Thursday 19 April 2012

… Just another Dystopian Rant



I don’t know why this should even matter. I’m only good at ranting. And being a dystopian (which I proudly flaunt). I’m, the usual kind, only. Like every normal kid, I use the Delhi metro to go to certain places. Like every average girl in Delhi, I don’t go outside the house after a certain timeline. I have the right to be average (okay, “unique like everyone else”) in the same way the world is. Don’t even think if a word I say can influence someone. Perhaps this one rant,

It was quite an average day at school, and after school, I went to buy myself lunch. Someone from my locality must have seen me (I have no idea of this fact at all, to be honest, but people sometimes see me at placed I never go to, which is very awkward). So, at a gathering in our locality, that particular person told my mother, “I saw your daughter at this place,” he must have thought that my mother would be mad at me, and they’d have a nice show to see. To that gentleman’s surprise, my mother knew and even told him of who all accompanied me there. It was quite entertaining, really. Because, that’s (sadly) the mentality of most of the people living in this country.

Think about it, we send kids to school, where they are pounded up to be mechanical, killing their individuality, making them uniform. Those kids are forced to take up hobbies and CLASSES for hobbies. Really, it’s as if Pundit Birju Maharaj had to learn dancing when he was the one who introduced the different style, altogether. A kid in my society was gifted at drawing portraits, so her mother decided to send the darling to drawing classes. Yes, the pencil moves faster, but shadows what the teacher has inflicted. That original style of portraits has died.

Indians, usually do this, a lot to themselves. They wouldn’t mould anything in their own capacities, they’d rather compare and make their talent like someone else’s, and kill what was gifted to them. Imagine, Satyajit Ray denying the excellent novels of his for mere cosmopolitan books (a contemporary writing style which is fast gaining popularity), or Tagore giving up spiritual and nationalistic texts for the more popular social commentary.

In school, kids are taught only one thing that you have to know “what”. “How”, “why”, doesn’t matter. It’s not a part of your syllabus. Kids, you’re in school. That’s for college. Make your base. So called, “base”, allows them to pass high school, go college where they are insulted to be individuals, insulted for rot learning, left lost and dejected in the mere sea of facts to go find their own reason and logic and apply it to their exams (which they’ll pass anyway). Does this explain why we have many engineers by academics and barely any by practice?

Logic, reason, knowledge, interest… the money isn’t in any of these. Cash flows when you do a family business, a safe investment, management, or any damn blue collar job. Even a doctor earns, but you must have the patience to sit through the damned course. There’s no provision for you if you’re damn hardcore into just one line. The education system might permit that, but that’s not really implemented on a mass scale. You’ll need sponsorship.

Parents have a wonderful mindset too. Careers are decided before their Chintu or Pinky is born. When the kids are born, they are brought up to adjust into the lines the parents have in mind. These aren’t kids, but products meant to achieve their previous generation’s failures. Which brings me to the question, “Freedom of thought looks good on paper but does it exist?”

Another beautiful thing which is there in our society is that parents teach certain set of values to their children. “You should respect the laws,” when they are the ones who don’t think twice before jumping a red signal. “Don’t harbor any kind of animosity towards other religions, India is a secular country,” and these are the ones spreading Racial attacks and stereotypes. “You shouldn’t really speak anything bad about neighbors,” when these particular “auntyjis” are the ones who really roam about the entire neighborhood inorder to suck out a juicy piece of gossip.

Really, the worst kind of people we have in this country is the one who keep telling others to respect their country but don’t get up to stand in the national anthem. I mean, Delhi, is the national capital. Mumbai is the financial capital. Yet, before the beginning of any movie, national anthem is played in Mumbai’s theatres and only around Republic Day and Independence Day in Delhi theatres. Talk of national sentiments.

There are only two flaws which have ruined the entire country. First is the media, which keeps showing us the turmoil, the celebrities, the drama instead of the “issues”. I mean, okay, a random celebrity has a baby. And we go Ga- Ga over the child and the Mother! In fact the child’s name, horoscope everything is discussed in public domain when there are children dying of starvation in the neighborhood. But then, they’re parents weren’t famous, were they?

The second and the most unavoidable flaw are the people themselves. They are willing to talk in the regional language, they are willing to speak in English, but barely anyone would be actually proud to talk in Hindi or their own mother- tongue. Why is that so? Talking in a language, or dressing up in a certain way is only a problem if we want it to be.

If you’re a girl, and you get out of house at eight in the evening, it’s a cardinal sin, and you’re characterless. Really, that’s the state of the society. Do not dance at weddings because that’s what the ‘Good girls’ do. Do not wear a skirt shorter than your knees, it’s unethical and intolerable. I mean, really, the fact that you’re not inviting any attention isn’t a problem. If a man really scans you even if you’re in a burqa, it isn’t his fault. You were flaunting it.

At the end, I would say what any good dystopian would say, wake up. This is just what you think it should be like. We don’t have any moral obligations, the universe is still indifferent. Period.

Peace.

-Neetzi Delta


@NeetziDelta on Twitter


The Writer is a Student in Delhi.


1 comment:

  1. World can't work with square pegs as it only has round holes. That is very sad. Standardization & compliance is key. That is how it is going to be for majority. Be in the minority. Do your own. World will come to you.

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