Bonfire: Holika Dahan - Sunday Reading

Hello Readers!

India is diversified in terms of culture, religion, languages and festivals. If people don't look at their own culture with multiplicity, they remain aloof from knowing the similarities between their culture and other traditions carrying the same rites and rituals. Reading literature, watching films give many perspectives to look at religio-cultural practices. This way one can expand the horizons of critical thinking. The narrowness in any discourse leads one towards adamant beliefs which are not only difficult to debunk but also next to impossible to reconstruct the newer perspectives.

India has multiple calendars. Historically looking at those calendars, some of them were created by the emperor of ancient India, and some of them were religious calendars. Vikramaditya was emperor whose fame was widespread.

We already know the Indian festival Holi, the festival of colors and bonfire. In this blog we shall try to cover the other narratives and ideas around bonfire. Holi is not the only festival connected with bonfire or a religious fire. In religions like Parsi and Jewism there is a concept of fire which is pious and holy.

Some examples can be taken here from 

Arundhati Subramaniam - Where God is a Traveller

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Here is a blog about the Sahitya Akademi Awardee Arundhati Subramaniam. Her collection of a poem with the title: When God Is a Traveller. Here is a poem with the same title.

Image Credit: https://www.bloodaxebooks.com/ecs/product/when-god-is-a-traveller-147

When God Is a Traveller

Arundhati Subramaniam

(wondering about Kartikeya/ Muruga/ Subramania, my namesake)

Trust the god back from his travels, his voice wholegrain (and chamomile), 

his wisdom neem, his peacock, sweaty-plumed, drowsing in the shadows.

Trust him who sits wordless on park benches listening to the cries of children fading into the dusk, 

his gaze emptied of vagrancy, his heart of ownership.

Trust him who has seen enough— revolutions, promises, the desperate light of shopping malls, hospital rooms, manifestos, theologies, the iron taste of blood, the great craters in the middle of love. 

Trust him who no longer begrudges his brother his prize, his parents their partisanship. 

Trust him whose race is run, whose journey remains, who stands fluid-stemmed knowing he is the tree that bears fruit, festive with sun.

Trust him who recognizes you— auspicious, abundant, battle-scarred, alive— and knows from where you come. 

Trust the god ready to circle the world all over again this time for no reason at all other than to see it through your eyes.

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1. A first-read interpretation and reflection

The poem at first place seems much prosaic. If one reads again with more deeper insight, it has many connotations about the love for parents. Its about Lord Ganesha and Kartikeya who worship their parents in order to prove the excellence.

The last lines are very remarkable and worth thinking upon. The speaker of poem directly addresses people and tells that

2. prosodic element in the poem

There's a tone of repetition of the word : 'Trust Him'. Perhaps this is used to connote 

3. Reading the poem through the lens of Indian Poetics

Bharatmuni an Indian scholar who wrote Natyashastra has given many poetic devices to read epics and poetic plays. 

In Indian Poetics, there are theories like, Rasa Theory, Dhvani School, Alamkara and Vakrokti School of thought. The poems best fits in terms of Alamkara and Vakrokti.

Nina Paley - Copyright is Brain Damage | Videos

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I've come across some of the significant thoughts shared by Nina Paley, an artist. There are two animation films. Sita Sings the Blues and Seder Masochism.

Few months back, at department of English, Prof. Dr Dilip Barad sir explained some of the topics related to Orientalism by Edward Said and at that time, the following video was shown during the discussion.

This Land Is Mine

This video was made with intention to highlight the never ending issues of encroaching lands in Levant.

After watching this video I actually came to know about the creator Nina Paley.

In the recommendations, I got the following film.

Sita Sings the Blues

Official Website. https://www.sitasingstheblues.com/

After watching this film, again the following video was in the recommendation. It is worth watching TEDx Talk, in which Nina Paley talks about copyright and it's meaninglessness.

Copyright is Brain Damage | Nina Paley | TEDxMaastricht

In this video she shared the cons of the copyright laws and its dangers to the creativity and arts. In the video she officially launces "This Land is Mine". The song is actually the end part of the full length film, "Seder-Masochism."

Seder-Masochism (2018) FULL MOVIE by Nina Paley

Official Website - https://sedermasochism.com/

Thank You.