Virtue for the Vicious

All my life, I've stayed away all things patriotic. Oscar Wilde's words "Patriotism is the virtue of the vicious"  was truth to me from my school days. At the age of 18, I had concluded that patriotism is to be shunned in all forms and shapes. It was all very dogmatic, narrow and condescending for me; any reasonable person could see through the national narratives and the propaganda that went along with it.

I remember standing straight as a rod in the morning sun for the school assembly through the national anthem, the prayers and other assorted incantations but without much sentiments or thought. That was no place for sentiments or feelings. It was about survival. I had other pressing concerns such as keeping one-hand's distance from the person standing in front me, avoiding the ignominy of being the first person in the line and therefore being dubbed 'the dwarf of the class', and keeping my eyes and ears open to avoid any sudden contact with the PT sir's stick. That swooshing sound that his thin cane stick would make before it touched our skins... the terror of it. But i digress.

Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi

Up until  couple of days back, i did not feel any different for the national anthem and I've not had a chance to hear it for a long time. But on 31 August, I had the privilege to attend the Arjuna award ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan (The Indian President's Official Home). The ceremony began with the national anthem and within seconds of it starting, i was transposed back to my school ground. But it felt very different. I felt nostalgic, strong, sad like i was about to cry, honored, proud and umm... what's that word... patriotic... perhaps. The whole phenomenon was strange but the ceremony left me feeling special.

That night, in my bed, i could not reconcile how i had felt about patriotism all my life and what happened to me earlier that day. I still loathed how some people believed they and their country were superior to 'others'. It still felt frustrating to see that people could not take away the coloured glass of national narratives to observe world events in relative objectivity. But what changed personally for me was that I could appreciate the honor, valour, hard work, courage and unselfish love of the country that some people displayed. The realization that while i do not have to be fanatic i can still adore and cheer for my country. My country is my home. Sure, i don't like all the problems in our country nor do i have answers to it. But it is still home. 

Jaipur Literary Festival - 2013

An event that we wait for every year... Here is a snapshot from the Jaipur Literary Festival that I attended this year.

India: An Unbound Nation Inspite of the Gods: Ruchir Sharma and Edward Luce in conversation with Gurcharan Das. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Das' India Unbound, so this talk was one of my personal favourite.

Corner of a Distant Playing Field: Rahul Dravid in conversation with Rajdeep Sardesai. Dravid is definitely one of the few cricketers who have let fame get on to their heads. He's quite a level-headed, wise and articulate guy.  

Aon Gaon Chalein: Neelesh Mishra, journalist and host of the radio show, Yadoon Ka Idiot box talking about the many hidden stories that one can find in the villages of India. If one wants to.

The Global Soul and the Search for Home: Pico Iyer, Abraham Verghese, Laleh Khadivi, Akash Kapur and Saadat Kadri in conversation with Aminatta Forna. Indeed a very interesting conversation. When asked, "Growing up in different countries  moving constantly from one country to another, do you feel homeless sometimes?", Laleh said something along lines of: " I don't feel homeless; it's just that my definition of Home is not the same as yours. For me, my home is where i can do what i want to do and be with people who are close to me."

My Father, Our Fraternity: Book my Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, released by Bina Kak. Although, Sarod is his instrument, the audience was spell-bound when he sang he few classical notes. Although, I am not an avid Sarod fan, for the few moments that the  Ustad explained and sung a few notes, I was totally mesmerized. 

Ayaan and Amaan Ali Khan payed a tribute to Ravindranath Tagore and played a rendition of  Ekla Chalo Be - some of the things that I love about the Jaipur Literary Fest.

I was impressed not just with their music but also with the respect and grace with which they performed. Respect that one sees ever so often in classical art performances; the way they treat their Guru (their father in this case) instruments, and the audience was so admirable. 

Junoon: In the Company of Poets: Jeet Thayil, Sheniz Janmohammed, Fahmida Riaz. Toronto-based Sheniz read some of her beautiful poems. Loved it when she read 'My People Killing My People'.

I got this video from youtube of her reading this one at another venue.

Winning the prestigious DSC award for his book Narcopolis, definitely made Jeet Thayil one of the most  sought-after author this year.   Loved the poems from his book. 'These Errors are Correct'. Later had a opportunity to meet him and get my books autographed. I only wished that he was not gheraoed by controversy the way he was - getting an autograph past the long queue, fans, photographers, protesters and cops was nothing short of an achievement.