अस्पताल

by Prateeksha Pandey

~

सफ़ेद दीवारों और हरे पर्दों के बीच
बिस्तरों
कुर्सियों
व्हीलचेयरों
पर पड़े
अलग अलग वज़न के
मांस के लोथड़े—
कुछ कराहते
कुछ बेचैन
कुछ उम्मीद की बोतल चढ़वाते हुए
अपने कष्ट को दूसरों से कमतर आँकते.

फिर भी खिलखिला के हँस सकती हैं
सफ़ेद कोटों में घूम रहीं
जादूगरनियाँ
मानो कह रही हों
“इतने से दर्द से ही डर गए?”

इसी इमारत के अन्दर
पैदा होते और दम तोड़ते हैं
अमीरी और गरीबी
अगल बगल के कमरों में
और कभी
कभी फेंक जाता है बाप
अपनी चौथी बेटी को मरीज़ बनाकर
उसे कभी वापस न ले जाने के लिए

~

image source: The Times (June 20, 2012)

The Long Arm of the Right!

by Rahul Sen

~

Once Aamir Khan’s supposedly ‘obscene’ pic went viral on Facebook and soon after a case was slapped against him, reactions poured in from either fronts –from those who clearly stood against this moral fanaticism and arbitrary censorship and those self-proclaimed vanguards of Indian morality, culture and tradition who masquerade as do-gooders set out to maintain the sanctity of the Indian ‘nation’ state. Ironically, despite a strong right-wing government at the centre, this time the objection was not raised by the rabid right-wingers but a Kanpur based advocate named Manoj Kumar who felt that the poster might adversely affect “children and the elderly” and has hurt his sentiments.

While the virtual space witnessed a deluge of comments and debates regarding this censoring act, a supposedly ‘feminist’ friend of mine put up a status, venting his anger against the apparent ‘commodification’ of the male body for capitalistic ends. Part of it reads as follows, “if a director is smart enough then he/she can induce our curiosity by promoting some other thoughtful images or symbols instead of using a ‘body’as a sellable object”. The commodification discourse is not an unfamiliar arena within the feminist study circle and has been rendered problematic by subsequent theorists through the injunction of the ‘agency’ factor. Feminists who champion the objectification discourse to oppose the projection of sexualized images of the female/male body, find themselves aligned with the right-wing, rabid fanatics who think the ‘indecent’ and ‘erotic’ images and representations would tear down the moral fabric of the society. Uncomfortably, therefore, their claims, demands and politics turn out to be quite identical.

This particular friend of mine had an almost monologous argument with me where he repeatedly harped upon the idea that using the body as a ‘sex object’ would prove detrimental for the society. Apparently, he was all up for banning and censoring projection of women as sex objects but never raised the issue of projecting them as service objects in popular serials and soaps. For such feminists, commodification comes across as unproblematic where the supposed exchange or transaction between two parties or agents (as per the Marxian idea) is obscured; one party is shunted into silenced, dehumanized and his/her agency is stripped of.

*****

Even before the Aamir Khan controversy had sprung up, ‘Hate Story 2’ released its music album featuring Sunny Leone in one of its tracks. ‘Pink Lips’ instantly became a hit among people across age and class, although, it generated great discomfort among a particular section for its obvious association with Sunny Leone. The ‘porn start turned actress’ (as she is commonly referred to in the mainstream media) is known to foster jittery feelings among conservatives and also ‘liberals’ who are discomfited only by her pornographic career. Sunny Leone no longer remains an actress but a phenomenon, a symbol for a culture that valorizes and romanticizes sexual violence but impedes female sexual agency and desire.

Another friend of mine who takes great interest in ‘feminism’ and ‘gender studies’ mentioned her annoyance at this song for she felt, that, the song objectifies women and is terribly misogynist! What most of these upcoming ‘feminists’ fail to recognize, in matters pertaining to sex work, pornography, or the so called ‘selling’ of the body, is the question of agency and autonomy of the self! Instead of the popular perception of seeing them as ‘victims’ of patriarchy, they can conversely be seen as ‘agents’ who are fully capable to exercise their critical abilities and take decisions on matters pertaining to sexuality amongst others.

Coming to the particular song, I find it extremely powerful and potent in terms of the exertion of female agency, autonomy, will and volition in matters pertaining to sexuality and desire. Instead of those numerous Bollywood numbers that prey upon female sexuality and writers who think through their phallus; this song ruptures the distribution of the sensible order by bringing into attention, the female genitalia. Pink Lips also stands for the labia and can be said to have an auto-erotic impulse; a discard of the heteronorm altogether. In When Our Lips Speak Together, LuceIrigaray torches the movement away from the hetero-norm to the auto-norm. She says, “If I say again and again: not, nor, without. . . , it’s to remind you, to remind us, that we can touch each other only when naked. And that to find ourselves and each other, we have a great deal to take off. So many images and appearances separate us, one from another. They decked us out according to their desires for so long, and we adorned ourselves so often to please them, that we forgot the feel of our skin.” The song goes a step further in its documentation of female desire – from self to other. Far from being a victim of misogynist trap, it turns out to be an agent of championing female desire.

*****

Although both the representations generated visible discomfort among the masses arising out of an intense erotophobia, there are striking differences between the reception of both. While the nude image of Aamir Khan could not be accommodated within the hetropatriarchal male gaze of the spectators, the ‘Pink Lips’ song showcased a fraught relation between patriarchy and female sexuality. While there is an intense zeal to thwart female sexual agency yet there is a hunger for consumption of that sexual proliferation; a desire mixed with hatred and attraction.

The reason why I coalesced these two incidents is because I found the responses to them extremely significant. Both persons, apparently ‘feminists’ called for a ban or censorship on images that they deem derogatory to the dignity of wo/men. All in all, their claims are not different from those right-wingers who choose to ban images and arts for ethical purposes. These are the right times. Right has the nation turned not only in terms of governmentality, electoral and vote bank shielding, but also in terms of popular ideology, aesthetics and politics. The upcoming brand of ‘feminism’ too reeks of a strong right-wing mindsetwith Modi as the ‘first feminist’. The Right has, therefore, become a phenomenon whose ideology is perpetuated not only by parties that ascribe to Hindutva principles but also individuals and selves who claim to be morally upright, pristine and vigilant. The Right’s victory certainly goes much beyond those 336 seats; into the crevices of the human psyche that determine the way of life, for the self and the Other. Feminism, too, hasn’t escaped from their encroachment; the mounting erotophobia can be combated through such songs, images and arts that puncture the distributive sensible order and mark a moment of dissensus in such Right times.

~

Image source: http://www.edenposhcouture.com/s/cc_images/cache_4010348.jpg?t=1401729983

Is the Left Not Right Enough?

by Tarini Tandon

~

One question that I have been asked since even before I can remember is “Since when are you a left-hander?” This question is laced with a variety of emotions- surprise, shock, astonishment. The fact that I’m a left-hander surprises people and this question surprises me because there’s actually no point to the question. A person who is left-handed is obviously so by birth, because parents actually won’t force their child to switch to the left hand if he/she is using their right hand to work. Though the reverse is often true. There are many instances where children are converted to a right-hander because they are born left-handed.

Michel Foucault’s argument on the dominant discourse highlights how power structures and the politics of tradition assert subversions of that which is not the norm. This authority invalidates everything that dissents and opposes the “normative” and forms the minority. This minority is demonised as it goes against those norms which are internalised to an extent where they become that ideology which people do not ever think of challenging.

The word ‘left’ has always had negative connotations. Left-handedness is commonly associated with everything bad, evil, malicious, unlucky, unclean and sinister, and is invalidated as a result. In fact, the word “sinister” means the left-hand side or the unlucky in Latin. This Foucauldian idea is observed in many traditions and cultures, including our own, which are always associated with the right, never with the left. The left-hand is perpetually considered unclean because it is used to clean your excreta. As a result, performing puja with the left-hand is considered impious as is giving money from the left-hand. Public transport drivers often refuse to take money from the left-hand of a passenger if it is their first earning of the day thinking it to be inauspicious. Because the majority of people are right-handers, the sinistrality associated with left-handedness has now become a tradition which is strongly ingrained within each culture.

In a predominantly right-handed world, people who are left-handed have to face a lot of inconveniences. The culture that marginalises the left-handed can be observed in every object of daily use- for example a pair of scissors, a knife, a nail-cutter, a pen, and even the door handle- is designed in a way so as to cater to the right-handed person. The necessity of using these objects is similar for each one of us but the comfort with which we use them differs vastly from a right-handed to a left-handed person.

Classrooms can also be a constant source of frustration for a left-hander. Sit next to a right-hander and very often we’d be the reason of discomfort our partner would face. Chairs having an attached desk will always have the desk on the right side and never on the left side, because, after all, who’s going to keep count of the left-handers and provide chairs and desks that would be comfortable for them. Spiral notebooks and binders can also prove to be exasperating because they are built essentially for the use of the right-hander.

Children who are deliberately and forcefully made to switch to using their right-hand are generally left in the lurch as they no longer remain sure of what to do. The strength that naturally comes to people is often found lacking in such children. Paul Tabori in his book ‘The Book of the Hand’ says- “Children do not understand the difference between left or right until they are about 6 years old. However, a baby at its seventh month of life begins to favour one or the other hand. Until that age they are bimanual… There are no perfectly “ambidextrous” people in the world. No matter what they may claim, they always have a bias for one hand or the other”.

Forcing something upon them which goes against the grain of their nature will always lead to negative consequences. Not only should a left-handed child not be forced into using his/her right-hand, the right-handers have to be taught to not distinguish left-handers as “different”.

The left-handers are not different from the right-handers in any sense other than their preference for naturally using their left-hand as opposed to the general and dominant right. The handedness of a person is in no way indicative of the way one behaves or reacts to things and circumstances. In fact, left-handers are made to adapt in a world which is predominantly right-handed, and where every facility available is created in a way such as to ease the workings of a right-hander.

The hegemony created by the dominant right-handers is not only internalised by right-handers themselves, but also by the left-handed people. We are so attuned to power politics, consciously and unconsciously, that despite the discomfort we face in simple day-to-day tasks, we adhere to norms set by those in positions of authority and which everyone is expected to obey and follow.

~

Image source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/photo/39959997.cms

চাহ|Tea

by Tina Das

~

লাইন হোটেলৰ ছুলাই মদ,বেশ্যা;

আন্ধাৰ জুপুৰীৰ পাকঘৰত খালী চৌকা আৰু নাঙঠ শিশু ;

প্ৰচন্দ লোকাক্ৰোশত ভষ্ম হোৱা বাগাণৰ মেনেজাৰ,

আৰু গোন্ধোৱা,পোৰা মঙহ ভক্ষন কৰা মানুহবোৰ-

সেঊজীয়া দলিছাৰ দৰে চাহ বাগানৰ কৰ্মী ।

হয়,ফেনৰ তলত বহী একাপ চাহত চুমুক দি

টি.ভি চাই “ইছ-আছ” কৰিছে ৰাইজে ।

“মানুহবোৰ পশু” বুলি মুখত ভৰাইছে গৰম ছিঙৰা,

একাপ চাহৰ পিছৰ কাহিনী ,

গৰম ধোৱাত বিলীন হৈ পৰিছে । 

~

Translation-

The cheap alcohol and prostitutes of line hotels,

The cold kitchen hearth and naked children of dark huts,

The tea garden manager,

Who was a victim of intense public anger,

And the people who devoured His burnt flesh-

All are employees of the green carpet like tea garden.

Yes, people are sitting under the fan,

Tasting a cup of tea, and watching T.V.,

Murmuring in distaste.

“Men are animals” they declare with a mouth full

Of samosa, and the tale behind a cup of tea,

Is lost in its warm vapours.

 ~

Image source: http://cmsimg.thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=A8&Date=20140124&Category=LIFESTYLE&ArtNo=301240031&Ref=AR&Border=0

 

Tobe keno shara daona | তবে কেন সাড়া দাও না

by Disha Roy Choudhury

~

Click on the following link to play the song:

https://soundcloud.com/bricolage0987/vn-20140801-wa000

An address to the unresponsive lover conveyed through the lyrics of Dilip De, composed beautifully by the eminent composer Goutam Ghosal and sung by Disha Roy Choudhury, the rendering ‘Tobe keno shara daona’ is Disha’s first solo Bengali song release from Cozmik Harmony in an assorted Bengali album ‘Phire Paowa Haowa’. It is an attempt to revisit and recreate the charm of Bengali music of the golden era and yet retain a certain kind of freshness and originality.