This morning I received a message from Baskar, asking me to check A Roy's article in Guardian. I was wondering where was she? After all Mumbai terror gives her ample scope to nurture her pet topic. Usually she surfaces within a week in one of our leading magazines. However it took more than two weeks and a foreign daily to air her views. Quite understandable that none of our weeklies can risk an article of this kind, that too from a notorious person, given the current mood and climate.
I read it half way and dumped it. Whether you agree with the content or not, at least A Roy used to have a style and flow that keeps your interest alive in her writings. But this time nothing retained in my interest in her article. The article was hardly cohesive and far from a spontaneous response. She has just gobbled up all her pet hate topics like Modi, VHP, RSS, L K Advani, Hindu terrorism, Kashmir injustice, Islam's anger, Narmada dam, Singur,... etc and used them here and there along with Mumbai terror to make people see her point. What is her point? India deserve it. Yes, we deserve a writer and a pseudo-socialist like Arundhati Roy.
I think she was compelled to write as the Mumbai terror presented her a grand opportunity to put forth her vicious and venomous thoughts across to her readers and haters. Indian weeklies cold feet proved all the more good for her that now she has international audience via Guardian.
Every person has a right to air their views on the Mumbai terror and they need not agree with the popular opinion. However what the terrorists did to victims and at large to the psyche of Indian public is terribly condemnable. There can't be two opinions on that unless one is a terrorist. I did not come across a single sentence of condemnation of terror attacks and the perpetrators, by this over rated inetllectual (Please correct me if you find her condemning these acts in the article or if she had done it elsewhere).
What do you make of such people who use such an incident only to feed their ego and cast their aspersions on all and sundry. Baskar suggested that she is the Ghoul of mean things. She is a Ghoul (feeding on victims) of mean things (petty ego, mean mind and verbal diarrhoea).
Please read her article and post your views. Unfortunately there was no comments section under her article in Guardian. May be fortunately for Arundhati Roy. Arundhati Roy's article in Guardian
Correction.
ReplyDeleteI find it that 'Outlook' published this article by Arundhati Roy in their recent edition. I was wrong in thinking that Indian weeklies can't dare to publish this kind of article at this time. In a way it's good to know that they give space all views irrespective of the time.
I would have liked it if you had made a point by point rebuttal, but obviously you thought it beneath your dignity.
ReplyDeleteHowever, Sreejith, at his blog http://sreejithbk.blogspot.com/2008/12/arundhati-roy-on-mumbai-terror-attack.html, has made a wonderful post, so those of you who are interested, may please look it up.
A friend of mine, who always wears dirty clothes and is labelled as insane, surprised me one day. He was not as bad then as he is now. So we used to spend some time together.
It was a Saturday, usually a holiday for us. I had gone to office because i felt i had to clear some pending papers.
He came to me at about eleven and after some time, shocked me by saying, "There is a girl here. She is totally nude. It is a mohini pisasu, she is making provocative gestures" (mohini pisasu is some kind of bewitching girlish ghost, i think).
Anyone could say that, but it was what he did next that shocked me terribly.
He launched into poetry, every word in its place, superb metre, fantastic rhymes. You know how it is when someone goes full blast at cursing, you initially enjoy it and laugh with him, but as he goes on and on, it turns repulsive?
I suppose Balajhi felt the same way as I did when he sang his song of obscenities.
Arundhati Roy is a ghoul who feeds on the festering wounds of our polity (poverty, religious fundamentalism- hindutva and jehad, both), indifferent intelligentia, self serving politicians, corrupt bureaucracy, irresponsible media- everything), and is inspired by its victims- the more decomposed they are the more inspired she gets- and does her obscene act, obscene, but not attractive- the things she displays are her small mindedness, petty ego, and her propensity for verbal diarrhoea.
We should not bother with her, but it is our sense revulsion that completes an act of obscenity, right?
Otherwise it goes unappreciated.
Correction. It is our sense OF revulsion that completes an at of obscenity.
ReplyDeleteSorry if i made a wrong recommend. Point taken, though. ABUSIVE language definitely shows a primitive mentality. I suppose he got carried away. Not everyone can rise above religion and nationality, though we try to. I thought at least he tried to address Arundhati Roy's points.
ReplyDeleteKartikey I mentioned pseudo-socialist not pseudo secular. Yes the article was boring and her motive was very clear. It's just some India bashing by an Indian writer.
ReplyDeleteI remember that interview Kartikey. Ram Jethmilani at his best. Media is tuned by the TRP rating.
ReplyDeleteIndia, the government and the people are no angels. It has lots and lots of problems. We score badly on many fronts. Each and every issue has to be addressed and I will be happy to hear A Roy's views on them. But highlighting all that and connecting it with mumbai terror attacks without even condemning the very act was loathsome.