस हंस के जवाँ दिल के हम क्यूँ न चुनें टुकड़े ? हर शख़्स की क़िस्मत में ईनाम होता 

~ 

जब चाहा दिल समझें हंसने की आवाज़ सुनी | जैसे कोई कहता हो, ले फिर तुझको मात मिली 

टुकड़े टुकड़े दिन बीता धज्जी धज्जी रात मिली, जिसका जितना आँचल था उतनी ही सौग़ात मिली  

~ 

मातें कैसी घातें क्या चलते रहना आठ पहर, दिल सा साथी जब पाया बेचैनी भी साथ मिली 

~ 

An endless stream of all pervading, all encompassing melancholy that wraps your whole existence, engulfs and consumes you along the way!

~

ज़िन्दगी क्या इसी को कहते हैं, जिस्म तनहा है और जान तनहा 

चाँद तनहा है आसमां तनहा, दिल मिला है कहाँ तनहा तनहा 

~ 

राह देखा करेगा सदियों तक, छोड़ जायेंगे ये जहां तनहा....छोड़ जायेंगे ये जहां तनहा 

~    

And finally this fine summary of her own character...in her own voice

अक्सर मैंने अपने आप  को बहुत घुटा घुटा पाया है, और या तो बिलकुल बाग़ी.....

~

ग़ज़ल का साज़ उठाओ, बड़ी उदास है रात...

/ Strains of melancholia by Jigar Muradabadi, Vinod Sehgal /

तबीयत इन दिनों बेगाना-ए-ग़म होती जाती है

मेरे हिस्से की गोया हर ख़ुशी कम होती जाती है

क़यामत क्या ये ऐ हुस्न-ए-दो-आलम होती जाती है

कि महफ़िल तो वही है दिल-कशी कम होती जाती है

वही हैं शाहिद ओ साक़ी मगर दिल बुझता जाता है

वही है शम्अ लेकिन रौशनी कम होती जाती है

वही मय-खाना ओ सहबा वही साग़र वही शीशा

मगर आवाज़-ए-नोशा-नोश मद्धम होती जाती है

वही है ज़िन्दगी लेकिन 'जिगर' ये हाल है अपना

कि जैसे ज़िन्दगी से ज़िन्दगी कम होती जाती है

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*हुस्न-ए-दो-आलम : beauty of both worlds | *सहबा : wine

*शाहिद ओ साक़ी : wine bearer | *साग़र : goblet

*आवाज़-ए-नोशा-नोश मद्धम : cheers/ toast

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[ From the album Kahkashaan ]

The elusive singer Vinod Sehgal at his absolute best, in this deeply moving meditation on melancholia, depression and everything else. Almost an automatic choice for me, whenever I feel down, feeling hopeless with the world and its inability to be even a tad just, equitable for everyone.

Have listened very little of Vinod Sehgal, but the manner in which he expresses "'Qayamat kya ai-husn-e-do-aalam hoti jaati hai ?..." Uff!!

By the way, the title is a misra by Firaq Girakhpuri.