EXPERIENCE AS KNOWLEDGE
When we talk about experience as knowledge we can say that each time we undergo any experience, we learn something. All these experiences help us learn from the mistakes we made and guide us on how to do better the next time we face a similar challenge. This cumulative learning over time adds up to knowledge. This concept of ‘experiences as knowledge’ can be applied to understand certain aspects of ‘ Annayya’s Anthropology’ written by A.K Ramanujan. In the short story ‘Annayya’s Anthropology’, Annayya is a young man who was born in Mysore and is now in America for further studies. In a textual analysis of the story we can see many instances when Annayya uses his experiences from when he was back in Mysore to relate to a particular text while he is studying in America in an attempt to gain self- knowledge. One such instance is when he reads in Manu about the twelve impurities of the human bodies and tried to recall his experiences of what he had been told about it. He recalled that “he had been told as a child not to spit, to clean himself after a bowel movement and after urinating” ( Ramanujan, A.K “Annayya’s Anthropology” npg) and also gave the example of his aunt that “ whenever his aunt went to the outhouse she took with her a handful of clay” ( Ramanujan,A.K “Annayya’s Anthropology” npg).From the story, we get to know that, while living in India, “Annayya was obsessed with things American, English or European”(Ramanujan, A.K “Annayya’s Anthropology” npg). Living in a conservative Indian society, the best he could do to quench his thirst for the western way of life was to read about it. It was only when he arrived in America that “he drank beer and whisky, ate beef, used toilet paper instead of washing himself with water, lapped up the Playboy magazines with their pictures of naked breasts, thighs, and some navels as big as rupee coins””(Ramanujan, A.K “Annayya’s Anthropology”)Once in America, he gets questioned frequently on rituals of Hinduism,'Why do your women wear that red dot on their forehead?'In order to answer such queries correctly, Annayya starts to read, and gradually gets obsessed with books on Indian tradition.It is then that Annayyachances upon a book called ‘Hinduism: Custom and Ritual’ which was written by Steven Fergusson, an American anthropologist whoo had done his field studies in India while on a Ford Foundation fellowship. “What amazing information this Fergusson chap had given! There was a quotation from Manu on every page”(Ramanujan, A.K “Annayya’s Anthropology” npg). While he was reading about the four aspects of funeral rites, Annayya realized that he had very little experience when it came to funerals. Yet his theoretical knowledge of the funeral rites of Brahmins was truly remarkable as he knew everything from how the position of the dead Brahmin should be before his funeral to the ten different items that had to be given away as charity following a Brahmin’s death.As for Steven Fergusson, the only reason that he was able to write the book was because he was able to experience and witness all of the traditions and rituals first hand. Steven Fergusson, who was an ‘ outcaste foreigner’, had come to Mysore and during his three year stay there from 1966-68, had been helped by Annayya’s cousin Sundararaya and his familyin collecting material for the book. 'How much did the Fergusson chap pay him?'wondered Annayya.In a tragic twist,Annayya recognises people and the veranda of a house in the photographs in the book only to realise that they document the funeral of his own father!'All these years, Annayya had not really seen death.'Now, as he witnessed second -hand his father's funeral and his mother's shaved head, he realised that the theoretical knowledge of the entire ritualistic procedure of a Brahmin's funeral that he had could never have prepared him for the actual experience .And by not informing Annayya of his father's death and performing the funeral rituals himself, Sundararaya had robbed and cheated him of his rights .'The story tugs at the immigrant's dread that distance will prevent his fulfilment of filial duty.'(Kumar Amitava, Kenyon review, volume XXIV/number 3/4, page 76)Through this story, Ramanujan has made the reader realise that one cannot substitute reading up on certain matters for actually experiencing them.Theoretical knowledge can only enhance one's appreciation and understanding of one's experiences.'Death is an individual grief; for other it may have only academic interest. '(Uma Mahadevan Dasgupta, The Hindu, dated May 15th, 2016) So what for Fergusson was just an incident in an anthropological study was an opportunity for Sundararaya to exploit commercially and was actually a life changing and tragic time in Annayya's life which he missed to experience first -hand.
Kartik Mathur
Indian Goodess
The public lectures always make David wonder how many people are still ignorant about the complexity of life and religion. The ‘Crossword’ group in Kolkata, India, has called him to deliver a lecture on the flourishing of new Gods and Myths. “The idea behind a myth is very complex, they are so strong and so much in the culture and daily life of the people that without it life cannot be imagined.” Said David, being a Professor of Religious Study in the Harvard University, he has always tried to explain his students about the patterns of these myths, the narratives and the gods. India has been his favourite area as he is a specialist of South Asian Studies. When he was invited for this lecture he got very excited, he got the opportunity of working in his favourite area; all he did was packed his bag and came to India. After a long research and field work he figured out about this strange narrative in a small village called ‘Bahura’ in Uttar Pradesh.The amount of risk taken by him for this research was enormous, he risked his life! The village Bahura is situated in the Northern Uttar Pradesh, accompanied by one of his closest friend and contemporary Dhiritiman Mukherjee, David went to do his field work. “I got a call from one of my friends who work in the Anthropological Department of India, he told me about this place and this popular narrative of the place. My excitements knew no bound and that is the reason why I am here in front of you people.” When David and Dhiritiman were going to this place they were warned by the locals of the nearby town, they were asked not to go, especially David. The duo did not care much about the warnings and they sneaked into the village. They had a talk with the Anthropological Department and were supposed to camp with them. One of the anthropologists told them about this popular worshipping of ‘Swatantrata Devi’ in the village. ‘Swatantrata’ stands for Independence and ‘Devi’ stands for the Goddess. A firm believer of first hand information, David wanted to talk to the villagers himself but the anthropologist told him that it would be dangerous and he could even lose his life.The anthropologist’s research and field work said that Bahura is a place which is very rich in minerals, during the British Raj the Britishers got to know about this and they started taking away all the minerals and the poor farmers and villagers got nothing. The torture and brutality of the Britishers left the village in chaos, they started killing and torturing the male members and there came a stage when almost all the male members of the village were either dead or working for the British without receiving any pay. The women of the village decided that it must stop and they revolted against the Britishers with weapons, there was a lot of bloodshed and in the end Britishers were defeated. The villagers collected the bodies at one place and there they established this temple of ‘Swatantrata Devi,” their popular belief is that any Britisher who comes to the village is an invader and will bring bad luck to the village, so he or she should be killed and the blood should be offered to ‘Swatantrata Devi’ for the maintenance of peace and order in the village. David wanted to see the temple and the kind of worshiping done there, when he asked his friend to help then he told him that the main problem is that these villagers, who have not received any education think that all the foreigners are Britishers!The excitement of David made him go to the temple the next day without telling the Anthropological Department people, Dhiritiman was with him. David covered his face and his body fully and there was no trace of his white skin. He stayed there of hours and observed every ritual minutely. “My observation and my research told me that this goddess can be very well put into the Hindu Pantheon as a form of ‘Kali’, the warrior goddess. This is actually not a new goddess but another narrative which talks about ‘Kali’, these narratives are common for warrior goddesses. The concept of war and sacrifice and blood, all these are the patterns which can be seen in most of the narratives concerning the warrior goddesses. My escape from this village was a very clean one, and the best part is that I am still alive. The most amazing part about any narrative is its complexity, one should enjoy these narratives but questioning their factual existence is not really pleasant.” David completed his lecture and the whole audito
Aristotle
Aristotle says that every action that a human does, they consider the end to be good. There are higher ends and subordinate ends. The higher ends are ends in themselves and the subordinate ends are the means to higher ends. He also says that good is a part of political science as in politics, people are concerned with what is the best end for a human but then what is best for one person may not be best for another. Thus, we can only have a rough outline of good.Everyone agrees that the supreme good is happiness but people argue on what happiness consists of. Some people think that sensual pleasures are the greatest god while on the other hand, some people think that honor is the greatest good. Plato suggests that there is only one form of good and that all good things are good in the same way. Happiness is the highest good because it is an end in itself.We see people as ‘good’ only if they perform their function well. The thing that separates us from animals and plants is our rationality. Thus, good should be an activity of the rational soul.When e are talking about the life of a person, we consider the life as a whole and not just a few moments of it. Through this, we could say that a person can only be considered happy only after he dies when we can examine their lives as a whole. Aristotle also says that the way his descendants behave may affect the happiness of that person.We can divide the soul into 2 parts- a rational part and an irrational part. The irrational part can then be divided in a vegetative part, which helps with our growth and nutrition and an appetitive part, which governs our impulses. The rational part of the soul controls those impulses and thus a person with greater rationality is better able to control their impulses.
Radical Feminism
Radical feminism is an ideology within feminism itself which calls for the elimination of male supremacy in all cultural, economic and political contexts. Radical feminism gained popularity when it arose from the second- wave feminism during the 1960’s. Radical feminists, in the context of oppression, place the root of the problem of common gender roles in the society.They also believe that it is men who are always the ones who have been the oppressors of women. Thus they portray men as sadistic humans who benefit from the oppression of women and portray women as the victims who had no choice but to submit to the will of the oppressors. We will discuss these points later in the paper. Another point worth noting is that all the arguments in this paper are in contrast to the radical feminism that is happening only in the United States of America, United Kingdom, and Australia.Many radical feminists groups were formed all around the US during the late 1960’s and the early 1970’s with the most popular of them being the New York Radical Women, Redstockings, and the National Organization for Women( NOW). It is interesting to know that many of these groups went through splits after only a few years. Ti-Grace Atkinson formed a group called The Feminists, which were split from the National Organization for women. Another important group which was formed was the New York Radical Feminists which was formed by Shulamith Firestone and Anne Koedt. To be straightforward if the radical feminists wanted to be taken seriously then the splitting up of the groups quite early on in the movement was not a good idea.Feminists have fought for women’s rights for decades. Radical feminists seclude themselves from this and go for a more radical approach and fight for women’s liberation instead. My statement is supported by Barbara A. Crow who says “Radical feminism named and associated itself with “women’s liberation” as opposed to “women’s rights” and saw themselves as part of a movement rather than a specialized interest group.”(Crow 2000, 2) They believe that women have been oppressed all throughout history because of male-dominated societies and the liberation of woman would be the only way to eliminate the patriarchy.Radical feminist groups introduced the use of consciousness- raising (CR). These groups consisted of women from different spheres of the society and discussed how they had been the victims of male supremacy. Instead of discussing ways in which they can help women, the women discussing came to the conclusion that the only way to create a free and just society is the ending of patriarchy. In many ways, this method was a good system as even though they had very radical views, they managed to keep violence between them and the government to the minimum. Thus through the use of consciousness- raising, they managed to shift the idea of radical feminism from a personal and collective idea to a political ideology.As mentioned before, Redstockings was a very important radical feminist group. It was started in 1969 by prominent radical feminists Ellen Willis and Shulamith Firestone. They have been credited for many notable essays with one of the most important and controversial pieces being the Redstockings Manifesto. In this, they have portrayed all women as the ones who have been oppressed and all men as oppressors. They have also come up with some frankly ridiculous statements which we will discuss now.In the Manifesto, they have written that “All power structures throughout history have been male-dominated and male-oriented. Men have controlled all political, economic and cultural institutions and backed up this control with physical force.”(Redstockings Manifesto, web copy). Clearly, the women who wrote this have not taken into consideration Cleopatra, who ruled ancient Egypt. They have also not taken into consideration all the women who have held high political positions throughout the years, most notably the rule of Queen Elizabeth II for over 60 years over the United Kingdom. As for institutions, they imply that all the institutions are male-dominated. Then what about the many radical feminist groups such as the National Organization for Women (NOW) and Redstockings itself. Aren’t they also institutions that are run by women? Yes, they are. So we can see the irony here.It is also written in the manifesto that, “All men receive economic, sexual, and psychological benefits from male supremacy. All men have oppressed women.”( Redstockings Manifesto, web copy). This is a completely generalized statement which are portraying all men as oppressors. They have given a very controversial statement but they have also not given any proof for their statement. We cannot just believe what they are saying when they have not given any evidence from a reliable source.They also wrote that “We identify with all women. We define our best interest as that of the poorest, most brutally exploited woman.”( Redstockings Manifesto, web copy). They claim to identify with all women but they fail to mention the women who are actually being oppressed in countries of the Middle East and the countries of Africa and Asia in any of their writings. They remain focused on their first world problems such as the objectification of women in video games but don’t mention the plight of women in the middle east who are still banned from driving and are forced to cover their body and wear a burka in very hot climate.In the very last paragraph of the Redstockings Manifesto, they wrote that “We call on all men to give up their male privilege and support women's liberation in the interest of our humanity and their own.”( Redstockings Manifesto, web copy). I would like to point out that as we discussed earlier in the paper, there is also written that ‘all men are oppressors’. This would imply that all women must stand against men as they are the oppressors. Yet over here they are asking the same allegedly ‘oppressors’ to help them fight male supremacy. They also believe that it is men who have to change themselves to get rid of the patriarchy -“We also reject the idea that women consent to or are to blame for their own oppression. Women's submission is not the result of brain-washing, stupidity or mental illness but of continual, daily pressure from men. We do not need to change ourselves, but to change men.”( Redstockings Manifesto, web copy). Ti-Grace Atkinson, who is a radical feminist herself, proves my point by stating that- “What is extremely difficult and “unnatural,” but necessary, is for the Oppressed to cure themselves (destroy the female role), to throw off the Oppressor, and to help the Oppressor to cure himself ( destroy the male role).”(Crow 2000, 89).Radical feminists are often known for their unusual way of protesting. They are also credited with coming up with the phrase ‘bra- burner’when they threw their bra’s while protesting against the Miss America pageant of 1968. It is probably though these instances that the popular term ‘feminazi’ came to be used. The person who is known to have coined this term is Rush Limbaugh, who was an American radio talk show host. We might ask the question- ‘Is the term ‘feminazi’ really the right term to use for radical feminists?’. The answer is no. While you have to give some credit to Rush Limbaugh for his creative skills, the term ‘feminazi’ is politically incorrect. The term is a combination of two words- feminist and Nazi. These two words are as opposite as north is to the south. That is because during Nazi Germany, feminism was banned and women were told to devote themselves to childbirth and child-rearing. It is because of this that many German feminists of that time either fled Germany or were sent to concentration camps.I respect both the feminists and the radical feminists who truly fight for and support women who have been the victims of male supremacy. But over the years women have used that victim card to their own benefit. They do this especially in courts and in public spaces. This is because most of the courts are biased towards women. They use this to their advantage in many ways, such as false rape cases and for divorce. In the case of sexual harassment, many men have been subjected to the punishment due to false rape charges by women. Divorce laws are many times set in favor of women rather than men in many parts of the world. Usually, it is the men who are said to be the main reason for divorce and thus end up losing half of their entire savings and half of the properties they own. The court also favors women when it comes to child custody and they also demand high alimony payments. It is because of this that many times men have been the subject to shame by the public and are looked down and have to go to the court to prove their innocence. This is another instance how women cripple men psychologically. Dr. Carisa R. Showden proves my point as she states that- “women abuse the power that comes with“sugar and spice and that’s all nice” to render men impotent in the court of law and public opinion on issues such as sexual harassment, child custody, and education for example. On this account, the idea of women as victims is both bad for women and empirically false.”( Showden 2009, 6).A very important movement that radical feminists participated in the movement for reproductive rights. This includes some rights that the radical feminists believe that they should have such as the right to abortion, the right to the usage of birth control, and the right to chose whether the woman themselves want children or not. I agree with many of the points that were put forward by them. I agree with them when they say that it should be their choice whether they want to have children or not. What I don’t agree is the right to legalize abortion. That is because they believe they should make the choice without the consent of either a certified doctor or the father of the unborn child. I feel that the father should have some say in the decision because without him conceiving the child would not be possible. If a couple does not want a child then contraceptives can always be used as they are not that expensive, and thus killing an unborn child should not be an option. We might ask the question- ‘In the instance of a rape, if a woman gets pregnant, shouldn’t a woman be able to make her own decision then’? Yes, they should. As in the case of a rape, the female is not to be blamed for her impregnation and thus should be free to be able to make her own decision. I don’t agree with the concept of abortion, and I don’t agree with the radical view of dealing with abortion. Yet there are a few upsides with the use of the pill. For instance, if a working woman does not want to become pregnant as she only wants to focus on her work, she could use the pill. My point is further proved by this statement by Booth, Goldfield, and Munaker- “ Historically, there may have been an excuse for this role as part of a division of labor. Continuous pregnancies kept woman physically weak and less mobile than men. Now the pill enables people to control the timing and number of children they will have, the incessant childbearing role is a lame excuse for confining women to domestic chores.”( Crow 2000, 60).As a conclusion, I would like to point out that the whole basis of radical feminism is that men have oppressed women. But they have failed to mention that in so many cases women have oppressed men. But as we notice, there is no movement defending men’s rights, except for some websites and a few social media accounts. So from all the instances mentioned in the paper, we can conclude that even if radical feminists think that they are a women’s liberation group, it would seem like they are more of a hate group.BIBLIOGRAPHY-1. Crow, Barbara A., ed. 2000. Radical Feminism: A Documentary Reader. New York and London: New York University Press2. Atkinson, Ti-Grace,“ Radical Feminism”, in Crow, Barbara A., ed. 2000. Radical Feminism: A Documentary Reader. 82-89, New York and London: New York University Press3. Booth, Heather, Evi Goldfield, Sue Munaker, “Toward a Radical Movement”, in Crow, Barbara A., ed. 2000. Radical Feminism: A Documentary Reader.57-64, New York and London: New York University Press4. Redstockings “ History is a weapon: Redstockings Manifesto”( July 7, 1969), URL: http://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/redstockingsmanifesto.html, Accessed on 30th November5. Showden, Carisa R. 2009. “What’s Political about the New Feminisms?”Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies 30{2}: 166-198
Indian Folklore
The Indian Folklores are something which has been travelling since a long time in the roots of the cultural and geographical boundaries of South Asia. They are dynamic in nature but follow the pattern. These folk tales are travelling and an individual hears about it from somebody rather than read about them. These are often told by the older generation of the family to the younger ones, these are also most of the time are added in bedtime stories, as stated (Page-352, A.K Ramanujan, The Collected Essays of A.K Ramanujan). They mainly deal with the household atmosphere and the environment of living, the main emphasis is laid on daily life event hence it makes it promisingly real. It has to do with the social factors of a society as well; the involvement of jealous neighbours is one of the examples of the concentration on social factors (Page-353, A.K Ramanujan, The Collected Essays of A.K Ramanujan).The above mentioned point of involvement of social factors are seen in (Pages-355-356, A.K Ramanujan, The Collected Essays of A.K Ramanujan) where the encounter with the thieves in the Jungle and with the neighbours are stated. These two set of characters are very much found in abundance in a society, a society has thieves as the anti-social elements and socializing needs neighbours. These tales have the motive of showcasing the good versus bad element and also the element of the divine power and the religion. The involvement of religion and divine power is basically to escalate the importance of god. It is an attempt to make the people trust god and believe the divinity is always helpful to the good and punishes the evil (Pages-360&362, A.K Ramanujan, The Collected Essays of A.K Ramanujan); points out how the bowl achieved from the spirits of the ‘Banyan’ tree was placed below the feet of the god by the poor man and how it got entwined in the worship of god and thanking him for the fortune, and also the end shows how the man with the evil intention is punished by the god! The concept of involvement of the society is incomplete without the involvement of family members. The folklores of South Asia have the involvement of family in great extent. There is mentioning of the husband, the mother-in-law, the kind of family; the kind of family like the joint family, how does it represent or portray the lifestyle of the members. It is given emphasis on the status of women in a family, for example (Page-372, A.K, Ramanujan, The Collected Essays of A.K Ramanujan) it is stated how the desires of members in a joint family can lead to relationship of incest. The basic elements or the factors that affect the folklores are the presence of real life events and the presence of the social environment. The folklores are the treasures and representations of cultures which in other words can be called the mirror of the society. It deals with elements in which the society believes in and hence it can be stated that a folklore is impossible with society.
myths
Myths are for the most part narratives that have been verbally or written down from generation to generation. The Neanderthals used to believe in the myth of after life , so they buried a dead person with tools and weapons . Myths could vary in intensity such as a normal superstition such as walking a bridge brings bad luck to myths that become part of someone’s personal and cultural identity . In ancient times myths were probably told as stories. Throughout the years those stories have been told and retold and story could have changed a little each time which eventually became the myths they are today. Over the course the course of time science and technology have improved and they had the ability to put these myths to the test . There were a lot of myths from the ancient world such as the story of Noah ‘s ark and Jesus Christ walking on water and great epics such as Ramayana and Mahabharata . It is very hard to explain myths in a scientific or a historical sense. But in a few cases science has come up with an answer , for example, there was a myth that Jesus Christ could heal anyone . Scientists have now pointed out that he was not super human and that he was using the principle of the placebo effect. There is also the question of how much control religion has over myths . People sometimes commit crimes in the name of religion . Myths are the stepping stones of the creation of religion . Myths could also have a negative effect on people , especially children . At a young age , myths provide the perfect stories for the children who are full of imagination. But it could also hamper with their idea of the difference between what is reality and what is fiction. We can take an example of Musharraf Ali Farooqi , who had said that the stories of Dastan – e Amir Hamza were effecting his studies. But it also had a positive effect on him as it gave him the motivation to translate the whole of Dastan – e Amir Hamza . There are many people who are realists who try to find a rational and realistic solution rather than ask God to find a solution for them and help them with their problems . Many people also like to associate sacrifices during rituals of a religion . In many myths and stories people used to sacrifice animals during rituals to please the Gods . The Vikings of the ancient Scandinavian countries used to sometimes sacrifice humans during a ritual for a festival or before a great battle . But myths sometimes provide us with answers that science cant answer like what happens to us after we die . Mythology provides us with a posthumous existence such as after Christians die they will either go to heaven or hell or in the case of Vikings , they go to valhala when they die to dine with their God Odin.
UNVEILING OF SOCIAL EVILS IN “SAMSKARA”
U.R. Ananthamurthy’s Kannada novel “Samaskara” is set in the 1930s in a small village of orthodox Brahmins in South India. The story deals with the dilemma facing the village Brahmins led by the head priest Praneshacharya as to who should perform the last rites of Naranappa, a lapsed Brahmin. The novel is sub-titled “A Rite for a Dead Man”, but it is an allegorical tale which works at many levels. It addresses several pertinent and timeless issues like casteism, untouchability, the sexual subjugation of women, the struggle between tradition and modernity and the journey of self-realisation of the main protagonist, Praneshacharya. The agrahara of Madhvas sect is an isolated hamlet, insulated from the outside world. The resident Brahmins consider themselves learned and superior to other Brahmins like the Smartas because they follow the rituals and traditions laid out in the scriptures meticulously. They follow a set routine round the year and have no skills beyond their traditional one of performing religious rites. This leaves them poor and ill fed. They cling to outdated superstitions and beliefs which are then warped to suit their cravings and desires. The spiritual guru of the agrahara, Praneshacharaya, the “Crest -Jewel of Vedic Learning” is initially presented as an epitome of pure Brahminism. He is austere, learned and follows the scriptures with pedantic zeal. However, the death of Naranappa, a fellow resident of the village, brings to the surface the hidden ills and hypocricies of orthodox Brahminism. Naranappa, though a Brahmin by birth, flouted all religious taboos and lived life on his own terms. He drank liquor, ate meat, befriended Muslims and kept a low cast woman, Chandri, as his concubine. He had scant respect for the corrupt ways of the orthodox Brahmins, “All your Brahmin respectability, I’ll roll it up and throw it all ways for a little bit of pleasure with one female.” (Page 20) His hedonistic life style outraged the puritanical Brahmins. Their small minds could not see that he was actually a progressive reformer, good at business, patron of drama and music and well aware of the political developments outside the agrahara. When Naranappa dies, a crisis emerges in the village. When alive, Naranappa’s non-conformist behaviour drew censure and horror, and when he died, the Brahmins, fearful of being polluted, were uncertain as to who was to conduct his last rites. Naranappa “may have rejected Brahminhood, but Brahminhood never left him. No one ever excommunicated him officially.” (Page 10). This dilemma leads to the unveiling of several hypocricies and ill practices of the agrahara Brahmins. The orthodox Brahmins of the agrahara live in their own decadent little world, insulated from the outside. Their lives are steeped in traditions and strict following of the rules and rituals as laid down in the scriptures. Superficially wise and learned, they suffer from all the weaknesses and frailties of ordinary humans. They strongly believe in the superstition of pure-impure and fear that no one could eat until Naranappa’s dead body was cremated. However lofty their ideals, they suffer from the vices of gluttony, avarice and lust. Laxmana is so greedy that he ”waits like a vulture to get invited to meals.Now his eyes are on the gold." (page 30). Shripati and Manjunath take drinks even as “our best friend is lying there dead, rotting!” (Page 64). Dasacharaya may be afraid of social criticism but does not hesitate to eat at Manjayya’s place. Fearful of polluting their purity, all the Brahmins refuse to carry out the funeral rites for Naranappa even though they knew him all his life and he was, even in death, a Brahmin. “Alive, Naranappa was an enemy; dead, a preventer of meals; as a corpse: a problem, a nuisance.” (Page 5) However, when low caste Chandri unselfishly offers her gold ornaments to pay for the funeral, all the Brahmins do a turnabout. Greed for getting their hands on two thousand rupees worth of gold overtake their religious scruples. This shows how greedy and shallow these men actually are. The wives of the orthodox Brahmins are no better. They are close minded, jealous and greedy women who are constantly egging their husbands on. Praneshacharaya is ascetic, learned and a firm believer in the wisdom of the scriptures. He takes refuge behind them instead of doing the humane and decent thing by Naranappa. He, and the others waste time dithering and hair-splitting over religious technicalities even as their colleague’s rotting carcass lies unattended. It is left to Chandri, the low caste prostitute,and a Muslim to perform Naranappa’s cremation. This shows the weak moral fibre of the so called upper caste orthodox Brahmins. They also suffer from a deeply engrained belief in caste discrimination. Even Praneshacharaya is not above this. He runs his hands over a cow’s back affectionately but is afraid to be polluted if he speaks to Chandri as he will need to bathe again before eating. The low caste people of the village live in abject poverty on the fringes of the agrahara. Belli and Chinni pick up cow dung for a living. Chinni begs for food from a distance from Brahmin women. This sense of caste segregation and untouchability is so deeply engrained in the Brahmins so as to de-humanise them and make them disregard the miseries of fellow humans as their due in life. The orthodox Brahmins also suffers from the vice of lust. They may believe in untouchability but are not averse to clandestine relations with low caste women. Shripati longs for the sensuous Belli, “her body…the colour of the earth, fertile, ready for seed, warmed by an early sun”. (page 33). They surreptitiously ogle Chandri even as she mourns her dead lover. They take great pride in being the descendants of sages like Vishwamitra and Kashyap who had illicit relations with ordinary women. They revere the mythological tales which describe in explicit details the legend of Matsyagandha and Shakuntalam. They may pretend to be righteous and austere but are not above visiting the brothels of Basrur. When Praneshacharaya “gave up telling the luscious puranic stories in the evenings and started on moral tales of penance….” (Page 24) the young Brahmins stopped attending his sermons. The author uses the half witted senile Lakshmidevamma to bring out how the rights of poor widows are exploited. Cheated by Garuda who has stolen “a poor old shaven widow’s money” (Page 38) she curses, “where has your Brahminism gone, you rascals!” (Page 38). This scolding is a scathing indictment of the greedy manipulative nature of the so called sanskari Brahmins. Religion has not uplifted them spiritually but made them inhuman. Praneshacharaya, too, is not above human weaknesses. He marries an invalid Bhagirathi, not out of love or compassion, but as a means of self-deprivation which will lead him on the fast track to salvation. His celibacy and devoted care of his wife is actually a moral hypocrisy and a farce.He unquestionably follows flawed Brahmanical taboos,"How can I touch a woman polluted by her menstrual blood?"(Page 73) The agrahara Brahmins are complacent in the belief of their own superiority and unaware of social and political developments in the country. They consider the army a polluting influence. They are fearful of the omens of the dead rats and vultures hovering over their agrahara but seek no scientific explanation or medical resource to fight the plague. The contrast between the withered women of the agrahara and the exuberant sensuality of the low caste women is indicative of the decaying ethos of the Brahmins versus the celebration of life outside the agrahara. At a deeper level, this novel can be viewed as an allegory about the journey of self- realisation by Praneshacharaya. However, the author uses wit, satire and biting sarcasm to lay bare the moral hypocrisy practiced by the orthodox Brahmins under the guise of their status exalted by birth and learning. It is a sharp indictment of the social evils prevalent at the time. With realistic detail, this thought-provoking novel raises issues that are relevant even today.
RADICAL FEMINISM
Radical feminism is a political ideology that calls for the elimination of male supremacy in all social, economic and political ways. Radical feminism arose within the second wave feminism during the 1960’s.‘Feminazi’ is a term that has been coined by Rush Limbaugh that is used to describe radical feminists. Now the word ‘ Feminazi’ is a widely used term.The term ‘Feminazi’ consists of the words-feminist’ and ‘Nazi’. This is politically incorrect and we will discuss this later in the assignment.Redstockings is a radical feminist group that was founded in January 1969 in New York City. Its logo is red in color for its association with the revolutionary left.Radical feminist’s main aim is to abolish patriarchy, and they do that by targeting existing social activities and institutions rather that than going through a political process. One such major issue which the radical feminists are against is that of abortion. They believe that abortion exists because of uncaring, male-dominated society. There are many radical feminists such as Gloria Steinman, Ellen Willis, and Ti-Grace Atkinson. Many radical feminists have also been called ‘Feminazis’ which is a term that was coined by Rush Limbaugh. The term gained popularity when he used the term referring to the half-million large 2017 Women’s March as the "Deranged Feminazi March". The term ‘ Feminazi’, although quite amusing, is politically incorrect as its two words- feminism and Nazi, are as opposite as North is to South. That is because during Nazi Germany, feminism was banned and women were told to devote themselves to childbirth and child- rearing. Redstockings is a radical feminist group that was started by the afro mentioned Ellen Willis and Shulamith Firestone. They believe that women were forced into submission as they lacked the power under a patriarchal society. Thus they go with the idea of consciousness-raising and expose people to their ideas. They have produced many essays, most notably ‘The Redstockings Manifesto’ in which they say that women and not to be blamed for their oppression and it is men who must change-“ any man is free to renounce his superior position, provided that he is willing to be treated like a woman by other men”( section 4, The Redstocking Manifesto). They also go on to say that “all men have oppressed women”( section 3, The Redstocking Manifesto).From all of this, we can see that in many ways, especially if we take into account the essay of The Redstocking Manifesto, radical feminists have exaggerated a lot of things and while to some that may c
Does the change of substance affect the Personal Identity? Locke says Yes, do you agree? Why or why not?
Substances, in a philosophical system, are those things which, according to that system, are the foundational or fundamental entities of reality (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Eg., An Atomist considers atoms as the substance for they are the basic things from which everything is constructed, Philosopher David Hume considered Impressions and Ideas as substance, Philosopher Plato considered ‘Forms” as substance. John Locke considered soul, body and a thinking element (the third term) as Substance. He considered Personal Identity to be founded on consciousness and not on substance of either soul or body, ie., Personal Identity consists not in the identity of the substance, but in the identity of consciousness. To paraphrase an example from Wikipedia, One may claim to be a reincarnation of Plato, therefore having the same soul substance. However, one would be the same person as Plato only if one had the same consciousness of Plato’s thoughts and actions that he himself did. Therefore, Personal Identity is not based on soul substance. As I understand it, Locke holds that consciousness can be transferred from one soul to another and that Personal Identity goes with consciousness, ie., consciousness can be transferred from one substance to another, and thus, while the substance is changed, consciousness remains the same, thereby preserving the Personal Identity through the change. From a personal perspective, what I think, feel do, experience, make up my Personal Identity. I am still the person I was, say, 10 years ago. But my body, mind and thought processes may have changed over time. These changes of substance have enhanced my consciousness. My Personal Identity remains the same, but it has been affected by these changes. So I agree with Locke’s point of view.
Crooked lines
In The Crooked Lines by Ismant Chugtai, Shaman is the 10th child in a muslim family and she has been neglected both physically and mentally during most of her childhood. Her family had not explained to her about sexual desires and she was also excluded from public and private spheres. We will now see how that caused her to be sexually fluid and its effects and how were her first few relationships as a heterosexual womenHer sexual and romantic attractions and desires are not age specific or gender specific. As a child her wet nurse Unna had taken care of her but after she left she missed her “soft, warm bosom”( page 3, The Crooked Lines). When Manjhu, her sister started to take care of her she developed sexual feelings for her. She once caught Manjhu bathing and stared at her and even made her blush. Manjhu also complained to Bari Apa that Shaman was “ tickling her in a most unbecoming manner”( page 4, The Crooked Lines).Even in school gender did not seem an issue for Shaman. She could not form a biological bond with her biological mother so she was looking for a mother figure to have that bond with. She found that in her teacher Miss Charan or so we thought. She idealizes this mother substitute but also has unconscious repressions. She later developed sexual feeling for her and was obsessed with her and also often dreamt about sleeping in her bed. This proved to be her downfall as she was caught sleeping in Miss Charan’s bed and 3 days after the incident Miss Charan had left the school. Shaman’s desires had gotten the better of her and it left her in a dark place. Shaman’s desires did not stop as she then got into a love triangle between herself, Saadat and Najma. With Saadat and Najma being the best of friends and often talking for in her room, she often felt like the outsider in her own room. Slowly she started to have desire for Najma too and was often be overcome with the memory of “ the movement of Najma’s lips, and the pleats of her waist”( page 67, The Crooked lines). Najma also starts to see Shaman differently when at the fancy dress show she was constantly blushing at Shaman even though she was wearing a men’s attire.After Najma and Saadat, Bilquis was now Shaman’s best friend. Her time with Bilquis is ery important as it is she who tells Shaman that “ Apa Bi told we should be crazy about boys and not girls”( page 78, The Crooked lines). This was a turning point in Shaman’s life as this was a psychological shock and according to her, the idea of cross sex marriage was “ rubbish”. After this realization she was now forced to go on an alternative trajectory.Shaman’s sexuality is a key theme in the novel. Her transformation from being queer to being ‘straight’ is ambigious. Taking the term ‘ straight’ in reference, could the author be hinting at this ambiguity through the title ‘ Crooked Lines’?
To what extent is my identity determined by external factors
A lot of external factors can influence the identity of a person. Sometimes a person himself /herself does not realize how their identity have changed. For instance, if a robbery takes place near a person’s house, then all of a sudden the person can turn from being a nice and hospitable human being into a very suspicious person who now doesn’t trust anyone. If we look in the case of Buddha , he was isolated from the outside world during his childhood. After he saw the disadvantaged lives of the people, he renounced his name and fame and started living in the woods until he attained nirvana. My identity could also be influenced by family and peers. If my father, my mother and my brother were all doctors , it would be most likely that I would too want to become a doctor. In the same scenario if all of my friends were part of some gang who were on the wrong side of the law, I could be tempted by my friends into joining their gang as it would be ‘cool’. Our own will power will also determine if we get influenced by external factors. If a new trend starts or if my friends are doing something bad , I should have the power within me to say no.
oedipus rex
The chorus is an integral part of a Greek tragedy. It helps form the structure of the play. It enters after the Prologue, appears at all climactic turns of plot and concludes the play with an exit song.The primary role of the chorus is to act as a moderator or commentator. It generally occupies the orchestral space between the stage and the audience, forming a physical link between the characters on stage and the audience. The Chorus helps move the storyline forward by introducing new characters and commenting on ongoing activities and events. Through its observations, the audience gets a new perspective and sees a fuller picture of the action on stage.The Chorus comments on and evaluates incidents, characters and themes and helps mold the audience's reactions. The Chorus also prepares the audience for what might happen next by its forebodings which may or may not come true. This adds to the dramatic tension of the plot.The Chorus is also used to convey the vision of the dramatist to the audience. Its songs, or odes, can range from prayers and lamentations to songs of joy and grief. Sophocles has used the Chorus to magnificent effect in Oedipus Rex. The Chorus in the play consists of twelve to fifteen elders of Thebes, who react to events as they unfold on stage. The Chorus is sometimes fearful, sometimes full of praise or advice for Oedipus, and its songs refer to a variety of moods and themes ranging from tyranny to blasphemy. There are five Choral odes in Oedipus Rex. Each comes at a dramatic point in the play and helps the audience interpret events. It also either articulates or answers questions that arise in the mind of the audience and modulates their response.The first Choral ode is sung just after Oedipus declares his resolve to find Laius's murderer. The ode has two parts. First that the Chorus is fearful after hearing the message from Delphi and the other lamenting the miseries faced by Thebes- "Countlessly, the city dies, No compassion's found. A deadly generation lies unpitied on the ground. Wives and mothers, young and old, lament by altar's shore pains and sufferings untold. Their mournful voices soar." (Page 14, Oedipus Rex, Sophocles)By describing in horrific detail the sickness and death that has befallen Thebes, the Chorus emphasizes how high the stakes are for Oedipus, their king. The second Choral ode comes just after the bitter quarrel between Oedipus and Teiresias, who accuses him of Laius' murder. This dramatic ode again has two parts, one, where the Chorus condemn the murderer and warn him to flee Thebes. This song further contributes to the atmosphere of terror and foreboding. In the second part, the Chorus is uncertain of Oedipus' s motives and yet is not sure whether or not to believe Teiresias"Though Zeus and Phoebus know and see everything that mortals do, to say the priest knows more than me is not entirely true." (Page 32, Oedipus Rex, Sophocles)This conflict in its mind is transmuted to the audience as well. But the Chorus remains steadfast in its loyalty to its ideal king, Oedipus.The third Choral ode is a moral and religious sermon, directed both at the characters on stage and the audience. The Chorus has full faith in the laws of the gods "May fate find me accompanied by purity in word and deed revering laws that walk on high, the children of the azure sky." (Page54, Oedipus Rex, Sophocles) It stands for the sanctity of divine laws and condemns pride and arrogance. The Chorus also deplores Oedipus’s and Jocasta's irreverence towards the Oracles. It glorifies self-restraint and piousness and is fearful for the tyrant who is proud and arrogantThe fourth ode comes, when, after Jocasta's departure, Oedipus is facing an identity crisis. This Choral song is an expression of loyalty towards Oedipus. The Chorus praises him to the point of deification and expresses gratitude to the gods that protect Oedipus. The Chorus celebrate his divine birth, ironically, just before the truth of his birth is revealed by the shepherd. "Who was your mother, child, disclose. A sprite hill-ranging Pan come near? .....found a son among his bright-eyed nymphs at play." (Page 68, Oedipus Rex, Sophocles)The fifth and final Choral ode comments on how short-lived human happiness is. It reflects on the role of fate in Oedipus's downfall, his past triumphs, and present misery "If Oedipus' s fate the test, no human state is truly blest." (Page 75,Oedipus Rex, Sophocles) The Chorus molds the mood and perspective of the play by its comments. It also conveys Sophocles's theme of fatalism by surrendering before the forces of fate and the gods as it laments how even the most powerful of men are ruined by fate.