NGMA

When you look at these paintings and photographs, unlike in movies where the characters may be a figment of someone’s imagination, here they actually existed. They were there at that point of time, at that very place, they were part of the natural “landscape”.  And now, they are immortalized through these paintings and photographs. It always fills me up when I see these old photographs and paintings. While so much may have changed in the world externally, in a way everything has still remained the same. The sky is still here and just as beautiful, the trees dance with as much grace to the wind, the people have as much depth in their expression and water is just as soothing now as it seemed then. How important art it. To know, that back then this was the life, and there were these people who believed in these things and they are conveying that through their art and their paintings. I do not get art entirely to be honest, I cannot decipher what each brush stroke is a manifestation of, but I can feel that it is the manifestation of something. That little paint spot is on the canvas because the artist wanted it to be there, it was deliberately placed there by the artist to convey something that is on his mind. A spot, a mere spot, is an instrument of expression.

Take a large room with a high-rise ceiling, bare walls, devoid of any furniture and any other object. A truly empty room. Hang on the wall a tiny painting and the room is now so full.

Although I have visited National Gallery of Modern Art in Bangalore many a times before, my presence was restricted to its tiny café where I have sat reading my books and studying at times. So content was I in the setting that I never thought of venturing inside the gallery itself. Little did I know that I would fall so much in love with the gallery. And this love is not just on the account of the beautiful paintings housed inside, but also because of the gallery itself. In fact for me, who is frankly not much of an art connoisseur, it is more because of the gallery. Its windows to be precise. Its an old mansion belonging to a prince that has now been converted to the gallery and every minute I was inside it I envied the people who had the luxury of living in it at one point. The envy increased progressively as I explored more of the place. I can’t get my mind off those windows. Those beautiful, lovely large windows with white frames, white sills, and devoid of any grilles. Outside, all you can see are the trees, age-old huge luscious, beautiful tress of all shades of green, and the accompanying birdies. It’s a sight I could get used to. The whole atmosphere sets the mood for these paintings, and even the uninitiated can feel the somber atmosphere and the beauty of it.

Our responsibility to freedom of speech

There has been a lot of debate over free speech and freedom of expression lately. The most recent one stemming from the Knockout Roast hosted by All India Backchod (AIB), a Youtube comedy channel known for its many hilarious videos, some of them obscenely offensive. Now what happens in Roast comedy is that your jokes are centered on humiliating the other person in all possible contexts, ranging from his choice, sexuality, looks, girlfriend, family, anything at all pertaining to the person. The more sacrilegious the insult, the louder people laugh. Now this roast, where the roasting happened of two popular male actors, was funny in parts, hilarious in others, extremely sexists and racists on other lines. Again, as in the case of recent movies and songs, everything is centered on sex and obscene gestures. There has emerged this trend, where showing obscene gestures to convey that you don’t care have become a fad, and everyone seems to be following it.

Coming back to the roast, naturally many people raised a furore claiming it hurt their personal, religious, racial sentiments and clamoured for it to be taken down. While relentless initially, the channel had to eventually take down the video. There were litigations filed against them. This prompted a few other Youtube channels comprising of comedians to release another video urging people to raise their voice and voice their opinions lest the freedom of expression be taken away from us altogether. And that internet is the most free form of media and heaven forbid that it too be regulated over in due course of time. That it is a fair media, and allows you to voice your opinion so rather than forcing someone to take down something they’ve created and hinder a person’s creativity by placing hurdles around them, voice your opinion if you are against it without resorting to violence.

Internet is a comparatively fair media, everyone gets a chance here. Everyone is subject to ridicule and appreciation. The question however is again about free speech. Like someone said, your right to swing your fist ends where my nose begins. It is a question of responsibility, of how responsible you are as a person. If you are sane enough to know that in the process of utilizing your right to freedom of speech, thought and expression, are you interfering with another person’s right to live in peace?

Take for instance, the case of this video. As I have earlier pointed out, it was in parts funny, sometimes hilarious even, but at other times it was obscene. Being centered on sex is not a point in case by itself, it is the way that that is portrayed that is obscene. For instance, at one point one of the actors says that they are both infinitely better than the others who have been ridiculing them simply because they can have sex with whoever they want. As if having sex with every other person, or being in the position to be able to do so, is the motto of life. One other person in the panel was continuously ridiculed for how dark he was, another for his sexual preferences, one guy for his cultural background.

Another point is that they may have said it in good sport, and don’t really mean it in a derogatory way. Which may even be true. The problem is that they are in one way or another, propagating the way a person should be, how a girl should be hot, good-looking, else they can be subject to ridicule. The argument that it is the audience’s prerogative to take whatever they want from the video, and if they object to their content then do not watch their videos, or speak out against their ideologies also holds good. The problem is that Indian audience is not mature enough to do that. There are people who take for face value what is being said and then propagate these ideas which are really derogatory. So it essentially isn’t their fault, they are doing this in good spirit, while our Indian audience isn’t mature enough to take it for what it is, and after all, internet being a free medium, everybody has an access to it, even children. But being what you are right now, and having the kind of reach that you posses, it also your responsibility to moderate your content, especially considering the atrocities happening against women already. You can keep talking about your freedom of speech, but what about your responsibility to that same freedom of speech? I am a great fan of your work, and I enjoyed in parts your roast comedy, but you should tone it down for the sake of your own responsibility.

06-02-2015

India won the match against Pakistan, and the whole country erupted in celebrations. That is all you could see the news channels relaying throughout the day. People dancing, celebrating, dissing Pakistan, glorifying Indian cricketers. In fact, the match ended around afternoon in India, and the celebrations are still on at night. People dancing, shouting slogans, beating drums in the middle of the road.

Bull shit.

Look at the things that have begun to matter to people. Even if you were to say it’s the joy of winning a match against an arch rival, many believe this victory to be more substantial than India even winning the World Cup. Nobody would even care if India will now win the world cup or not. That’s an amazing display of sportsmanship. Everyone is just so ecstatic on India winning match. No one saw celebrations on this scale when India’s Mars Orbiter Mission was launched. Here we are, doing something very few in the world have done, doing something substantial that will for real help make so many lives better,  here we have reached the elite club globally in terms of our brilliance, and nobody cares. No firecrackers for these please. Fire crackers are reserved for cricket victories that satisfy our shallow ego of having beaten a rival country. Why? Because we think that this loss will be a big hindrance for all of Pak’s strategy against India? They will continue and keep up their assault regardless. Isn’t that why we hate Pak in the first place? Because of the regional disputes and the wars? And here we are rejoicing over a cricket victory. And people in Pakistan going one step ahead and breaking their tv sets because Pak lost. What dumbheads! It just goes on to show how we have lost our focus!

Nobody focuses on important things anymore. Nobody focuses on things that are actually driving our lives.