White House?

White House ?

Yet another day, yet another valuable immigrant life lost in America – the ‘promised land’ for many Indian aspirants, which very much qualifies to be called Trump Land now. The smiling, apparently peace loving face of Srinivas Kuchibhotia kept coming back to me long after he was killed in a night club by an ex US Navy serviceman. As the media in the US and elsewhere described; Adam Purinton just asked about Srinivas and his friend Alok Madasani, who was present and got injured too -- about their visa status and how they could possibly were better than himself for American jobs. They did not respond to Purinton, which made him lose his temper and shot at Srinivas shouting “get out of my country”! Another American dream of a young married couple of just five years got turned into a nightmare of the ultimate kind.

This incident, though many white Americans including White House spokesman Sean Spicer is trying to dispel as isolated case and not related in any way to the radical anti immigrant policy of the new president, it strongly reverberates the question at the so called greatness of America itself, which Mr. Trump had resolved to bring back during his electioneering rhetoric. If this is the kind of ‘economic cleansing’ which Mr. President might like to use as a better terminology, much of which so far sounded like ‘ethnic cleansing’ anyway;  If this is believed to be the face of such greatness, then God save America!

While the world has evolved since the dark slavery days fought against by great Lincoln, that we are now talking of making human colonies in the outer space; if such is the state of affairs it is of no doubt what greatness would Americans carry into those colonies. I seriously suspect -- now more so than ever -- if American greatness as we had been fed by Hollywood since our kindergarten days does really exist? Equal rights, equal opportunities and a classless civic society were the only images we had grown up with; looking at America as the ultimate dream world just like how Disneyland gets perceived by an Indian kid in preparatory school.

With increase in cases of black killings by white policemen in recent times, uncovers the ever hooded myth of “equality” and only confirms presence of many a shades of greys between the black and the white. When I listen to my favourite Jackson numbers now, these numbers only reconfirm the other perspective that has always been present in American reality. So much so, that I almost feel a compulsion to ask whether the White House now represents all other colours?

26/02/2017 

Lipstick Under My Burkha!

 Lipstick Under My Burkha !

My day started with a bluntly negative news in social media about banning a new movie Lipstick Under My Burkha (A head to heel ankle covering  generally black worn in black by Muslim women in the “Indian Subcontinent” and referred to by that name “Burkha”). Once again perhaps the Indian Censor Board tried to play safe, knowing very well that in a country where religious fanaticism is at the apex in all colours at these times, approving such a film (even though I am yet to get an opportunity to see the film) might just add fuel to some sections of society (let us not call them by the official term ‘minority’) who would get a chance to start a row – nay, another vox populi, the power of which the country is already foreboding in the current context.

To me, a creative matter should be seen with a creative mind. In the context of our nation, we are yet to learn the fine distinction between a creative compulsion of an artist (in any fiefdom) and a commercial tendency to make profit through exploiting communal weaknesses of people. This puts us in a disadvantage compared to people in other parts of the global community, where such categorizations do not exist. Even if it does, it is not blown out in the air to pollute every other media the way we do here. From that notion, in the Indian context, we are not yet ready to accept certain subjects for creative depiction such as nudity or for that matter a subject like sexual  fantasies inside an adult brain. There is evidence enough that some of the contemporary genre of Indian film makers and actors are able to collect accolades on such subjects outside the nation and are quite successful too in monetary terms. We cannot say that these creative social scientists are exploiting an ever intriguing subject since beginning of human civilization with an Indian spice (for instant ‘Parched’), but yes they are able to trigger a different interest on the otherwise prohibitive subject in our nation –with the ‘foreign’ film buffs.

Here we remain vigilant to the nation of a billion plus with multitudes of theories and applications in all media to brush everything in some distinct colour – not otherwise recognised outside our shores. As we go on satisfying these mass hysteria in all forms of it, we actually put a plug on our creative potential as a nation. Yes of course while opining this way the sitting heads with scissors in hand must be capable to distinguish between a ‘creative zeal’ and a ‘money making gimmick’ --- which currently sweeping even our small state Assam for some one who crossed borders of Assamese sensibilities with an obscured Bihu song. This must stop. 

The final take is that an outright ban on “Lipstick Under My Burkha” is perhaps not a well conceived judgment.

12:10 AM     25/02/2017.