Apologia Pro Vita Sari

                                                                  Apologia Pro Vita Sari*

*(The title is a take-off from Cardinal Newman’s Apologia pro Vita Sua which when translated reads “Defense of one's life: a written justification for one's beliefs or course of conduct)                                          

The news report about IIM (Ahmedabad) female graduates opting to appear in sari for the placement interviews made interesting read. For the first time, IIM(A) had given the nod for the recognition of sari as a formal wear for business interviews. This is a refreshing change from the unwomanly business suits that our fair sex executives have been sporting for their corporate offices. Just as Newman wrote his great book to justify his beliefs, this piece is intended to justify the worth of sari in today’s world.

 The word sari is a corrupt form of Sati from Sanskrit and Prakrit meaning a strip of cloth. It had an early mention in the Jatakas, the Buddhist Jain literature to describe women’s attire in ancient India. The sari developed as a graceful garment in both South and North India at around the same time, and is now regarded as an epitome of Indian culture. The sari stands as a symbol of grace that adequately covers women while displaying the curves at the right places.

But in the last few decades, more so after the economic liberalization of the 1990s, sari has yielded its place to western attire in the Indian corporate world. In fact, the idea of Indian woman outside home and in a workplace is primarily due to the western influence.  Female education and employment began in the 19^th century during the British regime. Post Independence, women’s education and employment have expanded and a section of Indian women--the elite and the upper middle class-- have moved forward considerably. Thanks to the exposure to global network, more women are engaged in business enterprises and have greater career opportunities both in the private and public sectors. More and more women have taken to the western attire citing convenience at the place of work (no one wonders how sari does not hinder work in the kitchen). Today apart from women executives, those engaged in front offices in the corporate sector and those engaged as personal secretaries to corporate honchos have gone for a complete makeover with the poor sari relegated to home wear  by maids and stay home women. It is a sad commentary on the mindset of corporate and business industry as they insist on a dress code modelled on western outfits.

I am not critical of all that is western. In fact Western literature, music and theatre have been my intellectual and emotional companions. But when it comes to dress, I hold sari as a supreme and fascinating invention of human creativity. I am not a conservative prude who wants our women to go behind the gunghat. But I am certainly an aficionado of tasteful dressing that combines aesthetics with feminine grace. The Kiss principle (keep it simple and sophisticated) of design   seems to have ignored the elegance of sari in the workplace as it is applied only to business suits, skirts and blouses.

Shakespeare said :  ‘Apparel oft proclaims the Man’.  It is true of the woman as well.  But modern woman is more tuned to another Shakespearean aphorism that says: ‘Every time a woman leaves off something she looks better, but every time a man leaves off something he looks worse.’ Hence she has chosen to leave off sari that drapes her fully with the possible exception of the midriff that is covered by the elegant blouse making everyone trying to imagine ‘choli ke peechay kya hai’. But the skirts – most of them mini or midi –do not leave anything for imagination and curiosity.  It was Anatole France who said that ‘to imagine is everything, to know is nothing at all’.  And as imagination attempts to capture things unknown, sari gives to women an individuality and a mystery that is unique and distinguished.
The western attire looks best on women who have the perfect figure with the right degree of slimness and height, preferably size zero. But sari is a dress for all size and figures.  It is long enough to cover the subject and short enough to provoke interest. It reveals the curves as much as it conceals them. Unlike the business suits that tend to be stiff and linear, sari with its free fall makes it flexile and curving that enhances feminine grace. It is also a dress for all seasons.  During winter it gives the protective warmth; in summer it protects the skin from the scorching heat.

But more than anything, it stands to reason for women to have their own unique identity by having a dress of their own without shining in borrowed male attire.  Let Indian women return to Sari with its exclusivity, glamour, charm and grace to make a style statement.  With its unique draping style, sari transforms a woman into a diva- ‘feminine, classic and confident’.

Parliament is dead; long live the Parliament.

                                                 Parliament is dead; long live the Parliament.

I am not a celebrity, nor am I one of the Mango people deprived of the basic comforts essential to lead a decent life.  I am a middle class educated professional with no special claims to be heard or be written about. But what I say below is an echo of many others like me- and in that respect I am one of the Common Man (aam-admi) even if I do not fully subscribe to the order of Mango people.

I am sad- no, that is not correct as that would mean I am beyond consolation.

I am depressed- no, that is also not correct as that would mean I am vanquished beyond hope of recovery

I am angry- no - that is not correct as that would mean some degree of affinity with the person I am angry with and I have no affinity with anyone to be cross with.

No, the truth is I am simply frightened, shattered and paralyzed witnessing our rapid descent towards anarchy. There is nothing to hold us back as we have lost respect for our secular Bible- the Constitution of India. For 65 years the Constitution was a bulwark against anti-democratic forces. Thanks to the Constitution framed by legal luminaries, we did not go  the Chinese way opting for a single party rule nor for the military dictatorship of Pakistan( though even today their parliamentary governance is handmaiden to the Army) nor the Presidential form of democracy of USA, but followed the Westminster form of Parliamentary democracy. We had enjoyed for six decades after independence a reasonably good democracy that was built upon the Constitution to establish the structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions, and to set out fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens. Freedom of speech was one of the rights it bestowed on the people of India. For almost six and a half decades, our democracy had been sustained by our veneration of the Constitution as the Supreme Law of India. Parliament, judiciary, Legislative Assembly and all institutions set up by the Act of Parliament held the country together that bestowed individual freedom on its people to vote in and vote out members of Parliament every five years.  We accepted the Acts legislated by the Parliament, we respected the institutions mainly the judiciary, we resolved our differences within the laws framed by the Constitution and we governed ourselves as a democratic nation.

Today all these sacred institutions have become suspect. Corruption has become stubbornly endemic and pervasive among all sections of our society. Nothing gets done without the exchange of pelf. Corruption has become a way of life. Those who do not accept or offer bribes were regarded as aliens from an archaic past. (I recall one of the political members on our college Governing Body( today the lady is top among the  upper echelons of her party)  speaking disparagingly about my refusal to do the party’s bidding in appointments and admissions saying ‘that she will neither eat nor will allow others to eat’. This was stated in her trademark impeccable Hindi.)  

Corruption is not uniquely an Indian phenomenon.  It is in most parts of the world including the developed countries in the West,  but the difference is in the West corruption does not meet with social approval.  Meghnad Desai says, corruption is as Indian as daal-chawal because everyone specially from  the middle class at some point of time has been guilty of giving –if not accepting bribe –to get things done. Henc e it is ironic that these very same people are lending support to the crusade against corruption. The result is corruption has become a potent tool to settle scores with one’s adversaries. This is the most pernicious form of corruption- corruption of the moral fibre of the nation. 

India against corruption started off well under Anna Hazare to pitchfork corruption centrestage. But Anna has found to his dismay that many of those who joined him at Jantar Mantar had many a times compromised on moral principles. The hysterical shout against corruption was a strategic means to deflect attention from their own personal questionable dealings.  When Arvind hijacked Anna ‘s revolution and arrived on stage, Anna withdrew. The ABC of this movement Arvind, Bhushan and Sisodia(where’s’ is pronounced ‘c’ as in’sea’)have launched  a vitriolic attack on parliamentarians as part of a well calculated strategy to show to the world that everyone in India except they and their fledgling group is corrupt. They pronounced from the stage that they have evidence against 15 cabinet ministers and against any number of opposition leaders for their fraudulent dealings involving crores of money. It does not matter if it is 1880 crores (that  Namo, the Incomparable alleged about Mrs.G’s travel –cum-health expenses-though not by ABC) or a smaller sum of 71 lakhs that Salman Khurshid is alleged to have stashed away among equipment for the differently- abled people, the moot point is to make serious allegations so that they tarnish the reputation of all those the trio despises and put the onus on their ‘adversaries’ to prove their innocence. The draft reports surreptitiously accessed by the Media (by bribing the officials concerned) are shown as the final report to malign those named in the report. Having been an Income Tax officer, Arvind knows too well that the draft CAG report is always sent to the party in question for its replies and the final report is then made and signed and sent to the authorities concerned for further action, if needed.  Since the allegations are full of innuendoes and insinuations with or without substantive evidence, it is apparent that the motive  is to cast aspersions and malign his adversaries. ABC does not want to lodge a FIR against the corrupt Ministers and high fliers, for they do not trust the judiciary, do not trust the executive authority, do not trust the Government because everyone is corrupt. Only ABC alone is the truth bearer of this nation. ABC has set a dangerous precedent of making sweeping charges on quarter truths and three fourths lies.  Arvind may be right in his espousal ( time will tell), but such a free for all is fraught with danger as anyone can exercise his freedom of speech and his right to air charges from the street corners. The TV towers have turned towers of Babel where accusation and counter accusations spoken in high decibel drown everything in a  cacophony of  noise.

It has taken many years for our leaders who were in the forefront of the freedom struggle to build our constitution and democratic institutions but it has taken less than three weeks for the ABC to destroy them. The trio wants people’s courts on the streets and the media to conduct trial and pronounce judgements.  Can there be a better and swifter way to let loose anarchy?

ABC has fine tuned the art of fighting on the streets. The  ABC looks at parliament as a house  of thugs( and ironically he wants to get elected to its office) ,courts  full of self seekers, the bureaucracy swarming with dishonest officers ( though  he himself was a bureaucrat), all organizations  suspect and there is no one in this functioning democracy who can be trusted.  ABC wants to shape the nation’s policies by giving voice to the people and expects theirs to be the distilled voice of wisdom.  

Where does this leave Arvind and his fledgling political party? He wants to get elected to parliament which he holds in utter contempt today. Will he lead the country or will he allow people to rule from the streets as he has shown the way.  No institution can function if multiple voices are given the freedom to direct its activities. ABC seems to believe that  espousal of corruption is a magic wand that will solve all the ills of the country. Manna, honey  and milk will flow through the land and everyone will be assured of his/her share and Ram Rajya will  be once again brought back.  Since no constitutional body as it exists today is trust worthy, the people’s darbar will deliberate on all issues- home, defence, finance, food, foreign policies etc and govern the nation from the streets. The army will march not to the command of a general but to the direction of every Jawan who is a  part of the aam-admi. The Ministries will function to the policies enacted on the streets. Schools, colleges and universities will function according to what every individual  desires for his/her ward .We will showcase to the world a vibrant democracy that functions from its streets. I do not know what role ABC will play .Will they preside over the people in which case what happens to people’s power?  Will they seek their vote in which case they have to once again bring back all the constitutional bodies that had been vilified by them now.

 ABC believes in fomenting anarchy for utopia to follow. But the frightening question is can the country be rescued once anarchy sets in?

I am frightened to see Parliament brought to the streets. I am frightened for whom will ABC toll today, tomorrow, day after and day day after. I hope and pray ‘that it does not toll  for me’ for my blasphemous writing.

I am frightened to hear ABC’s obituaries on Parliament. Yes, I am frightened because no one dares to  say  “Parliament is dead ;  Long live our Parliament.”

An Ode to Kejrewall by Fellow Politicians

                                          An Ode to Kejrewall by Fellow Politicians

(with apologies to Gulzar's translation of  'Kajrare,Kajrare' from Bunty aur Babli

Kejrewall, Kejrewal'

Welcome to our muchmaigned tribe

 With such a vicious tongue do you paint us all, as scums of the earth, ,

That we politicians feel a knife through our reputation

                     We have lost our name, fame and status; now take your eyes off us,

O merciless slanderer!

After all, it's people of your own tribe you're destroying.

                                                            With your half lies and quarter truths

Kejrewall,Kejrewall

                                                             Your  kaale-kaale exposes about us

                                                             Are  kajra re naina for

                                                            u know and we know they are kale-kaale

                                                           black nothings, (kajra re nai-na)

                   Your allegations, innuendoes and insinuations spoken with venom,

                                                       speak our own language

                                    Your barbs leave a mark on the helpless mango people

                                                      When you speak you spit venom but  

                                                      betray the goal you seek after

                                                         

Your words have the fragrance of kimam, spiced and flavoured with hot masala

                                 You say, like we do that your heart

                                  bleeds for your countrymen

                                You are like anyone of us grinding our noses in muck

                                You are smarter than us as you put on the Gandhi cap

                                though  un- Gandhian like ,

                              Your words all times cross the limits and you destroy all decency.

But even while doing so, you cleverly keep your eyelids downcast,

                                 because you wish to see only the dirt

                               Slander us, slander us

We are so used to slandering others that it does not hurt when the slanderer

                                is also one of  our own tribe

We still remember meeting you in Jantar Mantar. The entire city greeted you

                    with  ‘I am Anna Cap’ as symbol of their love.

                    From Jantar Mantar to Ram Lila grounds to Ambedkar stadium, your rise is

                    Higher than Goliath.

                   There are no Davids in the horizon to fight you

                   In the name of IAC, you have taken away Anna’s crusade

                   To save Anna from fast unto death

                                     

                                                  Kejrewall, Kejrewall

                                    Politician, thy name is Kejrewall, Kejrewall

Bloodless Murder

    

                                                                Bloodless murder

After the killing of Duncan, Macbeth says:

          ‘Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand? ‘

An unhinged Lady Macbeth cries out:

           ‘Here’s the smell of the blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. ‘

These are famous lines uttered by a conscience stricken couple after the dastardly murder of King Duncan on the basis of aggrieved perception about the Law of Primogeniture that denied the crown to Macbeth despite his loyalty to his King. Shakespeare sees wisdom in the emptied out world of Macbeth, though this is negative wisdom.  In Macbeth, human will takes the place of God’s normative order that sets standards for truth and ethics. Shakespeare never set out to pronounce moral judgements.  Harold Bloom wrote: “Rather than discoursing on good and evil, Shakespeare is always more interested in why we cannot sustain our own freedom”.  The disorder Macbeth created in the world is symbolic of the disorder within his guilt-stricken soul that finally leads to restoration of order and harmony. But Shakespeare’s plays were never about bloodless murder. Even in Othello, Iago’s lies ended in a bloody murder that restored Desdemona’s reputation intact.

How is ‘murder’ played out in our contemporary political theatre?  Arvind Kejrewall with his skewed perception that every politician is corrupt, is conscience stricken to murder them all- but unlike Shakespeare, Kejrewall’s theatre is a theatre of bloodless murder. The stories are well crafted and masks veracity by creative lies, innuendoes and insinuations. Arvind attempts the kitchen sink school of drama made famous in the English post-war theater by John Osborne that gave voice to the working class and was a slap in the face of the gentility, characteristic of those times. Here our angry middle aged hero tries to give voice to the middleclass that had all along been in the forefront to offer and accept bribes in order to become a part of the genteel society. His script is simple- open the play with a ferocious attack on the tribe called politicians, extend it in Act II to cover all the politicians’ men and women, children and grandchildren, puppies and kittens, followed by Act III full of spinning and grandstanding with the clever use of quarter truths and three-fourths lies, climaxing with pronouncing all those he hates as guilty leaving the onus on them to prove their innocence. He cleverly brings the curtains down before the final Act that seeks restoration of order out of the mindless negativity (Dr.ManmohanSingh’s phrase) that had been unleashed on the political stage.

Arvind started as a back end boy when Anna Hazare came on stage donning the mantle of Gandhi. He was a part of the “I am Anna’ chorus till he began to believe that he was Anna. He recognized the need to be upfront and not remain a backroom boy and all he needed was a Gandhi cap to put on and take centrestage. He lost no time in showing to the audience that he is a politician with a difference because he had never been schooled in parliamentary democracy that believes in debate specially on scams. He opened a scumgate using the sensation-hungry media to expose politicians, their kith and kin without a shred of evidence. The media provided him the brush to paint everyone connected or remotely connected with politics as scum of India. Arvind is a consummate artist who knows that ‘a lie gets halfway around the world before truth has a chance to get its pants on’ to use Churchill’s truthful and factual remark.

Arvind has protested against hike in power and water tariffs. He has re-connected power in a poor labourer’s house who had totted up huge electricity bills for the fault of having three air-conditioners, washing machine etc. He is mindful of water scarcity and therefore unlike Macbeth he does not need all great Neptune’s ocean to wash the blood in his hands- as his murder is bloodless, only killing the reputation of all those he despises. He is indeed a Gandhian who does not need all the perfumes of Arabia to sweeten his hand that is bloodless. His is indeed a bloodless savagery-that gives us hope that he cannot paint the city red forever.