A friend of mine prompted the thought. We indulge in our ritualistic conversations, in darkness. As I lie in my bed enveloped by night, our parleys unfold. My friend, whom I have affectionately nicknamed Doctor (he is a doctorate in mathematics), has provoked me into thinking about sundry expressions in the media, which are often celebrated as insights. The quality of insight, observes my friend, is now measured either in column centimeters or programming space on television rather than in the reams of yore. Distracters might argue that brevity is the soul of wit and “one has to strike the nail on its head” etc. They simply tend to forget that it is not applied where it is imperative—the files in government departments and in the innumerable courts of law. It is more convenient now to apply it to the sphere of what is ambiguously called the area of social sciences or matters pertaining to human behaviour and indiscretion.
Human mores as such form an amorphous mass. Culture specifies its categorizations and no mathematical constants or paradigms can be imposed as superstructures under which human attitudes can be quantified and studied according to universally applicable phenomenon. Doctor has rather succinctly hit the nail on its head by pointing out that all such pursuits are now restricted to a few columns in newspapers or the noise filled debates in television studios. Within this ambit our theorists jam-pack all possible points of view on the subject under scrutiny. People have no need to explore further.
Armed with this knowledge, journalists and the ubiquitous television anchors can expound for hours at conferences, seminars and debate on TV channels about matters concerning the human predicament and deconstruct social malaise with fecundity. Till the eighties of the last century, seekers of the dark enchantment of the forbidden fruit would debunk the felicity of such vacuous pebble collection as “THE ILLUSTRATED WEEKLY “way of viewing life. In retrospect, many are prompted to eat their humble pie given the present context. Even the so-called articles of the erstwhile magazine seem like precious pearls of wisdom compared to the verbiage being spewed now with an eponymous apology of being an article or an expert’s opinionating with pithy catch phrases referred to as sound bytes on television.
Article by virtue of its microcosmic existence is supposed to concentrate on particles of thought, at best leading to a conclusion on a specific issue. Through a flagrant disregard for custom and propriety, the propounders of such post-modern haiku wisdom, tom-tom their collated points of view as insight. Societies and cultures are thus defined through vigorous brush strokes of platitudes. Only the correct coinage of words and clever-clever idiomatic twists are considered masterstrokes of the imagination, seeking answers through mere causality. The byte needs the adequate bite to leave an impact.
Unfortunately, knowledge can no longer hold its sway in the face of such an onslaught.
Such vapidity is defended through the power of the spoken word. The drama of the voice has staged a coup in the silent corridors of reticent seekers. “They are men who indulge in barren scholasticism” is a common criticism heaped upon those who do not revel in the ephemeral limelight of recognition through carefully orchestrated media campaigns. For them those few columns or minutes of air time is all that is required to pass sweeping judgment about civil mores and the collective psyche of a vastly divergent population.
Articles and opinions of news anchors have become sacrosanct and are recognized by authority as harbingers of wisdom and insight. They have replaced the archaic essay as vessels of venture. To essay a thought meant journeying through the idea. No one is now interested in journeys any further. Humanity needs destinations, not sojourns. Hence the process of exploring a thought can be peremptorily dispensed with. What does the thought lead to, is the only area of concern. The byline that adorns the masthead, or the telegenic quality of the presenter if of primal importance: the drama, diatribe and dialogue are all built around that cleverly woven epithet. Hence algebras of infinite logic emanate from mouths forever ready to spout the WORD. Ironically, it turns the myth of the word as Brahman on its head. The word is now a bomb with which you seek attention. It is longer a vehicle to communicate thought. The articles and debates are just word vessels. They carry words, not thoughts.
In this age of recipes for simplicities articles and television shows are celebrated as instruments to propagate faith of the new order. Dogma replaces enquiry. Conclusions have to be drawn. Explanations are vital for the existence of phenomenon. They can be derived upon through easy avenues. No need to ruminate, ponder and waste valuable time seeking to grasp polyvalent layers of abstract, esoteric aspects of existence. Definition is the mantra that characterizes our times. Pose pertinent questions and seek answers that can be applied to everyday living. Read or watch before breakfast or be lullabyed away after dinner. Then go off to sleep, sound in knowledge that tomorrow newer insights are going to be provided with your morning cup of tea.
Pursuit without purpose does not beget any benefit. There is no need to pursue further. After all, what wisdom has the world gained after such futile efforts? The anomalies of the pre-historic times still exist----the wars, famines, misery, poverty remain the same. The new tribe does not wish to tackle such contentious issues beyond a superficial overview. At best they tow the populist line by arousing and inciting passion. They never ask anyone to brood. It is never ever said, “Give it a thought!” Rather the attitude is, “We have already thought it for you, just read and agree.”
The avowed purpose is to reach conclusions. If perchance another point of view emerges, there is always another scope provided either by column centimeters forever hungry for more words or air time that forever needs to be filled 24/7. Lines have to be written or spoken to fulfill the appetite of the ogre called media. The spirit of enquiry was the forte of idle minds. People who had the time to speculate, thought about things other than ingredients of daily livelihood. Now it is a commissioned job, which is bound by deadlines. You are paid to think for the masses. You have to provoke thoughts to provide solutions, to appease your readers and viewers. It is all a game of figures reflected in your readership surveys and TRPS. There is no further need to explore merely for the sake of exploration. Need is the only required basis. Spirit and its quest can be wished away or exorcized. In a defined universe, there is simply nothing left to be chanced upon.
I did not begin by trying to reach somewhere. Hence my friend, the Doctor and I are where we were. Only giving poor knowledge mere acknowledgement and thanking it for giving us the immense power to ponder over temporary defeats such as these. Quite quixotically, we yet fantasize about winning the war. Meanwhile, knowledge has been merrily gift wrapped in a nutshell.
No comments:
Post a Comment