[Reader-list] Impressions from Pritam B Bhattacharjee, Wordsmith of Syhlleti.org

Thu Mar 7 20:51:06 IST 2002

Dear World,
             As you cry, plan, wonder and enjoy the
events of 

September 11, I also do all of them with you.
             I cry because lots of peoples dreams just
got
             evaporated without their knowing  what
             future will definitely half-unveil. I
plan 
             because 
i have to survive and if not, i need
             to know what remains between me and my
survival.
             I wonder, how wonderfully easy it is to
make
             such turmoil come to pass and I enjoy
that
             it will bring a fresh insight into things
that
             we have taken and living for granted -
state,
             democracy, religion, force and its use. I
also
             have another feeling that all these in
some way
             are a kind of poetic justice and makes us
feel that
             the history's serpent lies coiled,
always, in
             spite of our effort and declaration of
not noticing
             it.

             THE PAX AMERICANA

             The empire of Rome offered a kind of an
order 
to
             the Western world and the Pax Romana or
Roman peace
             was the power cloaked with moderation,
force 

bandaged with consideration. As the peace matured,
             the architects of the peace, by the very
natural
             process became relaxed, satisfied while
looking at
             their great enterprise and Capitol became
not
             a building, but a symbol. The smell of
history
             wafted from the pillars and the columns
of that
             great empire with little crevices here
and there
             where if you have the ear of sympathy and
the 

faculty of detachment, you will hear sighs and 
             groans of unknown 
kind, of the slaves, of the people
             on whom Rome conferred subjecthood but
withheld 

true citizenship, of the rotten beds and tables 
             of the Romans 
whose ancestors abhorred the same
             as barbarian low-taste or Eastern
excesses. Soon
             Pax Romana came to an end, leaving a
legacy that
             was taken up by a young nation some five
hundred
             years later - The Pax Americana. The
frontier
             of this young Rome without a Ceasar was "
             guarded by soldiers of contemporary
renown and
             excellent virtue". The Pax Americana
continued and
             with two wars around the globe, the young
nation
             rose from its trans-atlantic isolation
and
             got interetsted into affairs of the East,
Far East
             and slowly of all parts of the fairy
world.

             THE DECADENCE AND THE DENIAL

             The young nation, with the passage of
time entered
             and redefined moral, statecraft,
governance and
             technology. Youth was its steam as well
as wheel.
             Fifty years from its first sign of
attaining manhood,
             it handled onto something philosophical -
redefining
             passage of Time. With technology,
influence and
             a sense of noble power, it ushered onto
an arena
             where all became a matador and Time was
the rushing
             animal. In its own making, it ran Time
fast forward
             and since Time does not allow anyone to
go away
             from its orbit, noe even its
creator-designer. So
             Pax Americana ran fast forward compared
to anyhthing 

before and in this pardox of reference, it has grown
             and almost old, without having any idea
of it. The
             inner interia of a rustic youth pushed a 
             Time 
straddled old-age. Pax Americana on its own
             time-zone is a very old inhabitant.

             THE OTHERS AND THE PAX AMERICANA

             There were older enterprises also in the
world
             around whose time effect was more slower
and
             hence more understandable. They also
watched the
             march of the young horse and as they
themselves
             understood the heavy weight of ancient
civilization
             upon them, they took the old recourse of
an 
             old 
man - of giving the burden to the young, if
             a customary respect is shown by the young
upstart.
             Others, by and large were quite
comfortable but
             the time-effect affected all who were
close 
             and 
hence suddenly, to their horror they found that
             not only they have aged miserably, but
the young
             nation has done more so. It was a no
exit, no entry.
             The time-bargain was struck. The Pax
Americana was 

neither new, nor young and with time, it had
             learnt all the art of subterfuge to hide
age and
             decay. It was like a old woman putting
blushers 

onto the cheeks, but the shine of the eye
             betrayed. The last push or the last
resort was to
             create  a separate world-order from
pulses and
             spurts of energy but reminders came,
where the
             old age has kept its mark, sometimes in
senselessness,
             sometimes by vanity, sometimes by
arrogance and
             at times, by pure neglect. 

             THE NEXT PAX 
?

             The moment a civilization acheives a
critical
             sense of maturity as well as offers some
kind of
             prosperity to its citizens, it becomes
more
             and more complex, until the very
complexity
             which while in harmony is a symphony
slowly
             becomes chaotic due to the very nature of

             any 
equilibrium of sufficiently complex nature.
             And sooner, in its life cycle it
approaches a point
             where only cultural gravitation can
prevent a 

total collapse or dgeneration of such an extent that
             except some monuments, for all practical
matters
             it ceases to influence the stream of
history.

             The next Pax will be some human community
which
             will understand the cultural areas more,
which will
             be more rich in mind-scape and it will
also have
             its own vulnerabilities. 

             But we are living on 
a telescopic history as well
             with a microscopic memory.  

					Pritam B (wordsmith)

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