As a kid I remember a song from a Govinda-Karishma starrer being in the middle of a social degradation controversy. There was an intense imbroglio regarding the amount of harm that such morally, and by all Indian definitions, politically incorrect songs can do to our culture and children. May be even the future and economy of the country was in jeopardy.
If it still did not click, it was the song ‘sexy, sexy, sexy, mujhe log bolein’ from ‘Khuddar’. So, the media, which is quite bold today, blew the trumpets along with the moral police back then. Channels and newspapers were full of ghost stories about the future moral downfall of the society. Though some championed the cause of change like always.
Well. Honestly for most of us, it was a new word. And given the scale of the controversy, curiosity was at its crux. Oxford and Cambridge dictionaries came to rescue. Though I remember people, especially guys, across the teens' range referring to that ‘S’ word with erotic excitement for few months on.
Move over the ‘S’ word. Enter the ‘F’ word. Today we live in a society where ‘sexy’ is as good as ‘nice’. From food to drinks, advertisements to cars, even work and evenings can be ‘sexy’. But of course, men and women can also be that. That is not all. We happily curse situations, friends, enemies, ourselves, co-commuters, ex-lovers or worse still, present lovers and a host of other people and things with a wide array of versions of the ‘F’ word. We happily show our middle fingers to people, mostly when we are assured that the feedback will not be physical. Or maybe we are on an automobile and the receiver of our gesture is not.
Okay. Whatever be the reason or method. We are fine with this. I am not encouraging its use. We have to agree that we have been foul-mouthing our fellow countrymen for centuries now. I am only pointing out that we have embraced an Americanized way of swearing on people, while an Americanized way of appreciating beauty was scandalous not very long ago. Imagine the transition in less than one and a half decades. (Khuddar was released in 1994) So, the message is loud and clear. Proved again by the wheels of time. Everything changes. For better or worse, who knows? We as individuals, or even as a group of individuals cannot stop change. If the group is strong, the change can be slowed but definitely not stopped. Even ‘glasnost’ could not hide the benefits of capitalism led industrialization from the commoners of communist Russia.
And why do moral policing? Who decides right or wrong? Good or bad? All these are too subjective and should be left alone to the discretion of the individual. What tickles my funny bone is why people will not bother for obviously wrong doings in public? Leave eve teasing. Or a road rage fight. Indian males take pride in ‘pissing’ in public! And no one worries. One can ‘piss’ in public but forget that sweet ‘kiss’. Most people with whom I had the good fortune to discuss this issue have said that they will not like to kiss their beloved or be cozy simply because of the weird stares that might attract. And talking about policing, we will be doing a great job if we can achieve cent percent legal policing!
If it still did not click, it was the song ‘sexy, sexy, sexy, mujhe log bolein’ from ‘Khuddar’. So, the media, which is quite bold today, blew the trumpets along with the moral police back then. Channels and newspapers were full of ghost stories about the future moral downfall of the society. Though some championed the cause of change like always.
Well. Honestly for most of us, it was a new word. And given the scale of the controversy, curiosity was at its crux. Oxford and Cambridge dictionaries came to rescue. Though I remember people, especially guys, across the teens' range referring to that ‘S’ word with erotic excitement for few months on.
Move over the ‘S’ word. Enter the ‘F’ word. Today we live in a society where ‘sexy’ is as good as ‘nice’. From food to drinks, advertisements to cars, even work and evenings can be ‘sexy’. But of course, men and women can also be that. That is not all. We happily curse situations, friends, enemies, ourselves, co-commuters, ex-lovers or worse still, present lovers and a host of other people and things with a wide array of versions of the ‘F’ word. We happily show our middle fingers to people, mostly when we are assured that the feedback will not be physical. Or maybe we are on an automobile and the receiver of our gesture is not.
Okay. Whatever be the reason or method. We are fine with this. I am not encouraging its use. We have to agree that we have been foul-mouthing our fellow countrymen for centuries now. I am only pointing out that we have embraced an Americanized way of swearing on people, while an Americanized way of appreciating beauty was scandalous not very long ago. Imagine the transition in less than one and a half decades. (Khuddar was released in 1994) So, the message is loud and clear. Proved again by the wheels of time. Everything changes. For better or worse, who knows? We as individuals, or even as a group of individuals cannot stop change. If the group is strong, the change can be slowed but definitely not stopped. Even ‘glasnost’ could not hide the benefits of capitalism led industrialization from the commoners of communist Russia.
And why do moral policing? Who decides right or wrong? Good or bad? All these are too subjective and should be left alone to the discretion of the individual. What tickles my funny bone is why people will not bother for obviously wrong doings in public? Leave eve teasing. Or a road rage fight. Indian males take pride in ‘pissing’ in public! And no one worries. One can ‘piss’ in public but forget that sweet ‘kiss’. Most people with whom I had the good fortune to discuss this issue have said that they will not like to kiss their beloved or be cozy simply because of the weird stares that might attract. And talking about policing, we will be doing a great job if we can achieve cent percent legal policing!
Whatsoever be the reason. Or the issue. I can feel the winds of change. Our metropolises are yet to reach western openness. Our hinterland is further away. We might not fill their footsteps at all. Our culture having a distinct identity might come up with a fresh cultural potpourri paradigm. In every walk of life, be it food, clothes, language or the social thread. And I think it will be fuckin’ sexy!
7 comments:
The article is really sexy ;) you have conveyed your message in a very interesting way..keep writing good articles like this.
Oustanding ! Mindblowing! Superb!
and er yeah...f#$%in sexy
The issue isn't whether or not we use the expletive "f-word" or sexy as an adjective, adverb, exclamation or maybe even as a proper noun, it's just how inclusive we have become in our lives. And the same goes for our vocabulary.
Who wants to think of a good adjective or an adverb, when you have the "f-word" or sexy at hand.
You get the drift..."sexy" shot or "f%^&ing" bluelines buses in Delhi or maybe even as a definitive for a adjective "f#$@ing" delicious.......
And that's not the end. Soon we have replaced the "f-word"and sexy with words like "mindblowing", "mindblasting" and all related crap. And no one's minding....
Mindblowing !!
Matreyi: Thnx! Will definitely do that.
Abhishek: Dude, you make the difference. Your comments were overwhelming and provide more food for thought.
geat piece!sums up nicely the hypocritical and ironical society that we live in..
after what abhishek wrote i have very little to add, except, perhaps that i could not comprehend why both of u hesitated to write the word FUCK...
u may choose to watch a Stanley Kubrick classic and his last film, Eyes Wide Shut (1999); the film ends with the word FUCK...
for obvious reasons the censor board never allowed it in India...but trust me, the film is fucking going to unnerve you...
Here are a few words of wisdom from what Salinger wrote some 50(000) years ago when we were not even fuck en born:
"Thats the whole trouble. You can't ever find a place thats nice and peaceful, because there isn't any. You may think there is, but once you get there, when you're not looking, somebody'll sneak and write 'Fuck You' right under your nose.Try it sometime. I think, even, if i ever die, and they stick me in a cemetery, and i have a tombstone and all, it'll say 'Holden Caulfield' on it, and then what year i was born and what year i died, and then right under that it'll say 'Fuck You'. I'm positive, in fact."
true, as abhishek said, the verbal discourse in metropolises, among us- supposed harbingers of civility- has changed over the years, but whatever happened to the rest of the country? Do they speak at all or do we who fail to hear those voices? One may ruminate, but i need to piss now, my bladder's full, and there's a fucking urinal only steps away...
Grace: Thnx!
Sayantan: Your commentary on FUCK was enlighting. Got new inputs on the subject :-)
i dunno how fuckin soothing and thoughtful it was, but the changing dynamics of the society is apparent...soothing is always an incorrect expression for people like me i know but its just that my vocab is poor..i say this coz urs is better..
appreciating your article brother, the life cycle is just multiplying with too many spokes to handle..it wont run and one spoke with melt in other without a crash..its all happening..crash crush..
who rides that cycle of misfortune?? not the luck but for me its experiences...cultural demolition is a natural experiences that has to move towards the end..geography, physics, economics ..all suggets an end...a constructive force for me in society is unnatural..i dont dream of words in magnitude...i wish they exist...i fear the dumbness and deafness that has approached us..
like ur writings so count me a regular reader...
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