Fighting Children of the Rising Sun

The entire episode on Salman Rushdie and his book somehow fails to make any sense to me. The number of times an average Indian has heard about the book makes me wonder whether they already knew about the book (or did they even care) or is it the sensationalization of the entire episode that has made this book more popular than it already was.  I for one was never inclined towards reading the book, but somehow the inquisitive me suddenly wanted to know exactly what the fuss was all about and I did by visiting my good friend wiki. Frankly this rush towards garnering the maximum TRP has done more good to the author and the book that was released more than two decade back. I don’t think any other news got googled as much as Satanic Verses in the past few weeks. But there are certain questions that I fail to answer. Why would anyone want to bring the book back into the minds of people who had long forgotten it? If the government has already banned the book why create the fuss in the first place, aren’t you creating more hype. In country like India where people buy books off the roads and not the original, would you be able to ban it for long. So who really benefitted?

First is the man in the line of fire. In the recent past he has been in news more for his love life than his literati work. He like some of our politicians has effectively used the social media for both personal as well as professional gain. I guess the number of people who know about his ex-wives as well as read his tweets exceed the readers of his books. But I am sure if you go and ask the common man about Salman Rushdie he will probably know only about the Satanic Verses. And not the other wonder books that he actually penned down. The agenda behind his visit to India was to talk about his book Midnight Children. But that got conveniently side-lined in the entire episode.

Second all the religious organisations as well as political parties who have piggybacked on this piece of news for their political aspirations. There has to be some level of solution in this entire episode one cannot keep carrying on like this. And frankly why make a big deal out of it now? Don’t we already have many politicians who have hurt the religious sentiments of many, time and again? Have we forgotten Kashmir, Gujarat and Babri? If these incidents are not examples of religious intolerance then what is? Now when we don’t say anything to these set of people and more over trust them to decide our countries future, why are we so threatened by an author who does not even live in this country? What Salman Rushdie wrote was about a religion that he was born into unlike many who have an opinion about something that they have never experienced themselves.

Third are the authors, who were foolish enough to quote from the book. What were they thinking, sorry they were not.

Fourth has to be the entire business of black marketed books. Very soon we will see a whole set of Satanic Verses in the market. They are definitely the biggest gainers.

What was that Mr. Rushdie said in his book that all the Muslims around the world consider blasphemy?

It starts from the very title of the book which refers to an alleged incident in the ministry of the Prophet Muhammad, when a few verses were supposedly spoken by Muhammad as part of the Qur'an and then subsequently withdrawn on the grounds that the devil had sent them; deceiving Muhammad into thinking they came from God. These "Satanic Verses" are therefore not found in the Qur'an, but are described by Ibn Ishaq in the first biography of Muhammad, and also appear in other biographies of the prophet's life. The disputed verses permitted prayers of intercession to be made to three pre Islamic Meccan goddesses: Allāt, Uzza, and Manah— a violation of the Islamic principle of monotheism. The utterance and withdrawal of the so-called Satanic Verses forms an important subplot in the novel, which recounts several episodes in the life of Muhammad.

Perhaps most offensive to Muslims, in Rushdie's novel the brothel of the city of Jahilia is staffed by prostitutes who take the names of Muhammad's wives. Since Muslims believe that the wives of the Prophet are 'the Mothers of all Believers', they esteem them.

Well there are other things as well which perhaps only a devout Muslim would point out and understand. It is very difficult for someone like me to comment on the nature of the text. Because at the end of the day let’s not forget it is not about something that I and many like me have any knowledge of or connection with. So yes the text is definitely not in the best taste but it was written in the 1980’s and I guess the writer has somewhere paid a price by sacrificing his freedom of movement as well as living under fatwa.

The guy may be 64 but is still a child. He may come from a Muslim family but he was never religious. In the 1990’s there was a phase where he claimed that he had renewed his Muslim faith and wrote off the comments in the book and committed himself to working for better understanding of the religion across the world. This many believe was in hope of reducing the threat of Muslims acting on the fatwa. Though this phase of his did not last long and he later said that he was pretending.

Would you take a guy like him seriously? I think it is waste of time. The idea is to enjoy his work (if you enjoy the way he writes and above all if it does not offend you). The reason I write so much about him is because the whole issue under fire is just an opportunity that has been used by many for their own good.

Mr. Rushdie it’s been 3 years since your last book I think it is time to write and not tweet.           

Lost

It is so difficult to judge whether the time has come to a stand still or is it moving too fast... Whether I am in a middle of a mad rush... Or I am the mad rush in this calm.... Which ever way you look at it, I am still LOST no where to be found...

Life 1

Life goes on whether you want it to stop or not. Life behaves deaf when it comes to our continues nagging. But in reality it does listen to us helpless not knowing what t do. Our life has nothing in its hands it just follows. follows blindly what destiny has in it's folds. Funny our life is deaf and dumb.

Life feels everything and somewhere learns to just keep moving. Life hence is a big experience full of ups and downs. Nothing impedes it's speed. Keep moving stop for none, you know others can not stop for you either. Their life is as stubborn and helpless as yours. 

Life is a journey

Life is like a one way journey with no turning back. We meet so many people on our way, some decide to stay with you forever some venture out on a different journey. End of the day you need to know like you others are also living their journey as well.
People who embark on their individual journey perhaps don't see any merit in getting through life with you and I guess they are right. It is best that you actually live with ones who value you or even better know you are valuable. Because life will not give you a chance to go back and the various stops (read stages) that you stop at will never come back. 

Please hear what I am not saying

   Don’t be fooled by me. Don’t be fooled by the face I wear. For I wear a mask, a thousand mask. Mask that I am afraid to take off, and none of them is me. Pretending is an art that’s second nature to me, but don’t be fooled, for gods sake don’t be fooled.

   I give you the impression that I am secure, that confidence is my name and coolness is my game that the waters calm and I am in command. And that I need no one but don’t believe me, my surface may seem smooth but my surface is my mask, ever varying and ever concealing. Beneath lies no compliance, beneath lies confusion, fear and aloneness. But I hide this; I don’t want anyone to know it. I panic at the thought of my weakness and fear being exposed. That’s why I fanatically create a mask to hide behind, sophisticated façade to help me pretend to shield me from the glance that knows.

   But such a glance is preciously my salvation, my only hope and I know it. That is if it is followed by acceptance, love, it is the only thing that can liberate me from myself, from my own self built personal wall, from the barriers I so painstakingly erect. It is the only thing that will assure me of what I can’t assure myself. That I am really worth something, I don’t like to hide, I don’t like playing sophisticated phony game, and I want to stop playing them. I want to be genuine and spontaneous and me. But you have got to help me; you have got to hold out your hand even when that’s the last thing that I want. Only you can wipe away from my eyes the blind stare of the breathing death, only you can call me into aliveness.

   Each time you are kind and gentle and courageous, each time you try to understand because you really care, my heart begins to grow wings, very small wings, very feeble wings but wings with your power to touch me. You breathe life into me. I want you to know that, who am I.

            I want you to hear what I am not saying!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Phase

There always is, this one phase that not just manages to wring you but also somehow knocks you in such a way that you loose all your sanity. In these trying times what one really needs is someone to support. And when I say support I mean sustain us in this phase, but then I have also learned one golden lesson that has made me think on the grounds that no one can really do that for us, we are always on our own, searching for these people is as good as trying to touch the moon standing on the building terrace, though you may feel that you are at the top but in reality you are no where and what may be high for you may not be high at all.

            And believe it or not when you realize, not only are you crushed but also you die million deaths and still live on to feel and see the pain. Now that is the lesson not everyone really wants to avoid and yes one more thing does it really matter you go through it or someone else does because the only way one learns when this experience  is of someone very near and dear to us, then isn’t it better it is us than them????????

Life is extensive for those who are hopeful and narrow for those who are nothing but emotional fools

I had heard somewhere that LIFE IS TOO BIG AND THE LIKELIHOOD TO MEET SOMEBODY MORE THAN ONCE IS ALWAYS HIGH, and at the same time, TOO SHORT TO HOLD GRUDGES. Contradicting proclamation isn’t it? But then who can say otherwise. Most of us somewhere hold this reverie that we will meet that person, who at some point of time under unavoidable situations had left a big void in our lives. We do not worry about the repercussions that this meeting can have on our lives. Why? Well because both of these statements are somewhere interrelated.

How? The answer is very simple, that is, if the person who we are talking about has managed to create emptiness in our lives clearly means that, this someone was or is a very important individual, with the influence to not just give us colossal gratification but also leash out a series of excruciating and sore reminiscences. And now that we know that we do not want to have anything to do with this someone any more which can be mutual or even a very harsh, one sided decision taken by that individual in a fit of rage or even say clear mind, or vice versa , whatever may be the case, we still somewhere hold the feeling that, we will meet this individual somewhere, someday and somehow. I call this 3S of hopelessness.

Now comes the relationship between these two variables, that is, we will at some point of time, whether we like it or not, meet this someone again in our lifetime. And by then we need to make sure that we are in a position to hold our head high by not just controlling our heart but also our mind. Now here is the million dollar question. How?? Well the answer is not at all simple but then every thing that has a practical insinuation generally tends to be out of our reach, because it is too difficult for us to handle and try. But then, is this the way out. How can I answer this you have to search within and get the answer that suits you the best and yes please let’s not take an easy way out?

I shall end this on just one thought and that is “LIFE IS EXTENSIVE FOR THOSE WHO ARE HOPEFUL AND NARROW FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOTHING BUT EMOTIONAL FOOLS.