[Reader-list] Speech problems? May be we should sing?

[Gayatri Chatterjee]

Speech problems? May be we should sing?

No harm in telling a story we all know - stories can be told over and over
again (and errors do not matter). Once a certain Muslim ruler of Luckhnow
wanted to provide his people with jobs and meals during a period of terrible
drought. So he embarked upon building a Mashjid complex; those who worked on
that site were provided a meal in the afternoon. The cooks could not procure
raw material for any kind of course meal and put in gigantic vessels
whatever was available of - rice, meat, vegetables, roots, greens, spices.
And thus they conjured up meal-in-a-pot of the day. This is supposed to be
the origin of biryani. The Nawab got a whiff of the potion that was cooked
that day, introduced that mode of cooking in the royal kitchen - and la
voila!
I can only produce such hotchpotch stuff - biryani or kichri/ khichuri/
kedgeree. One can call it the witches' brew -- whatever!

Actually, I had begun something on the following date.

20/3/02
Dear Shveta Sarda,
I am sorry I did not get back to you earlier.
Firstly, I did not want to talk too much and too soon; secondly, I wanted to
go in other directions -- other than what had sparked off all this -- other
than, but not separate from them.
So I am replying to you as I also reply to Jeebesh's call for looking into
the nature(s) of list-based communication, for questioning through this list
what the nature of shared experiences would be, as conducted in this virtual
space and for predicting what unpredictable encounters could do through
internet interactions.
I want to look into the question whether internet-interactions are
democratic; but already know I will not be able to arrive at that, for such
thought are beyond my ken. But I also know, now, if I falter, someone else
will pick it up and carry on, from where I fail.

Dear Jeebesh,
I start with what Shveta brought in: fragmented thoughts; insufficient
communication, feelings of disappointment and irritation such communications
can arouse. I start with communication as unpleasant experience (like
retching on one another); communication resembling 'immature childhood'
acts. I put that under quotes, for I am reluctant to describe childhood acts
as immature. I did bring in terms like immaturity and adulthood in my last
posting to Shuddha. They were solely in the context of the age that comes
after childhood (which of course can end at any point in one's life,
abruptly or gradually -- but those are finer points).
Let us start from some a priori - that we are not, cannot afford to be very
immature or innocent. We must have arrived at some level of 'adulthood' if
are raising these questions and finally trying to formulate what kind of
civil society we want. If we fail there, we must at least know what kind of
a list this is - this virtual space and all other spaces this is virtually
linked to.

Shveta, let us say your letter is a reaction to my letter - which it is. Let
us say, your letter also raises the question what communications does or can
do at such moments. The next step would be to accommodate all such actions
and reactions, all such questionings under this one virtual roof and see
what such an assembling does.

28/3/02
I had stopped, as events toppled after events and I felt extremely foolish
and small in front of such events and felt it would not be right to write
anything that is to go public.

Should one be foolish in public? Why not? Particularly when such things are
happening. Yes, I think one could be that, foolish - or vulgar or crazy or
mad or whatever. One does not have to be wise and civil or the like. And if
one is not all that all the while, why should the exchanges be of any one
kind. The exchanges in this list can go any one way, all the way, all the
many ways..any ways..many ways.

Perhaps Pratap was taking us some important direction with his 'bad poems'.
Perhaps he stopped for others did not join in - which is a pity. No doubt,
the poem was bad; but that was no reason to stop. It perhaps would be
equally bad to write 'good' poetry right now.
Incidentally, I cannot write poetry -- bad or good. But I ask myself: what
does it mean when at moments like these Gayatri Chatterjee sits and creates
well-formed letters? How come, her notes are not fragmented? Why am I not
retching?

Particular kinds of literature come out during war times. They are often
funny, bawdy vulgar, or satirical and morbid - almost always they are
'politically incorrect'. Wartime jokes abound in cities that have seen
repeated political turmoil. I am reminded of jokes from Dhaka. When I
repeated them to Bansi Kaul (theatre personality), he had said Bhopal is one
such place where each muhalla has specific brands of jokes. And there are
tonga-wallah jokes - from drivers of horse-carriages that even now operate
as cabs.
Kaul has made it his business to adopt humour as his modus operandi. He
calls his stuff -- theatre of humour; he goes around gathering jokes.
So, he has a repertoire of 'election jokes'.

I think this list needs all of us to write in whichever way we are capable
of - at that moment. Let us not ask 'what is the point' as Shveta's friend
had. The point is to, while within the list, build up the list. The aim is
to build up the solidarity, the vocabulary and the understanding to
understand speech-acts floating in a virtual space. That might not be easy.

11/04/'02
I had written the above before the affair of amit-Pratap-shali Pandey (with
joining Saint-Tarun-Kumar, Slum-bug - and others). I do not know any of
them. But, does it matter that I know what Sengupta, Bagchi and Nerula look
like?

14/04/'02
I am thinking of a very good rule of conduct in some bygone days, but
something I have witnessed as it was on its way out. One had to reply to a
poem only by another. So, if an insult was meted out through a poem, then
the one thus verbally abused had no other way out but to write a poem.
Pratap, why don't you write your thoughts in more 'bad' poems and let
everyone reply through poems. The only condition should be they must be
equally bad - or worse.

May be, even that will not solve the problem, that people are getting hurt
and are hurting one another(s). In those the days the injurious poems were
sung out. Whatever might have been the verse, the melodies were always very
good. Singers were employed, if the versifier could not sing.

I once witnessed something quite impressive. Two teams were to quarrel with
each other -- on invitation and commission. The organizer gave them the
topic (my father and so I know the team leaders did not know the topics
beforehand) and half an hour to prepare themselves). The topic was 'a
quarrel between Shiva and Parvati'. I still kind of remember the woman lead
of one of the teams (playing Parvati).

15/04/'02
Wow! I think something is going to emerge on this list. The precarious
period perhaps is setting itself right. Let us not be so impatient; let us
act, observe and freak out (and not jump to conclusions).
'Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be!'