In all these battles of the East and the West, orthodoxy and liberalism, where do we stand? What is our own expression, if not silence?
It is not really about claims; it's about performance. Talking about now, not our grand past, where do we stand in the contemporary societies and cultures when it comes to expressing our love.
The notion that this culture does not have the capacity to enjoy and celebrate sensual experiences altogether is the anomaly bought by the urban youth who are overexposed to the West. The welcoming of spring as Basant or romanticizing the monsoon rains in songs are examples of celebrating, without philosophy or creed, our presence on this planet and cherishing just whatever good is around -- the simple joy of being human. The expression can be different and less liberal, but the capacity was always there.
We are not a species that can claim to have a monopoly over love. A male fish trying to win the heart of his beloved in the deep waters, pairs of birds cuddling on the trees or in some lake, butterflies fluttering over the flowers are the images that tell the story of their survival. One major attribute that distinguishes us Homo sapiens from the rest, apart from intimacy, is that we can express our feelings through words.
We, the people from the East, are very romantic, but it seems that either we have some ideal image of the beloved -- are shocked and disappointed once successful -- or we just love the idea of being in love.
This question needs further exploration as the Eastern poetry and music are great when it comes to suffering and yearning for love, the period known as firaaq -- absence or separation. But where do all the songs and poetry disappear when love is consummated, known as visaal (union). Our poetry is mostly object- or, shall we say, beloved-centered, which is the core theme of love poetry almost everywhere. But then comes enjoying the post-visaal life which pertains to things other than the beloved herself.
Another interesting fact in our poetic or lyrical culture is that the gender of beloved is usually feminine, with the exception of a few contemporary poetesses. Even if the adjectives are not feminine, the point of view is mostly masculine -- something that is in contrast with the contemporary Western tradition of song and poetry. The clichéd image of the female trapped in a tower or by an evil person, and the male fighting the world to rescue her are somehow still followed. The heroes' struggles have created great epics, but what is the story inside the tower?
Freedom of expression and different sets of values have encouraged diversity and liberty in the Western cultures and have brought the point of view of the female singers into the mainstream. It is important to understand this difference as it does affect the overall mood of the lyrical tradition.
The majority of the movies produced in the Indian subcontinent follow a pattern in which the protagonist is a hero only when he is single and has to overcome many obstacles to get to his beloved, and once that is achieved, it serves to be the ne plus ultra of heroism for our hero, end of story, no more dancing or singing -- an interminable kitsch syndrome of epic proportions.
Since the only legitimate relationship between a male and a female, in this society, is that of man and wife, and the majority are arranged, there is not much left to be merry about -- as the whole relationship is conceived by external factors and not from a spark within. An arranged marriage is like choosing a closed box from a number of designs on a shelf, with nothing much but date of manufacture on each, all of which have something edible, and then either praying to be lucky or trying to develop a taste later, commonly known as compromise.
The metaphor of food should not be considered sexist, as it is even worse in the case of females: their boxes choose them. The absurdity of the analogy is nothing compared to the practice itself. No wonder all the singing and dancing ends there. Or is it because of the fact that sharing the post-visaal experience is too indecent for our culture, where even 'legitimate' spouses are not allowed to suggest their intimacy let alone show much affection in the presence of others. It seems that the culmination of love is also a culmination of the songs, or we yet have to develop a taste for cherishing daily experiences like having a cup of coffee, a walk, some quality time, a touch--and write songs about them. So far we see this in the cooking oil and tea ads.
Ballet, salsa, tango, waltz etc -- dance forms that are the poetry of human body, originated in cultures that allow the male and female bodies to be intimate in public. How many dance forms do we have in our culture that allow us to express our feelings for our loved ones? The fact that such a dance would fall in the post-visaal experience: once in touch with our love, silently we stand. In our culture the idea of post-visaal pleasures seems to be absent altogether from any form of social expression, but children.
Kuch ishq kiya kuch kaam kiya by a celebrated poet is a testimony to how this culture considers love to be something useless. In the Sufi tradition Ishq with a human is reduced to just a majazi (simulated) one. This is a major shift from the rest of the species, as all the worldly pleasures are considered futile, even if legitimate. The result is painted on the walls all over our beloved country, sending the poor love moths on guilt trips for the 'wrong-doings' of the teenage (usually the result of un-consummated love). This is an amazing mastery of a culture over the hypocrisy that allows the claims of cures to be painted on the walls, but is not ready to acknowledge the restrictions as a cause, or the very disease itself.
Though it is not a question of integrity to borrow the visual icons like the heart-shape from the West, as they had borrowed it from the ancient Egyptians who might have gotten it from somewhere else, it is still important for us to know how our ancestors expressed their love. We, who are dependent on the West to express our love, and follow the Middle Eastern traditions to show our resistance and hatred, need to ask ourselves what our culture is contributing to this global village. In all these battles of the East and the West, orthodoxy and liberalism, where do we stand? What is our own expression, if not silence?
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Published in The News on Sunday
http://jang.com.pk/thenews/feb2009-weekly/nos-15-02-2009/spr.htm
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