Of sooner's than later's...

While change is the only constant, thank you Heraclitus… I’m afflicted with vertigo and tinnitus at its velocity and vibrancy. The latter, I’d rather welcome. My paternal genes lean heavily towards presbycusis, I will get there sooner than later.

My little world is pulverized almost every day as a new dogma is lambasted into it. India is big into changing names of its famous, infamous, not so famous cities. I refuse to call the place where my umbilical cord disintegrated as Mumbai. My birth certificate states Bombay and Bombay it shall remain for me, until senility comes calling, which I have a sneaking suspicion, is also sooner than later.

Today, a post on Gandhi flanked by two young women made its way into a Whatsapp group with metoo emblazoned on the women. I’m super reactive, sensitive and umbrageous these days. Menopause will you bloody happen sooner!

Yeah so I expostulated, I thought it in bad taste and I’m unpleasantly miffed that I maybe part of a groupuscule that is tottering on the brink of extinction. How molecular this infinitesimal cerebellum, sigh!

Which triggered recent memories of posts, conversations and publications that I’ve been playing eyes wide shut to, because it splinterizes the dogmas and tenets that I’ve grown up with. Like Gandhi, being the Father of our Nation and his role in our freedom struggle. 

As children most fancy dress competitions were won by those who dressed like Gandhi, every year, same to same, Dorian Grayish. To say our parents and teachers lacked imagination is an understatement. I’m going to be ostracized, by the former and the latter, sooner than… you know the drill by now.

We had to learn three languages in school, English, Kannada and Hindi and all three had lessons on Gandhi and honestly it was overkill, the only reason I had some feelings for him, positive ones that is, was because October 2^nd , his birthday was a national holiday.

In law college, his book “The Law and the Lawyers” was prescribed as part of English as a subject and we were supposed to be inspired as ‘lawyer or a layman with the belief that the vocation of the lawyer is an honorable vocation requiring the highest standards of rectitude integrity and uprightness and that its practice is in no way inconsistent with the pursuit of truth.’ Says the blurb on the book.

It was a chore and most of us hated it. Once we were done with formal education, the only reminders of Gandhi were on our currency largely and I grew to quite like the fellow as an adult. I’d begun to appreciate his wily wisdom and slowly made peace with him. Later than sooner.

Just when I decided he had merit and was proud, some of my country folk, pun intended, have swung the other way. Gandhi is an anti hero to them for acquiescing with demands that led to India’s partition. The millions of people who were killed during this division, apparently their blood is on his hands.

Now ask me why my ire is piqued! Like seriously!!! My India is hell bent on rewriting history and presenting new ‘facts’. I have only one thought, will this help my country to be a more aware, humane, intellectual, cohesive society? Will it pave the path for equality and justice and brother hood? Will defiling memories of leaders past bring to our future a new aurora?

I said only one thought a few sentences earlier, didn’t I? Ok I bent the truth… left. Read Gandhi’s autobiography “My Experiments with the Truth”.

I’m also wondering how many ‘truths’ will emerge to convert, covertly or overtly, to Fascism, sooner than later.