It surprised her that hate is an astonishingly translucent and pure emotion, just like love. Like a diamond.
- U R Ananthamurthy — Apoorva by U R Ananthamurthy, Translated by Deepa Ganesh; Online Short Story; Out of Print Magazine; September 2011
- U R Ananthamurthy — Apoorva by U R Ananthamurthy, Translated by Deepa Ganesh; Online Short Story; Out of Print Magazine; September 2011
ਕਲਾਕਾਰ ਦੀ ਕਲਾ ਇਸੇ ਵਿੱਚ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਕਿਸੇ ਇੱਕ ਸ਼ੈਅ ਵਿੱਚੋਂ ਦੂਜੀ ਦਾ ਝਉਲਾ ਪੈਂਦਾ ਹੋਵੇ। ਅਣਦਿਸਦੇ ਦਾ ਪੂਰਨਾ ਦਰਸ਼ਕ ਦੇ ਮਨ ਉੱਤੇ ਉੱਕਰ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ ਅਤੇ ਬੰਦੇ ਇਸ ਪੂਰਨੇ ਨੂੰ ਆਪਣੀ ਸੁਰਤ ਤੇ ਸੀਰਤ ਮੁਤਾਬਕ ਪੂਰ ਲੈਂਦਾ ਹੈ। ਅੱਗੋਂ ਉਸ ਦਾ ਗਿਆਨ ਅਤੇ ਤਜਰਬਾ ਅਮੂਰਤ ਨੂੰ ਸਮੂਰਤ ਕਰਕੇ ਮਾਅਨੇ ਸਿਰਜ ਲੈਂਦਾ ਹੈ। ਚੰਦ ਵਿੱਚੋਂ ਚਰਖ਼ਾ ਕੱਤਦੀ ਸੁਆਣੀ ਜਾਂ ਸਮੂਰਤ ਹੁੰਦੀ ਰੋਟੀ ਬੰਦੇ ਦੀ ਕਾਲਪਨਿਕ ਉਡਾਣ ਦੀਆਂ ਹੀ ਤਾਂ ਮਿਸਾਲਾਂ ਹਨ। ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਬੋਲੀ ਹੈ, ‘ਸਹੁਰੇ ਕੋਲੋਂ ਘੁੰਡ ਕੱਢਦੀ, ਨੰਗਾ ਰੱਖਦੀ ਕਲਿੱਪ ਵਾਲਾ ਪਾਸਾ।’ ਹੱਥ ਦੇ ਪਰਛਾਵਿਆਂ ਨਾਲ ਕੰਧਾਂ ਉੱਤੇ ਸੱਪ ਅਤੇ ਚਿੜੀਆਂ ਬਣਾਉਂਦੇ ਬੱਚੇ ਕਾਇਨਾਤੀ ਕਲਾ ਦਾ ਰਸ, ਬੁੱਕਾਂ ਭਰ-ਭਰ ਪੀਂਦੇ ਹਨ। -
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ਜੇ ਡੂੰਘੀਆਂ ਰਮਜ਼ਾਂ ਅਤੇ ਚਿਰਕਾਲੀ ਅਰਥਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਨਜ਼ਰਅੰਦਾਜ਼ ਵੀ ਕਰ ਦਿੱਤਾ ਜਾਵੇ, ਤਾਂ ਵੀ ਇਸ ਦੇ ਕਈ ਫੌਰੀ ਅਰਥ ਨਿਕਲਦੇ ਹਨ। ਇਸ ਵਿੱਚ ਮਸ਼ਕਰੀ, ਸਾਜ਼ਿਸ਼ ਅਤੇ ਚਲਾਕੀ ਦੇ ਅੰਸ਼ ਰਲੇ ਹੋਏ ਹਨ। ਲਿਖਣ ਵਾਲੇ ਨੇ ਭਾਵੇਂ ਕੋਈ ਇੱਕ-ਨੁਕਾਤੀ ਨਿਸ਼ਾਨਾ ਮਿਥਿਆ ਹੋਵੇ ਪਰ ਪੜ੍ਹਨ ਵਾਲਾ ਤਾਂ ਇਸ ਨੂੰ ਸਾਰੀਆਂ ਸਿਆਸੀ ਪਾਰਟੀਆਂ ਦੀ ਇਬਾਰਤ ਵਜੋਂ ਪੜ੍ਹ ਸਕਦਾ ਹੈ। ਹੁਣ ਇਹ ਕਿਸੇ ਇੱਕ ਜਣੇ ਦੇ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਵਿੱਚ ਲਿਖੇ ਤਿੰਨ ਅੱਖਰ ਨਹੀਂ ਹਨ ਸਗੋਂ ਇਸ ਵਿੱਚ ਸਮੇਂ, ਸਥਾਨ, ਇਤਿਹਾਸ, ਮਿਥਿਹਾਸ ਅਤੇ ਸਿਆਸਤ ਦੀ ਮਿੱਸ ਗੁੰਨ੍ਹੀ ਹੋਈ ਹੈ। ਇਹੋ ਇਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਤਿੰਨ ਸ਼ਬਦਾਂ ਦੀ ਤਾਕਤ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਇਹ, ਅਰਥਾਂ ਦੇ ਘੇਰੇ ਤੋਂ ਬਾਹਰ ਜਾ ਚੁੱਕੇ ਹਨ।
- ਦਲਜੀਤ ਅਮੀ — ਲਹਿਲ ਕਲਾਂ ਦਾ ਝੋਟਾ ਤੇ ਮਾਇਆਵਤੀ ਦੇ ਹਾਥੀ — daljitami.blogspot.in — Readability
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ਜੇ ਡੂੰਘੀਆਂ ਰਮਜ਼ਾਂ ਅਤੇ ਚਿਰਕਾਲੀ ਅਰਥਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਨਜ਼ਰਅੰਦਾਜ਼ ਵੀ ਕਰ ਦਿੱਤਾ ਜਾਵੇ, ਤਾਂ ਵੀ ਇਸ ਦੇ ਕਈ ਫੌਰੀ ਅਰਥ ਨਿਕਲਦੇ ਹਨ। ਇਸ ਵਿੱਚ ਮਸ਼ਕਰੀ, ਸਾਜ਼ਿਸ਼ ਅਤੇ ਚਲਾਕੀ ਦੇ ਅੰਸ਼ ਰਲੇ ਹੋਏ ਹਨ। ਲਿਖਣ ਵਾਲੇ ਨੇ ਭਾਵੇਂ ਕੋਈ ਇੱਕ-ਨੁਕਾਤੀ ਨਿਸ਼ਾਨਾ ਮਿਥਿਆ ਹੋਵੇ ਪਰ ਪੜ੍ਹਨ ਵਾਲਾ ਤਾਂ ਇਸ ਨੂੰ ਸਾਰੀਆਂ ਸਿਆਸੀ ਪਾਰਟੀਆਂ ਦੀ ਇਬਾਰਤ ਵਜੋਂ ਪੜ੍ਹ ਸਕਦਾ ਹੈ। ਹੁਣ ਇਹ ਕਿਸੇ ਇੱਕ ਜਣੇ ਦੇ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਵਿੱਚ ਲਿਖੇ ਤਿੰਨ ਅੱਖਰ ਨਹੀਂ ਹਨ ਸਗੋਂ ਇਸ ਵਿੱਚ ਸਮੇਂ, ਸਥਾਨ, ਇਤਿਹਾਸ, ਮਿਥਿਹਾਸ ਅਤੇ ਸਿਆਸਤ ਦੀ ਮਿੱਸ ਗੁੰਨ੍ਹੀ ਹੋਈ ਹੈ। ਇਹੋ ਇਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਤਿੰਨ ਸ਼ਬਦਾਂ ਦੀ ਤਾਕਤ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਇਹ, ਅਰਥਾਂ ਦੇ ਘੇਰੇ ਤੋਂ ਬਾਹਰ ਜਾ ਚੁੱਕੇ ਹਨ।
- ਦਲਜੀਤ ਅਮੀ — ਲਹਿਲ ਕਲਾਂ ਦਾ ਝੋਟਾ ਤੇ ਮਾਇਆਵਤੀ ਦੇ ਹਾਥੀ — daljitami.blogspot.in — Readability
The judgments on India were much less harsh before the days of European empires, when the inferiority of native peoples became an article of faith. Travelers from Europe did not deny that they had in India come up against a culture much older, and in many ways more sophisticated, than the one they belonged to. Voltaire, for instance, often invoked the virtues of India and China in order to show up the inadequacies of eighteenth-century France. But the nineteenth century brought new attitudes. A series of scientific, economic, and political revolutions gave Western Europe a new idea of itself. India, and more generally, Asia, became a place against which the traveler from the West measured his own society, and usually found it superior; it became the gigantic but often invisible backdrop to understanding his emotional state, and the refining of his moral and philosophical vision. The nineteenth century also saw the British complete their conquest of India and become the paramount power in the world. Unlike the Persian and Central Asian conquerors of India before them, the British never looked as if they meant to stay on in India and make it their home. They either went home or died young. India remained, despite a veneer of modernity, a profoundly foreign country; and travelers from the West continued to record its alienness and their own sense of difference and bewilderment.” —Pankaj Mishra, “India in Mind
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The word han actually comes from the Chinese, and as Gary Rector, a writer and editor who lives in Seoul and is one of the few Americans ever to be naturalized as a Korean citizen, explained, “The Chinese character shows a heart and it shows a head that’s turned away.” Yi described han sentiment, somewhat dismissively, as “a peculiar mixture of tragedy and comedy,” and Rector, who was interpreting for me, elaborated: “Han is an anger and resentment that build up, and at the same time a feeling of frustration or a feeling of desires that are unfulfilled. So resentment, frustration, bitter longing are lumped together.” Other explicators stress han’s cumulative nature, the steady accretion of a pattern of lesser injuries into one large and abiding sense of woundedness. Humiliation is a key ingredient of han, which is where its ironic or comic side comes into play: the self-mockery of the self-loving who are all too aware of their weakness. It is touted as a keenly Korean emotion because it recognizes the contradictions of the Korean experience: traditionally, the intense nationalism and yearning for purity, so close to German ideas of volk, coupled with an overwhelming experience of victimhood, and, for the past fifty years, the bitter reality of national division. Han at its tenderest is melancholic and wistful, and in its darker forms militant and vengeful; in either case it is freighted with dissatisfaction and the temptations of extremism. Yi, who describes himself as “basically apolitical,” prefers to acknowledge that “there’s always a kind of duality to our existence.” Nevertheless, as he grew up grappling with the burden of his patrimony, he could not find a way to balance the competing public and private claims on his allegiance.
- Philip Gourevitch — Letter from Korea: Alone In the Dark : The New Yorker
- Philip Gourevitch — Letter from Korea: Alone In the Dark : The New Yorker
Katherine Boo points out in her new book Behind the Beautiful Forevers, a chronicle of lives in a Mumbai slum, “in the West, and among some in the Indian elite, this word, corruption, had purely negative connotations; it was seen as blocking India’s modern, global ambitions.” But few of these critics of corruption acknowledge that, as Boo writes, “among powerful Indians, the distribution of opportunity was typically an insider trade.” This was demonstrated most recently by a series of taped phone conversations, made public in late 2010 by the news magazine Outlook, between a corporate lobbyist and some of India’s most famous businessmen, journalists, and politicians (some of them can be found among Hazare’s more well-off supporters), which revealed how powerful businessmen not only influenced economic policy-making, ensuring clear playing fields for themselves, but also managed to install their own candidates in senior ministerial positions, such as the telecom minister accused of underselling the mobile phone spectrum to his preferred bidders. - Pankaj Mishra
— Indians Against Democracy by Pankaj Mishra | NYRblog | The New York Review of Books
Liberal-capitalist societies, being by their nature divided, contentious places, are forever in search of a judicious dose of communitarianism to pin themselves together, and a secularised religion has long been one bogus solution on offer
-Terry Eagleton — Religion for Atheists by Alain de Botton - review | Books | The Guardian
-Terry Eagleton — Religion for Atheists by Alain de Botton - review | Books | The Guardian
These are not proletarian protests, but protests against the threat of being reduced to proletarians. Who dares strike today, when having a permanent job has itself become a privilege? Not low-paid workers in (what remains of) the textile industry etc, but those privileged workers with guaranteed jobs (teachers, public transport workers, police). This also accounts for the wave of student protests: their main motivation is arguably the fear that higher education will no longer guarantee them a surplus wage in later life.
- Slavoj Zizek — You Pay Your Crisis: Slavoj Žižek: The Revolt of the Salaried Bourgeoisie
- Slavoj Zizek — You Pay Your Crisis: Slavoj Žižek: The Revolt of the Salaried Bourgeoisie
Why Should Men Care? An Interview With Matt Damon
At Bitch Flicks, they’re featuring reviews of the five-part PBS documentary Women, War & Peace. Matt Damon narrates the documentary series, and he was interviewed about his participation. During the interview, he explains why he wanted to be a part of the event and why men should care about how war impacts women, especially when rape is used as a weapon of war.
Watch Matt Damon: Why Should Men Care? on PBS. See more from Women War and Peace.
via Bitch Flicks where you can read their reviews
“when the Congress appeared to consider Jinnah’sdemand for what had come to be called “Pakistan” by the early1940s, Punjab’s minorities protested vehemently. Yet paradoxi-cally, when the Congress agreed to the grouping of provincesunder the 1946 Cabinet Mission Plan, an alternative that wouldhave preserved a united India, Punjab’s Hindus preferred parti-tion over grouping. They were far more interested in preserving astrong connection to the centre that was India than they were tothe province that was Punjab. “
- Neeti Nair
— Partition and Minority Rights in Punjabi Hindu Debates, 1920-47
Tbilisi was the capital of Transcaucasia, a region
whose beautifully contrived name belies its contemporary viability. Comprising
present day Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia”
“Tbilisi was thoroughly polyglot, with
a significant Muslim population which looked spiritually to Iran, linguistically to
Turkey and politically to Moscow ”
-Introduction to magazine Mulla Nasirudin
by Slavs and Tatars —
whose beautifully contrived name belies its contemporary viability. Comprising
present day Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia”
“Tbilisi was thoroughly polyglot, with
a significant Muslim population which looked spiritually to Iran, linguistically to
Turkey and politically to Moscow ”
-Introduction to magazine Mulla Nasirudin
by Slavs and Tatars —
