Skip to main content

The Diamond Necklace of Patriotism



The novel I’m reading now is Paul Zacharia’s A Secret History of Compassion. It is a bizarrely funny novel that takes absurdity to its possible extremes. The reader is transported to a different world altogether; a different world where he experiences déjà vu moment after moment. In the beginning I thought I had wasted money on the book because it read like a silly fairy tale for adults. Gradually it dawned on me that the novelist was presenting our own current reality of hollow patriotism, twisted truths, and perverted religions in a manner that is consciously designed to provoke us out of our passivity or resignation.

One of the women encountered by the protagonist, Lord Spider, during his morning walk is Mrs Nair who "died" (not really) during the night and probably didn’t know that she had died. Spider tries to bring the fact to her attention. The mention of death elicits an incident from Mrs Nair’s life. Her lover was at the railway station waiting for his train. When the train arrived, Mrs Nair alighted to see her lover’s dead body lying on the platform. He died unexpectedly and Mrs Nair “took charge of the situation and his belongings.” She explains to Spider that “It was patriotism and nothing but patriotism that guided me at that precise moment. It has stood by me in every emergency. This necklace is living proof of that.”

The necklace actually belonged to her lover who was carrying it as a gift for another woman with whom he had an affair too and whom he was going to meet when he fell down dead on the platform. On being questioned further about that unnatural death, Mrs Nair says, “Oh, on the day I wore the diamond necklace for the first time, I meditated, reciting the patriot’s mantra of gratitude. Suddenly my inner eye opened and I saw all…” She saw how death was accompanying her lover to the platform with a platform ticket for itself. Death can come to anyone at any time. It may even have a platform ticket to enter the railway station if that’s the place where it should strike. Even death has a sense of patriotism.

The protagonist is left thinking. “Obviously patriotism had become multipurpose.”

I have never succumbed to the temptations of patriotism because my love for humanity towers above parochialism and all other isms. I would love to see myself as a global citizen though I know the world won’t let me cross the man-made borders without passport and Visas. But love doesn’t need passport and Visa. I have never advocated hatred of any community in the name of patriotism or anything. On the contrary, I have tried my best to champion communal harmony and peace. Yet I’m condemned to get all sorts of labels and comments on social media. Let me conclude this piece with an example from this morning’s interaction with a patriot.











PS. Due apologies to Shrinidhi Hande, a perfect gentleman.



Top post on IndiBlogger, the biggest community of Indian Bloggers

Comments

  1. How illogical can a person get? Thoroughly brainwashed, these guys have stopped using their own brain! They just repeat lines like a parrot even in sleep.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I try my best to keep away from such people. But destiny is not always in our favour.

      Delete
  2. Reminds me of an essay we had to study at school where people idolized so that they need not adhere to what is told by the icon. We had Indira is India phase and now Modi is India phase. Neither pioneered or promoted it but as humans relish and cherish it. We need Arvind Passeyji to draw a cartoon on this

    ReplyDelete
  3. Introducing COLOR FANTASY SOPHISTICATED COLLECTION INSPIRED BY PASSION SHOP NOW SUMMER SALE JULY 15TH – AUGUST 30TH SHOP NOW 24/7 Support sales@luminousjewelers.com Buyer discount Special Offer Every Month Excellent Quality Over 4K happy clients She said “YES” Shop Now Happy Ever After Shop Now A Touch Of Perfection OUR LATEST COLLECTION Beautiful jewellery that complements … Home Read More »

    engagement rings for women
    vintage engagement rings
    charm bracelets
    diamond necklace

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ratna Sehgal is a web enthusiast and freelance blogger. She was born and brought up Punjab and is a big time foodie with a great interest in movies and books. Scottsdale diamonds

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anthony Constantinou | Anthony Constantinou CEO CWM FX says That looks excellent. I was also very passionate to learn about buying varieties of diamond in auction. There will be many place to find new products whether they are made by the most famous designers or manufacturers, but the yellow diamonds is quite a beauty and rare to find in any store.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

In this Wonderland

I didn’t write anything in the last few days. Nor did I feel any urge to write. I don’t know if this lack of interest to write is what’s called writer’s block. Or is it simple disenchantment with whatever is happening around me? We’re living in a time that offers much, too much, to writers. The whole world looks like a complex plot for a gigantic epic. The line between truth and fiction has disappeared. Mass murders have become no-news. Animals get more compassion than fellow human beings. Even their excreta are venerated! Folk tales are presented as scientific truths while scientific truths are sacrificed on the altar of political expediency. When the young generation in Nepal set fire to their Parliament and Supreme Court buildings, they were making an unmistakable statement: that they are sick of their political leaders and their systems. Is there any country whose leaders don’t sicken their citizens? I’m just wondering. Maybe, there are good leaders still left in a few coun...

Death as a Sculptor

Book Discussion An Introductory Note : This is not a book review but a reflection on one of the many themes in The Infatuations , novel by Javier Marias. If you have any intention of reading the novel, please be forewarned that this post contains spoilers. For my review of the book, without spoilers, read an earlier post: The Infatuations (2013). D eath can reshape the reality for the survivors of the departed. For example, a man’s death can entirely alter the lives of his surviving family members: his wife and children, particularly. That sounds like a cliché. Javier Marias’ novel, The Infatuations , shows us that death can alter a lot more; it can reshape meanings, relationships, and even morality of the people affected by the death. Miguel Deverne is killed by an abnormal man right in the beginning of the novel. It seems like an accidental killing. But it isn’t. There are more people than the apparently insane killer involved in the crime and there are motives which are di...

The Adventures of Toto as a comic strip

  'The Adventures of Toto' is an amusing story by Ruskin Bond. It is prescribed as a lesson in CBSE's English course for class 9. Maggie asked her students to do a project on some of the lessons and Femi George's work is what I would like to present here. Femi converted the story into a beautiful comic strip. Her work will speak for itself and let me present it below.  Femi George Student of Carmel Public School, Vazhakulam, Kerala Similar post: The Little Girl

When Cricket Becomes War

Illustration by Copilot Designer Why did India agree to play Pakistan at all if the animosity runs so deep that Indian players could not even extend the customary handshake: a simple ritual that embodies the very essence of sportsmanship? Cricket is not war, in the first place. When a nation turns a game into a war, it does not defeat its rival; it only wages war on its own culture, poisoning its acclaimed greatness. India which claims to be Viswaguru , the world’s Guru, is degenerating itself day after day with mounting hatred against everyone who is not Hindu. How can we forget what India did to a young cricket player named Mohammed Siraj , especially in this context? In the recent test series against England, India achieved an unexpected draw because of Siraj. 1113 balls and 23 wickets. He was instrumental in India’s series-levelling victory in the final Test at the Oval and was declared the Player of the Match. But India did not celebrate him. Instead, it mocked him for his o...

Whose Rama?

Book Review Title: Whose Rama? [Malayalam] Author: T S Syamkumar Publisher: D C Books, Kerala Pages: 352 Rama may be an incarnation of God Vishnu, but is he as noble a man [ Maryada Purushottam ] as he is projected to be by certain sections of Hindus? This is the theme of Dr Syamkumar’s book, written in Malayalam. There is no English translation available yet. Rama is a creation of the Brahmins, asserts the author of this book. The Ramayana upholds the unjust caste system created by Brahmins for their own wellbeing. Everyone else exists for the sake of the Brahmin wellbeing. If the Kshatriyas are given the role of rulers, it is only because the Brahmins need such men to fight and die for them. Valmiki’s Rama too upheld that unjust system merely because that was his Kshatriya-dharma, allotted by the Brahmins. One of the many evils that Valmiki’s Rama perpetrates heartlessly is the killing of Shambuka, a boy who belonged to a low caste but chose to become an ascetic. The...