A Study in Indian Nationalism by Sohil Bhatia

A STUDY IN

INDIAN

NATIONALISM

SOHIL BHATIA

A STUDY IN

INDIAN

NATIONALISM

SOHIL BHATIA

In the fond memory of Late Bharat Mata

CONTENTS Introduction

I II

Nation & Identity To Need a Flag

III

Symbols & Patriotism

Sportsmanship

The Border

Diagrams

VII

The Patriots

VIII Celebration

Introduction

Why can we not forget the partition? It’s been more than 60 years since the two nations split and flourished in their own realms. As I grow up in a partition affected family, the other side reoccurs in spurts of dislike and distance. To be able to justify this relationship with the other side, I delve into the crucial nature of memory. To form a justifiable explanation of memory, we must look at what a few wise men have to say about the past, the present and history. BERGSON : Consciousness is both memory (the conservation and accumulation of the past in the present) and anticipation of the future. FREUD : A radical division must be made between memory and perception if we are to respect the radical alterity of the unconscious. BERGSON : There is a difference of high degree between memory and perception. Memory is a ‘privileged problem’ precisely because an adequate conception of it will enable us to speak seriously of unconscious psychical states. In actuality memory is inseparable from perception; it imports the past into the present and contracts into a single intuition many moments of duration, ‘and thus by a twofold operation compels us, de facto, to perceive matter in ourselves, whereas we, de jure, perceive matter within matter. vii

A STUDY IN INDIAN NATIONALISM

BERGSON : However, the past is not simply reducible to a former present and neither can it be solely identified with the phenomenon of psychological recollections. Memory thus creates anew the present perception or rather it doubles this perception by reflecting upon it either it’s own image or some other memory-image of the same kind. BERGSON : Nothing is less than the present moment, if we understand by this the indivisible limit which separates or divides the past from the future.This, however, is only an ‘ideal’ present; the real, concrete, ‘live’ present is different and necessarily occupies a tension of duration. If the essence of time is that it goes by, that time gone by is the past, then the present is the instant in which it goes by. However, we cannot capture this present by conceiving it in terms of a mathematical instant (as a point in time). BERGSON : The past survives under two distinct forms: in motor mechanisms and in independent recollections. Both serve the requirements of the present. NIETSCHE : Too much past precludes action, happiness, and further development. BERGSON : The usual or normal function of memory is to utilise a past experience for present action (recognition), either through the automatic setting into motion of mechanism adapted to circumstances, or through an effort of the mind which seeks in the past conceptions best able to enter into the present situation. NIETZSCHE : In the case of the smallest or of the greatest happiness... it is always the same thing that makes happiness happiness : the ability to forget or, expressed in more scholarly fashion, the capacity to feel unhistorically during its duration. Thus “active” forgetting is selective remembering, the recognition that not all past forms of knowledge and not all experiences are beneficial for present and future life. PLATO : Forgetting marks a disaster at the beginning of thought. NIETZSCHE : Forgetting is evoked for it’s potential to save humans from history, which is a disaster. RICOEUR : On what basis, then, would the survival of memories be equivalent to forgetting? Forgetting is to be conceived not simply in terms of the effacement of traces, but rather in terms of a reserve or a resource: ‘Forgetting then designates the unper viii

ceived character of the perseverance of memories, their removal from the vigilance of consciousness. NIETZSCHE : An individual or a people, when actively forgetting, seeks to strike a balance between knowing and not knowing, between remembering and forgetting the past, for life demands not simply an oblivion of the past, but a balance between the historical and the active, between reflection and experience. From the above dialogue, we can conceive: All that is matter can possess memory. The memory is also contained in the mind but as data. Memory manifests in three types; episodic, semantic and procedural, and is also fluid, it transforms from one to another e.g. There could be a memory associated to an object, in the physicality of it and this memory gets activated by sight aka perception. The memory of the same object could also be induced by the name of the object i.e. text/language. It could also be possible to activate the memory of the object through the sound, smell and touch of the object. Memory transforms with experience. The present is undeniably a produce of the past but the past can also be influenced by the present i.e. memory can be altered as opposed to forgetting. Not only the state of mind (in an indivisible present), but also an overpowering factor/memory can nullify the status of the previously dominant memory. Through this book we will look at the overwhelming memory of the partition and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s position in a national dynamic reforming what nationalism means to the country.

Nation & Identity

What is Nationalism? I don’t know what nationalism is but I know what it might look like. It’s that moment you cross a person with the same nationalist as you in a foreign county, it’s every time you crave for the authentic Indian food, it’s your language, it’s the smell, it’s the weather.. But as it may noticeably seem, it is a mere emotion. Debjani says ‘National identity is most visible in absentia. The identity is felt as an emotion.’ Benendict Anderson stresses on two points in his book ‘Imagined Communities’ 1)We never see all the people of a nation 2)Print made nations 1

A STUDY IN INDIAN NATIONALISM

What is Indian Nationalism? Today, films, popular media, songs, slogans etcetera bring us close to our nation and help reinforce the belonging. Indian nationalism can also be seen in the tricolour kites, the tiranga painted faces, the vigilance of the national anthem and school ceremonies. And then there is the other side of nationalism i.e. an India-Pakistan match, communal riots, the Wagah Border becoming a tourist spot for propagating pride in Indian-ness.

-What is the difference between patriotism and nationalism? -Do borders make nationalism or does nationalism make borders? -Can we deduce mere love for home to nationalism? -What is the inside and what is outside? What do you allow to be an insider and what an outsider? - What is home and what is homeland?

To Need a Flag

Being born in a partition affected family, the other side was always painted black. We never talked about it and rather consciously kept away from it. From a point where I never got to make a choice, today I don’t want to make a choice. I don’t want to belong to a side that was created as a result of exclusion of the other side. Hence I’ve seen my self devoid of a sense of national belonging aka nationalism. The performance is a narrative to this dilemma. The banjara community believe in the idea of land having life and hence share a sense of belonging with the land devoid of any ownership. 3

A STUDY IN INDIAN NATIONALISM

TO NEED A FLAG

Images of partition I saw the partition. I saw most of it. My grandfather showed it to me. My grandmother had lots to say too and so did my mother’s mother. I saw Gujranwalah, Multan and I saw Amritsar. I saw a small house on a crowded street with a lock outside. I saw the only window. I saw gold.

He read poetry Of leaves and the land and the monsoon He read poetry Of friends and lovers and the river He mentioned the pride He mentioned the Punjabi And he mentioned the Muslim He also mentioned the line And walked on one side of it. I saw it during Kargil war I saw the death polls I saw the value of the line. And the value of land I saw the border I saw the barbed wire fencing I felt the electrocution I felt the value of the line.

We hung the partition on a wall with flowers. We hung the partition in the mind, image-less. Manto had lots to say too. He told me stories. Of brave men. He told me stories of women and children He told me about the loss too But he also told me innocence And he showed me the asylum.

I saw the partition again and again at Wagah I heard patriotism I heard hatred I heard love for the country I heard hatred for the other I saw spectators And celebrators. I heard screams of ‘Hindustan Zindabad’ And whispers of ‘Pakistan Murdabad’

A shepherd showed me the partition He showed me the hundreds of sheep He showed me murder He showed me rape He showed the train with corpses And the train on it’s way back too

A STUDY IN INDIAN NATIONALISM

TO NEED A FLAG

I felt it in school too I felt it when I was 8 in my first fight with a Muslim I heard myself say ‘go to your Pakistan’ I witnessed the anger I witnessed the line. I read of the freedom struggle. I read of the day of freedom. and a few words on the partition.

I saw the partition I’m not lying But from one side of the line I am discontent.

I saw the flag painted faces I saw anger and fight I saw nationalism in sparks I saw the win I saw loss I saw the firecrackers, I heard the bombs too. My mother showed it to me Every time I walked through a muslim colony She’d asked me to not go, She’d asked me to be safe. She’d hid it from my grandfather And then I saw it again. I saw a line when I was writing this And then I saw it again When my sister’s friends Had to sneak in Sneak in the Muslims. I saw a line A line right outside my house 7

A STUDY IN INDIAN NATIONALISM

TO NEED A FLAG

A STUDY IN INDIAN NATIONALISM

REFLECTION I’m watching you while you do this. I’m watching you play with the land and the waters, I’m watching you run the water through the land, I’m watching you make it fertile. I’m watching you make it ready to consume. My body, My India, My mother, My land, My home My body, My India, motherland, My Home My body, Indian, motherland, My home My body, Indian, motherland, home My body, motherland, home My body, home My body. Home. The performance as I excavate it, stands as a representation of the fabrication of the Indian nationalist movement and nationalism as all of it came to me. I’m locating my self in a space where a consciously construct a garment that now drapes on me blinding me and leaving me with a voice that I must use. I must use it to call out as I appear in this disguise. I must perform it in a way that I do justice to my costume. But what is justice to the costume? I’m merely a body that doesn’t belong to land but shares a symbiotic relationship with it. I’m entering the space through the partition history of my family and it’s consequence as I face it today. The volatile memory is a structure of merely rubble and stands firmly right at the centre as we revolve in predefined orbits around it. As I compare my position to that of a communal offender, I see very little variation. Both have perceived a similar set of instructions but respond to the instructions in polar ways. The toy gun provided a metaphor to the inculcated violence through celebration that nationalism brings along. The Indian nationalism developed as resistance to the British. How the country has seen nationalism has really affected the way the mere emotion is perceived/performed and that nationalism becomes visible in the celebration of a nation.

TO NEED A FLAG

A STUDY IN INDIAN NATIONALISM

TO NEED A FLAG

A STUDY IN INDIAN NATIONALISM

III

Symbols & Patriotism

‘Her problem was the problem of the world in miniature, India is too vast in it’s area and too diverse in it’s races. It is many countries packed in one geographical receptacle.’ Rabindranath Tagore What are the symbols that bring the country together? The two nations shared common symbols before the split. How have the symbols been split and made inclusive of exclusion of the other. The flag plays a major role to confirm to the identity of an Indian. We see the flag in display of national pride, at events of national celebration, in schools assemblies, on museums, government buildings. 14

SYMBOLS AND PATRIOTISM

A STUDY IN INDIAN NATIONALISM

SYMBOLS AND PATRIOTISM

A STUDY IN INDIAN NATIONALISM

KARNATAKA KHADI GRAMUDYOG SAMYUKTA SANGHA HUBLI

SYMBOLS AND PATRIOTISM

The search for the flag makers took me to Karnataka Khadi Gramudyog Samyukta Sangha, the only authorised place in the country to produce khadi flags. In brief interactions with the flag makers, there was re-occurance of a sense of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;prideâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; that came easily associated with the tricolor. The tricolor became a shield, the tricolor became a cover, the tricolor became a garment, it also became the unifier.

A STUDY IN INDIAN NATIONALISM

FACES OF PATRIOTISM

SYMBOLS AND PATRIOTISM

A STUDY IN INDIAN NATIONALISM

SYMBOLS AND PATRIOTISM

A STUDY IN INDIAN NATIONALISM

SYMBOLS AND PATRIOTISM

How does a child develop a national identity? How does the child learn to belong? The nature of this being oral, brings me to this. In the performance I try to fly a kite, blindfolded, as I’ve learnt it by listening to instructions given by people. People who knew it very well, people who could draw metaphors to explain, people who hadn’t done it, people who thought that it could happen only with more than one. The performance led to a deconstruction of the relationship between the national identity and it’s interpretation(visual +textual). The performance was divided into chapters after being performed with each chapter giving a visual representation of nationalism different from the previous one. The chapters deal with the performativity of nationalism as we might see it in spectacles present around us. The performance has a repetitive and monotonous tone to it and it also uses sound for that purpose with a repetitive description of how to fly a kite. I see myself unable to translate the instructions to action. The instruction made to be sound rather easy transcends to a much complex process and of course a need for two. The usage of the flag has been vital in the performance as it remains an undeniable unifying factor. It must be kept upright, it must not touch the ground. The flag beholder shows pride. The flag beholder is carrying responsibility similar to that of a sportsman in a field. I believe it is patriotic enough to represent a nation. If we define Patriotism as the performance of nationalism, sportsmanship is the greatest performance of all time. It is uniquely engaging and the audience it has the capacity to hold the audience to an extent that the audience become the performer. Sports in general can induce an immence spirit of a healthy fight.

A STUDY IN INDIAN NATIONALISM

SYMBOLS AND PATRIOTISM

A STUDY IN INDIAN NATIONALISM

Sportsmanship

Sports over the years has become one of the largest platforms for a display of nationalism. The nationalism comes out in various forms ranging from aggressive to passive. I believe national sport doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t exist in a peaceful context. It only makes divisions broader. In a country like India where sports can me used as a unifying factor regardless of any social exclusions, it has also creates a mob. Hockey and cricket have hence played an important role is providing a nebulous definition to what the Indian nationalism has become today. As we all celebrate nationalism today none of us can define it and hence weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve learnt to perform it in a certain ways. Sport becomes one such performance where we lay down our flags in the field before the match begins. 28

INTERVIEWS ‘Today that we see the India Pakistan match and the intensity of it, it’s only the 1947 coming back, it hasn’t left the heads of the people on either side. The administrators are able to deal with it but the public/ the audience shows the anger/aggression. Both sides don’t talk and both have a feeling that the other hasn’t done them any good. And during a match, all the suppressed feeling comes out.’ Rajneesh Gupta, 45, Sports Spectator ‘And if we say today, sports has become a very important channel to show that we are Indian. And not only for India but any other nation. There’s only one thing in which you can show your true spirit. If you’re a politician or a scholar, how do you show your enthusiasm for your country visibly. So sports or military(the forces) are the only two places where you show your love for your flag. Where you fight for your flag. You take pride in the flag. Jhande ki aawaaz buland karna, jhanda ooncha rahe hamara.’ ‘We just want a good and a fair play in the field. The game should be healthy. So many people just go to see the players of the match they don’t care about the competition or who’s losing or winning. Its all about a great play. When they’re out of the field, it’s healthy. And there’s no fight. And there should be fight in fact but fight of the bat and ball not of work. There must be competition but healthy competition. ‘ Davinder Singh, 50, Coach, Punjab State Cricket Team

‘A player does everything for the country. He/she is a true representative of a nation. Ek sportsman khoon-paseena ek karke desh ke liye ladta hai’ ‘With the sports being played, the off field dynamic of sportsmen is very pleasant. There is exchange of culture, but in the field, it is a fight.’ Milkha Singh, 82, Olympian

A STUDY IN INDIAN NATIONALISM

So, now this mob that consciously decided to be the viewers of the play have put themselves in an invisible costume of the Indian flag, the tiranga. There are telepathic conversations with the player in the middle of the field along with prayers and outrage. The team is not only the players, the team is the viewers plus the players. The players on the field are mere skilled representatives. The audience is converted to a mob by this awaited competition, the awaited declaration of the greater amongst the two. Sports held in the mere intention of peace making gets interpreted very differently by the viewer. But the viewer is not entirely to blame as he/ she is fed by digital media, political agenda, personal grievances and religious factors. Where else does this kind of a mob exist? It canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t only be sport that brings out our the performativity of national identity.

NATIONAL DATE Digital Collage >

A STUDY IN INDIAN NATIONALISM

The Border

The Wagah border can be conveniently called a remain of the partition. A place that offers possibility of exchange and has been the only road route to the other side for many years. Every evening, the Wagah border conducts a ‘flag lowering ceremony’ or the ‘beating retreat ceremony’ that attracts thousands everyday. It has become a place for tourists to visit to get a glimpse of patriotism. It’s a place that offers a feeling of pride in the nation through the use of essential performative elements like popular music, slogans, the remarkable skill sets of the Border Security Force and the tri-color. The Wagah Border marks the place of meeting of the two and is a celebration of both the nations as they exist separated, today. 36

A STUDY IN INDIAN NATIONALISM

POPULAR AUDIENCE BEHAVIOUR

A STUDY IN INDIAN NATIONALISM

SOUVENIRS AT WAGAH

A STUDY IN INDIAN NATIONALISM

EXPERIMENT #1

THE BORDER

Wagah is a space of conflict. It’s not a space for celebration of the two but is a place to peek to the other side and a show of nationalist rage. It teaches about the bravery in fighting the other, it teaches competition and superiority. It’s a display of the unity of the populous nation against the other; it’s a fight, it’s a cricket match. Apart from the audience being the offenders, the souvenirs add to the sorrow of the space. The only availabilities being a gun and a dagger that serve as pens. The border provided space for a lot of opportunity to provoke responses. A few observations from the space lead to performative reactions.

EXPERIMENT 1 : A little boy is spotted running around with poster paints and 3 brushes. The brushes that individually dip themselves into the tricolor. The boy is asked to paint my face with the Indian flag on one side and the Pakistan flag on the other. The boy, very well aware of the risks involved if seen by a hyper- radical nationalist, agrees to paint my face and very well comprehends the idea of celebration of the two. OBSERVATION : 1)A large part of the crowd visiting comes with a mind-set of a show of superiority over the other. The other bit of the crowd is tourists and in no time begin to flow with the energy of the celebration. 2)A lot of the crowd will question your idea of supporting the two and might even get angry by your ideology but will not come up to you for an explanation. It will settle things with a stare or an attempt to make feel lower. 3) The kid, in his innocence paints the flag of the other but with no emotion, rather mechanically and would want to stay anonymous. 43

A STUDY IN INDIAN NATIONALISM

EXPERIMENT 2 : To not stand for the national anthem and walk through the frozen crowd. OBSERVATION : The crowd maintains the freeze and does not bother about your indifference. It’s a moment of silence, of peace, of prayers and of celebration.

Experiment 2 was conducted out of rebellion sparked by a bunch of the crowd that invested itself in putting down of the other side, induced by Experiment 1.

What is Manto doing? Manto is mocking the partition. He doesn’t believe in the idea of it. He thinks it’s an act that can be understood and implemented only by the ones with mental disorders. He does this by repeatedly mocking innocence, illiteracy, myths and creating fictional images out of non-fiction content. And he’s putting all of this provocative content very graphically, and also talking in a matter of factly tone. He is definitely providing a provocation but also saying something that all the audience agrees with and knows that is very real. He’s also providing them a space of ambiguity to question themselves. His tone is not assertive but opinionated and he speaks with discontent and anger.

What are you angry about? I’m angry with the prejudice. I’m angry with the media. I’m angry with the political leaders and the storytellers who in their grief, forgot the beauty of the other side. I’m angry with the being who didn’t get the right education. I’m angry with the way they deal with national sport.

THE BORDER

I’m angry with the flag painted faces that will take no time to slip from Hindustan Zindabad to Pakistan Murdabad. I’m angry with the defence that taught, it’s brave to fight the other. I’m angry with the leaders who propagate togetherness through blinding of the other. I’m angry that you make me so proud, that the other becomes dust. I’m angry that you don’t let me pick another side. I’m angry that you take something away from me and give me pride. I’m angry that you put me behind bars and make me celebrate. I’m angry that you don’t want to listen. I’m angry that I’m not allowed to celebrate with the other. I’m angry that I’ve been taught to hate. I’m angry that you’re not angry.

A gate or a barrier? The gate that was meant for interaction between the two, the gate that is the only way to travel through road from one side to the other; in the evening becomes a dramatic show of separation and almost like a face off between the two. Is this competition any healthy to us? Is in ideal form, its celebratory of strength, discipline, pride and demeanour. However when translated to the audience becomes a mere outrage and nuisance. But then there is the one in the crowd who still stands on his toes and wants to look at the other side, the one who waves to no one on the other side, the one who is curious to see what this barrier hides.

A STUDY IN INDIAN NATIONALISM

Diagrams

A STUDY IN INDIAN NATIONALISM

VII

The Patriots

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the 15th of August and a family goes out for a picnic. A picnic that subtly marks their celebration of Independence day. The image is intuitive and presents a dilemma about where to draw the line for patriotism. The tri-color takes over the image and leaves us with an Indian family at a British style picnic. What is inside? What is outside? What do we allow to be inside, and what outside? This process of exclusion becomes visible in the hyper performative nature of the following images. 51

A STUDY IN INDIAN NATIONALISM

THE PATRIOTS

TIRANGA SANDWICH The photo series is introducing to you, characters from your homes in their most dramatic appearance. It’s showing you the mother, the father and the kids as they indulge in a mindless celebration of their national identity; both calm and frantically. The mother sits focussed into her job of making the tiranga sandwiches, the father least interested relaxes in the greens and the kids play around with the tricolour. The image mocks the ‘flag bearer’ as the family retains it’s patriotic most yet comfortably disrespects the tri-color by an over indulgence in it. All characters present a dilemma about how they feel about the tricolour and the tiranga is commodified and becomes a fast-food community meal. The image has evolved as a response to the family that has learnt to celebrate a nation with blind belief. All that remains are heaps of sandwiches with no one to consume them. The self emerges in the image as it continues to be sandwiched in the tiranga, the tiranga of pride, the tiranga of honour, the tiranga that excludes and brackets.

A STUDY IN INDIAN NATIONALISM

VIII

Celebration

We all live in a space and we call it home. The belonging to ‘private space’ comes in when we start to guard our homes. When we put the doors or put an extra gate and a boundary wall outside. What must be investigated is the belonging to land that gets easily confused with ownership of it. The land is important to me. I don’t know where I belong. I don’t get the idea of belonging or ownership of space. I believe in love for a space. I don’t believe in celebration of this love. The succeeding performance is a narrative of my relationship with the partition. I’m deriving from the idea of homes, isolation, blindness, pride and protection in the everyday where we isolate the other side. 60

A STUDY IN INDIAN NATIONALISM

DAY 1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Prayers for Land Ceremonial bathing of the body and covering in silver foil. Constructing a wall using bricks from either side. We live in a space and call it home. We build walls, we build doors. We define the space for the self, and for the other. We create isolation, we divide the land.

A STUDY IN INDIAN NATIONALISM

DAY 2 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Prayers for Nourishment Construction continues with nourishment of the space with food, water, clothing, a bed, a table and a chair. The land becomes home. The isolation continues. The wall grows and so do the flowers outside.

A STUDY IN INDIAN NATIONALISM

CELEBRATION

DAY 3 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Prayers for Protection The doors and windows are placed and locked and the wall is lined with glass shards. The house gets painted. The home becomes prison The isolation grows The wall, now full grown even more than the flowers.

A STUDY IN INDIAN NATIONALISM

DAY 4 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Prayers for Peace The knitting of the white flag begins. Peace can occur in a space of belonging, but can it exist without the freedom to belong?

A STUDY IN INDIAN NATIONALISM

DAY 5 - Prayers for Freedom The knitting of a white flag continues behind the sealed wall. The wall is broken with a spoon to escape the space What is the difference between belonging to a space and ownership of it? Do we belong in homes, do we own them or both?

A STUDY IN INDIAN NATIONALISM

REFLECTION The performance began mechanically. There was a list of things I had to perform in a certain order and I did. (Before the performance began, I had a list of things to do and a vague order for them) It’s only when the body gets tired that it slips out performance. The tired will be tired nonetheless. You will see all of the truth/’reality’. This is the point where reality becomes performance. We also struggle to call ‘reality’ very much performed. But when performance becomes reality, that’s the bridge where they both coexist like they always did. The audience is going to be able to see full transparency. And that for me is honesty. We could call the act of performance as an untrue medium and so could we call art untrue. And maybe it is. So, what is truth at all. The truth I believe lies only in the performance of the performativity. I believe the job of the mason is very honest. It’s a combination of strength to carry the load, commitment to finish the task at hand, responsibility to construct a safe space with a skill that provides precision. When you’re looking at a mason at work. You can’t separate the mason and the material; the interaction within them makes them a unified body working together to a structure. I believe there is so much to learn from the daily wageworker who is constructing for it is his/her occupation. To build a nation is to not litter the other with the hate of the self. To build a nation is no pride. My model of having no nations at all is rather utopian. It’s a mechanical task that we indulge into to organize ourself in convenient groups but that is hardly the case with the diverse India as Tagore suggests. We must understand that to build a nation is no matter of pride, it’s a mere skill of organizing and cohering, let it be land, people, culture, tradition. A mason shall construct but have no ownership of it. That is an ideal model of nationalism. After the body has indulged in the mechanic and is now doing it for there is a set target, the mind maybe a wanderer but the task becomes meditative. Yes, Im playing with some important symbols1) A flag – to establish, to institutionalize 2) A wall – a barrier, a layer, burqa, a cover with semi permanence 3) A door – an entrance, a barrier, a convenient cover 4) A window – to look out, to look at the other side, to peep, to wave, to exchange, a convenient cover

CELEBRATION

5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10) 11) 12) 13) 14) 15) 16)

A ball of white wool – the self Brick – all of us, the land, the nation, the nations Soil – to keep you rooted Cement – To bring together Water – To nurture the cohesion White – New, pure, Glass shards – Protection, fear, caution Flowers – All of us Silver foil – protection, possession, celebration, glorification, pride Letters – communication, exchange, blind conversation Isolation – protection, loss of faith, distance, to pick a side, to belong to a side. Mute – inability to look into the eye, inability to justify, disappointment in the self and the other, mechanically constructing

The wall had to be broken down. Prayers for peace cannot precede prayers for freedom. A mind that is bound, cannot achieve peace. The wall needed to be broken down. I wanted to get back to all that is mine, to the nation that I’ve constructed for myself, where I don’t own but I belong and I wander. I do not hate this side I’ve picked but I’d want to hover from one flower to another. I could be conveniently called indecisive; I’d call myself free. No one gets ownership of me; no space, no person, no object, no nation. My biggest fear is to be controlled. I’m starting all from home. I’m reconstructing a ‘home’ where it all began for me. I’m reconstructing for you to witness the construction and the insanity. I have trouble in being controlled by space. Home, where we’re taught to take pride in our own. Home, where we’re taught caution from the other. Home, where we’re taught no hate. Home, where we’re taught distance and walls.

A STUDY IN INDIAN NATIONALISM

‘In man’s history there come ages of fireworks which dazzle us by their force and movement. They laugh not only at our modest household lamps but also at the eternal stars. But let us not for that provocation be precipitate in our desire to dismiss our lamps. Let us patiently bear our present insult and realize that these fireworks have splendour but not permanence, because of the extreme explosiveness which is the cause of their power, and also of their exhaustion. They are spending a fatal quantity of energy and substance compared to their gain and production.’ Rabindranath Tagore

A STUDY IN INDIAN NATIONALISM