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Irreverence
Irreverence
Irreverence-in what sense?Don't we have enough of it in the heat and dust of controversies in society today?Irreverence towards the view of the perceived 'other' has all but congealed into a societal norm.
As it is, we have a tendency to be solemn at facetious ideas and facetious at solemn ones.Too sweeping a statement?Perhaps. But the urge to verbally caricature is irresistible when you have to listen to a socialite dripping with jewels expound on her efforts in social service -which mostly involves getting photographed with street children.Dripping with jewels may only offend your aesthetics,but to drip with the toned milk of human kindness-insufferable.Also, too facetious for words!But they are usually taken seriously or at least given a pretence of attention.
The stifling pictures of poverty, filth and degradation surely merit some pondering,but we dismiss them as exagerrated, or worse, expendable.
The tone of discourse has also become shriller, sulkier and totally bereft of humour.Every day, a newspaper carries news items and stories of offence at particular statements,retorts and threats arising therefrom.Nowhere do we get a garnish of wit and light heartedness.And the seriousness of the speaker is more or less an affectation,without the relief of true feeling.Remember George Bernard Shaw's didacticism -more acceptable because of its coat of interesting dialogue?
Why and wherefrom has this tendency of taking thoughts too lightly and people too seriously arisen?Probably because our daily lives are so taken up with one-upmanship that we hardly give ourselves light moments.
The best tradition of discussions in the British parliament was that of wit, both of the sardonic and the sparkling variety.Legislators were also not unwilling to share a joke at their own expense.Flashes of coruscating wit were softened by digs at oneself.
The same tradition percolated through to our own freedom movement.Great people of that day and age were more than willing to laugh at themselves.They were unyielding about beliefs and not angling for popular approval.A case in point was Sarojini Naidu.Her dig at the Mahatma,' If only he knew how much it costs us to keep him in poverty' was only matched by her remark to photographers trying to get a good shot,'Boys, I am the same from all sides-fat and round.'
Where would you find this ability to laugh heartily at oneself nowadays?
Out of curiosity , I ran a google search on 'humour in Indian politics' or words to that effect.The repartee and incidents that popped up were pitifully few.A digression, just for a fact picture.
People are usually puffed up with a sense of self importance.They revere themselves way too much.What is needed is a little irreverence towards oneself and a little impish wit to complete the damage.Only then would ideas be given the pride of place- and not necessarily with a solemn mien and a puritan outlook.
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