“Ma, amaar bonobaash shomapto ekhon, ebare boner baash amaar bhetore… “
(Roughly translates into ‘Mother, I’m done with my exile, I’m quite beyond it now’)
Haunting lines written by Nobonita Deb Sen on the sufferings on a Leninist revolutionary…something that was quite a cult during the 1970s in Bengal.
No, I am not getting a sudden dementia attack on a Friday morning, or getting particularly nostalgic about a warm ethnic past. Not quite.
It’s just that I watched a short tele-film called ‘Robibar Bikelbela’ yesterday, over tears and homesickness, and it got me thinking.
It’s just the other day that I was discussing with Amitava how the current generation, or ours for that matter, lacks a drive to do something even close to revolutionary. Forget the big ‘R’ word. Do we even live for a good cause? Jobs, money, beer, grilled meat, Marks and Spencer’s is probably all we can think of. What caused things to donkey down so much? Any answers? I’m waiting…
We can crib, yeah. We are absolutely fantastic with that part. But who amongst us is willing to do a bit more than that? Not me. I love my corner and my couch and my Stella…thank you very much. So do you, I’m sure, and they over there.
I’m just meandering here probably. But on a serious note, when does this world become a better place? When do the tables turn? When do we all ‘change places at the rising of the Moon’?
I’m worried about the generations to come. Will the awe-inspiring stories of the independence movement make any sense to them? Stories that made a chill go down our spine when we were young? Will I be able to explain to them why Tagore refused the knighthood? Will I be able to explain why we got colonized once upon a time, why we got affected by socialism, why Lenin, Marx and the whole lot? More importantly, will they be interested? Or will they be too bothered about who Carla Brunei is, and how old Hugh still grunts and is such a charmer!
I am worried. Do fellow bloggers share any of my random feelings? KG, particularly, coz you’re bringing up a child. Are you worried?
4 comments:
awesome likhechis.. yeah why go to the next generation.. are we not already superficial enough
We are...it hurts, doesn't it?
It worries me intensely. But sometimes I think, with every generation there is a little bit that's lost and forgotten, and a lot more newness taken on. But I fear nevertheless, for the kind of person my child will grow up to be. The kind of environment that will surround her. Who will be her idols? Will she enjoy philosophy? Will she make a difference?
But the fact remains that our grandfathers were directly affected by things like world wars and our war for independence. We've heard it frm their mouths. We were shown films about freedom struggle. Our parents watch mrinal sen and some of our uncles and aunts were revolutionaries themselves. We were bound to be influenced in some way. So I think it all depends on what I pass on to Mish. Doesn't matter if she snubs Rabindra Sangeet and wants to groove to some hip hop or bollywood number. Its conditioning that's important. What i'm driving at is - it is our generation that needs to pass the legacies on to the future gen. And the sad fact is that our generation itself lacks depth. We have half baked knowledge. little conviction in what we do, think and stand for. And I myself am one of those. *Shudder*
But you know what Debanjana, every generation has a way to make themselves stand out. No matter what we might want to call ourselves, we'll still be the Facebook generation. Cringe if you should. But I think there is hope. And whatever else we talk of, I do hope my daughter's generation is Happy, healthy and Good.
BTW, that was a loaded question. i still have a lot more to say. And am sure i didn;t quite make sense or took a stand.
You did good...thanks for responding :)
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