Who could ever forget those golden words of Tyler Durden, “You are not a unique snowflake; we are the all-singing all-dancing crap of the world.” The brilliant soap manufacturing modern revolutionary of Fight Club fame got it right in many ways… I wish I could leave it at that. OK, let me play genie and just leave it at that (for now). C.S. Lewis, in his essay Lilies that fester speaks with unabashed repugnance (quite rightly so) about culture-mongers who are so caught up in being “cultured” that there is no real acknowledgement of a Don Giovanni or the Orestaia but just some feigned rubbish worth less than nothing. Culture, in CSL’s England was the collective term for a whole set of “certain very valuable activities” like appreciating (or feigning to appreciate) literature or the arts. It was something, in a sense, attainable. But travel half way around the world and one realizes the multiplicity of the English language. “Culture” means something seemingly completely unrelated to its european counterpart. More than something that can be “attained”, culture appears to be the rules (or an appearance of the rules) by which the system operates. Culture, in this sense is something which is set, permanent and immutable, and everyone is expected to live their lives keeping the rules in mind. Any dissent from “culture” is viewed with scorn and suspicion. Students are beaten up, colleges are burnt and rallies carried out in the name of “culture”. Culture is more than a way of life, it is life. The Great Indian Culture-monger seems to paint a picture of the supposedly-lost 13th van Gogh sunflower painting which in the end, much to the joy of many sane people, turns out to be a stupidly edited hoax. It is this quality of the Culture-monger, both European and Indian alike that irks me the most – the “refined” feign. Or as CSL says, the “refaned” feign.
Much to my amazement however, the Indian culture-monger is archaic in outlook. Somehow, he/she hasn’t crossed the red sea of the caste-decides-status-decides-bank-balance school (what?? You learn stuff like this?) of thought. And surprisingly enough, this quality pervades the entire Indian species irrespective of what matters a great deal – religion. Yes dear reader, there’s an entire generation of Cultural Policy Committee Members (CPCMs) out there. In fact, “out there” is a phrase too out there. Let’s restrict ourselves to “in here”. It sounds more at home. Please don’t get me wrong, I do keep in mind that generalisations are just what they are – general. Exceptions, however (thank God for them!) are always there. Its been 180 years since Ram Mohan Roy’s Brahmo samaj – the Bengali social reform society, but go back another 1.8 millennia and the words of someone who changed the course of human history reverberates in the hearts, minds and spirits of people all over the world. The apostle John writes about how Nathanael – a devout “true Israelite” came to hear of a messiah – the One spoken of by the prophets. The way he reacts doesn’t seem very different from our own reactions of when we hear of someone new – the question of origin. The answer to “Where is he from?” in Nathanael’s case subsequentially begs the question – “Can anything good come from there?”. How many times I’ve sworn disgust to myself when a CPCM asks the self-defecating (and by “defecating” I don’t mean freeing oneself from impurity or corruption either) question “Oh! She’s from that caste?”. Damn the East India Company (theological implications notwithstanding) for equating “class” with “caste”. Donkeys could do better. Philip’s answer to Nathahanel’s question of origin is more than what it is. Its seemingly a repitition of Jesus' words when a similar question is posed to Him. The answer, in its simplicity, is an invitation to try something, something new, something bold, something that actually works! “Come and see.” – the answer easily transcends the physicality of it all. One B.R.Ambedkar, one K.R.Narayanan and scores of educationists, writers, scientists, doctors and engineers later, we, the redeemed, in the phenomenon of India find ourselves poised to answer that question. Will we answer the culture-monger, be they Christian, Hindu or Muslim correctly? And if we do, in the right atttude?
If children are a gift from God, then how is it that God shows favouritism? The real question of rhetoric is, Does He? If only Nathanael had realized the meaning of Psalm 127:3. If only Nathanael had realized that he was questioning not just the origin of the messiah, but the very meaning of his own name: a gift of God.
P.S.: Sorry Mr.Durden, you’ve just been caste out!
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