New Story

 Secular/Non secular Matrix

Shubahashini was looking forward to an absorbing evening in the TV studios where both her father and father in law were invited by “HindusthanTV” – for a debate titled  “10 years of 2002” - to be anchored by the popular Robert Kenny. This was to be telecast later the following day. As she sat down in front of the mirror putting up her make-up etc., she started reminiscing about the two families; how she fell in love with her husband to the present time of having the major protagonists –of her life- come face to face in a TV debate. 

Her father Kedar Nath belonged to a family of practicing Brahmins, not very rich, but one who made up for it all, by a sheer dint of diligent studies and application which saw him thru the IAS. He was a humble soul, brilliant without ever being conspicuous, never strayed from his roots and was thoroughly honest.  All of these quite ironically cost him plum postings and even prevented his ultimate posting as Secretary -a given- for an IAS ranker. He retired as Additional Secretary.  

He married Susheela – a girl brought up in a conservative family, as per his parents’ choice. His daughter Shubhashini turned out to be quite unlike either of her parents. She was a happy-go-lucky kind of a bindaaz girl, and her nakhraas made her almost look like a rebel. The parents however doted on her, as she was chirpy, very good looking, and in turn loved her parents

Her Sasur- Ram Nayak- came from a rich and much more liberalized environment. Ram’s father was a senior Govt official during the British raj, and the family could afford a boarding school education for him.  Ram was haughty, patronizing, could sail thru IFS quite comfortably not only because he was quite brilliant but had enough connections in the right places, and above all was a worldly-wise fellow. He had plum postings thru his career, and using his appreciable charm, joined politics a few years before retirement.  

True to his rebellious style Ram married a colleague from his college days –Abida, who belonged to a family of Sufis - and had a son named Kabir , who turned out to be an exact opposite of him. Kabir was polite to a fault, and excelled both in studies and other extra- curricular activities – he was a cricketer, good in dramatics, and could sing moderately well, and yet was very humble. Ram was however a trifle disappointed as his boy seemed to have inherited only those qualities which came from his wife’s lineage.

Though the families of Ram and Kedar had known each other for over two generations, Ram found it hard to reconcile to Kedar’s religious orthodoxy. Despite this he had a special fondness for the latter’s daughter Shubhashini, and Kedar similarly admired Ram’s son Kabir, though not completely at ease with Ram’s inter-religious marriage. .

There was not much of interaction between Shubha and Kabir during their school days, but once in college for their management course in a prime institute, --where Shubha was a year junior-- they came close to each other. This togetherness brought about a kind of mutual liking, and before long love blossomed, between the two.  

With Ram liking the girl, and Kedar similarly the boy, when the duo Kabir/Shubha expressed their desire to marry, the reservations from the parents were more in the nature of a perfunctory ritual. Kedar despite his religious beliefs could not muster any serious reservation about Kabir, nor could Ram who could foresee possibilities of further social mileage from the match besides liking the girl in whom he saw a reflection of himself. Their stamps of approval for the match were therefore a mere formality, and soon enough, Shubha and Kabir were married.  

Both Shubha and Kabir had strongly felt that there was something more to Kedar -Ram stand-off than what was manifestly apparent, namely their lifestyles – one a traditional Hindu, who took pride in his roots, and the other always giving one an impression that the only way to prove his secular credentials was to constantly rubbish symbols of his roots – but neither of them were prepared to probe further lest the marriage proposal itself got derailed.  

Shubha was rudely brought back to the present by the constant ringing of the door- bell. Kabir had returned from office and they had to rush for the TV debate. While on the way to the studios, Kabir expressed a desire which sounded more like a prayer namely that the “sambandhis”, especially his father, would try and control his feelings, as he knew too well that the latter would only be waiting for an opportunity rub Kedar the wrong way.  The subject of the debate itself was pregnant with such possibilities, and with Robert Kenny – who had mastered the art of needling his interviewee - as anchor, it didn’t portend well.   

Shubha responded by defending her father-in-law; it was her belief she said, that the latter would respect his current status of being a “sambandhi” of Kedar, and make sincere attempts to try and avoid controversies. She also however equally shared her husband’s unease and could only pray that the interview went off smoothly.      

The moment they entered the studio they noticed who the other participants were; Julia Daruwala, the social activist, and Rathod the print media expert whose hatred for what he famously called the non-secular forces, was pathological. Given the participants’ patronizing attitude and sanctimonious sermons masquerading as non-judgmental / rational overview, and seeing her father-in law’s smirking glee, Shubha’s heart sank and Kabir had forebodings of a disaster. To them it appeared as if the episode itself was a cleverly pre-planned, one-sided, and an uneven discourse between the so called secular brigade and the allegedly fundamental forces represented solely by Kedar just so that the debate would take a garb of being unbiased, neutral and an informed one.

The introductory pieces went on expected lines; all were scathing in their condemnation of Gujarat CM. When it came to Kedar’s turn to speak, he meekly offered a counterview to get a balance to the entire debate by introducing the 1984 element and managed to say amidst loud interruptions, that 2002, irrespective of how barbaric it was cannot be discussed in isolation.

Ram cut him short saying that while no mistake can be justified on the basis of another one committed by someone else, the two were different by the way. One was a spontaneous outburst while the other was an orchestrated state sponsored terrorism by a fundamental non-secular regime etc. etc. As if on cue everyone else joined, leaving Kedar with less and less time and opportunity to say anything which could be properly heard.

Kedar realized that he had absolutely no chance whatsoever with everyone ganging against him thus and therefore decided to change the rules of the game. He started by pointing out that if he has been called to a debate, it was only civil that he be given a chance to say his piece without interruption. There was something in the tenor perhaps which made Robert to intervene and ask others for a patient hearing.

Kedar at last got his chance to get some balance to the whole debate; he narrated an incident during his childhood days with the promise that it was highly relevant to the subject debate. As a small eight year old boy, he said he once faced a gang of strong grown up boys of the muhalla who were hell bent on teasing and harming him physically just because he looked frail and vulnerable. After a grueling time with these rogue elements, he went home and cried his heart out. His father who was just a school teacher, and who did not have much of a social standing,  however with utmost regret preferred to take all this lying down and asked the boy to forget this episode as a bad experience.

Kedar’s maternal uncle who was there listening in, was however furious; he was a no-nonsense, robust young man and having decided that the other boys needed to be taught a lesson, went over to them and after trying in vain to drill in them any kind of remorse or  responsibility, got infuriated and gave them all a severe bashing. The result was electric. Kedar soon got respect as a boy with good connections and backing, and no longer a vulnerable weakling who could be their easy target anymore.

The present debate Kedar said reminded him of that episode and was similar; He wondered as to who can be blamed for those turn of events; himself being vulnerable and a cry-baby, or the rogue elements whose only pastime was to create mischief, or his uncle who just acted and put a finish to the whole affair without much ado, or his father -who had the authority for the last word- being unable to prevent the bashing of the rogues of the neighborhood, but nonetheless pleased later after knowing what happened irrespective of the fact that this was not an acceptable solution. But the knives were out from every quarter, led by the parents of those rogue elements who were rich and influential – they just decided that his father was wrong and later pilloried him for masterminding the entire show.

He paused deliberately; mercifully for him, before he could complete and say the most obvious, Ram and others nicely fell into the trap and shouted him down. Ram unfortunately lost all his cool and attacked Kedar personally; about how well he knew Kedar’s lineage of fundamental Hindu Brahmins and how the family assumed that they represented the entire faith, and went on to say that such rubbish could only come from a fellow of that stable.

On the other hand he continued; he belonged to that genre of secular liberals, who had had the moral courage to cast off his sacred thread given to him in his childhood days by his father, and marrying Abida etc., and how he was as of the moment feeling extremely happy that he was able to contribute in preventing Kedar in his career from getting the top rank of a Secretary, as it was only apt that such fundamental bigots got some punishment.

Kedar was aghast. He felt that he could no longer be in the company of such an egotistic maniac; He took strong objections to Ram’s uncivil attitude and said that he would prefer to walk out from what appeared to him as a pre-determined show organized by Hindusthan TV, and actually did. There were these immediate three in the audience who were equally shocked at Ram’s personal attack. In addition to both Kabir and Shubha, even Ram’s wife Abida was uneasy to hear her husband’s tirade against his own sambandhi and that too in a TV debate. 

What followed in the studio was however bizarre. Robert asked the audience as to who they felt was wrong; Kedar leaving the studio or Ram with this personal attack. The audience voted for Kedar, as all felt that instead of countering Ram’s charge, his leaving the field was a sign of guilt and cowardice!! And our anchor in his typical style repeating the observation “sign of guilt and cowardice” with a grave demeanor added his own opinion “very profound indeed”…..     The debate itself was later reduced to a farce- a one sided drivel from all without any counterview to make it everything other than being informed /ponderable and profound.

Kabir, Shubha, and Abida decided to leave this farce, and forced their way out. Abida while returning home started ruminating about what happened in the studios. This took her back to the past; she had been -from the time of her husband’s foray into politics- skeptical about Ram’s passion for secularism. Today’s comments about casting off symbols of his brahminhood as also his marriage to Abida being proofs of his secularist credentials left her with a lot of unease. The person whom she doted on in those college days, turned out today in his true colors: a sham and a carpetbagger whose sole interest was self- glory and advancement in career and social status.

She suddenly remembered her father’s flattering remarks about Kedar and his father during her marriage to Ram; that they both were extraordinarily good human beings and not only did they know their scriptures but in true secular style had great respect for other scriptures as well. Madly in love with Ram at that time, she had just brushed aside her father’s comments as that of an old man not in sync.

Today recalling this, she felt suddenly that her father’s remarks were spot on perhaps.  Kedar’s childhood narration seemed very relevant to the debate, and she was very disturbed to witness her husband’s outburst which seemed to be very illogical. Contrary to her belief in those early days of her marriage to Ram, that her husband belonged to that select group of intelligentsia who were rational, non-judgmental, and could dispassionately espouse merit in any discourse, today in Ram’s outburst she found that everything was just the opposite; he was irrational, selectively judgmental, and was passionately defending demerits. Kedar on the other hand – who to her in those early days represented the fundamental, bigoted non-secular religious fanatics, turned out today as more like her ideals.

She was also beginning to feel that the audience’s reaction pointed to a very disturbing trend; the possibility of debates being pre-determinedly biased/fixed, complete with “for” guys dominating the show with a modicum of “against” guys to give the debates the garb of being neutral.  The audience / individuals were also selectively picked for answering questions which are so framed as to get the desired answers.

She suddenly remembered that mythological story where Moses is pleading with the king Ramases to free the slaves: getting nowhere, he turns all water sources including the river Nile into blood. When as ordered by the king, the priests bring hymns- invoked holy water in small urns for the ritual of pouring them into the river and to purify them, they -to their dismay- find that even this holy water has turned into blood.  

Going by today’s events she wondered vaguely as to whether there was a similarity. The show, the interviewee, the participants, everything could be stage managed to present their versions of truth. In other words there was nothing left with which to start cleansing the system which was totally corrupt. “The truth involves us all” motto of a prominent newspaper seemed to her as a cruel joke as with money and political patronage “truth” could be manufactured…..Thus reminiscing she felt a sudden impulse to visit Kedar’s place instead of her own and instructed the driver accordingly and went back to her fascinating thought process…..     

Shubha and Kabir had similar thoughts; they both wanted to go to Kedar’s place and find out the actual facts behind the stand-off between him and his friend Ram as the illogical outburst of Ram to Kedar’s narration of that incident of the past indicated a much more deep wound which was reopened today and which made Ram to react the way he did, especially the one regarding Kedar’s career.

They were relieved when they were at Kedar’s to find him calm and composed. He was also very genuinely pleased to see Shubha and Kabir. It however took a while for them to get Kedar talk about the childhood incident he mentioned earlier in the TV debate, which probably held the key to their mystery about the none-too-comfortable relationship between the sambandhis.

It turned out to be a simple affair, It was Ram who was the leader of the gang who threatened Kedar . So quite naturally he was the one who got the worst bashing from Kedar’s uncle. All this turned Ram into a permanent foe, and he branded Kedar’s father as the villain of the episode. These, notwithstanding the peace parleys, counseling by elders in the society, and most profuse and genuine apologies from Kedar. The unfortunate part was that Ram attributed the major portion of the blame to the fundamental /non secular old fashioned mindset of Kedar’s family. The disparities in social standings between the families added a bit of masala to this feeling, acerbating it further.

Kedar had hoped that over the years Ram will mellow down his hatred which was not to be. That this prejudice would go to the extent of being a party to deprive his friend of a career promotion was a bit unfortunate. The only regret was that with all his erudition, experience, and charm, Ram’s inflated ego came in the way of his escape from being a   prisoner of his own illogical fear that any admission of wrong doing would diminish his reputation and social status, and worse perhaps that Kedar and family would find rehabilitation.   

As the famous saying goes “the more the truth the more the libel”, the more Ram felt that he was wrong, the more he would hate Kedar. Kedar paused after the narrative. It was impossible for anyone listening in to doubt either the genuineness of the narrative, or the truly affectionate feelings Kedar had for his friend Ram. At the end of it he said something which was perhaps to him-self  “ how excessive pipaasaa shrouds jignyaasaa”….. and was silent. Shubha and Kabir did not quite understand this but felt it was better to leave him thus. Then they turned and saw Abida.                 

Abida meanwhile had reached Kedar’s home and was received by the maid servant, and was directed to the room where the family was in discussions. She reached the door of the room and didn’t quite want to spoil the party. She listened in to all that Kedar was telling his daughter and son-in-law, and though her immediate reaction was one of relief that Kedar had not been upset, on a more serious reflection she felt something akin to respect for Kedar. Her father was absolutely right about him and she felt a pang of regret that neither she nor Ram had ever given this man any credit or respect all these years.

It was then that Shubha and Kabir saw her. The entire family was not only very surprised, but was extremely happy to see her there. The warmth Abida felt was something which she had not felt for quite some time now. As she went inside the room and joined them, Susheela insisted on her having dinner and the whole atmosphere, was so pleasant that she did not have the heart to say “no”.

After a wonderful dinner, she was intrigued when she realized that she wanted to stay there if she could for the night, and not return home. It was kind of a miracle that one incident could have such a serious impact on one’s psyche. Perhaps it was her sufi lineage she mused, and it was this which spotted goodness where it was. She reluctantly went home expecting Ram to be unpleasant to see her away from home and returning late. 

It was therefore a great relief seeing her husband enjoying a nightcap of a glass of liqueur before retiring to bed, and in great spirits. He spoke about the evening episode and how he was more than pleased with the audience’s ability to see through Kedar’s brusque show of defiance. Abida for the first time in her life was disappointed totally with her husband whom she had adored for so long. She decided to just smile and go to bed and soon thereafter went into a blissful sleep.

Next morning as Ram was having breakfast before leaving for a meeting with ex-IFS fellows in the nearby club, Abida mentioned casually that his remark about Kedar not getting the Secretary level posting could have been avoided. He brushed aside her remarks and was in a great mood when he went into the club.

To his great shock almost everyone who was there was up in arms against him for the most outrageous comment about a fellow IAS officer in the TV studio. It was an unwritten rule that no fellow officer will be ever ridiculed publicly and Ram had no business to break that rule. He was forced to apologize and promise that he would be more careful in the future.

In the afternoon he was an invitee to his party meeting where again he was taken to task for his remarks against Kedar, --known to be an upright officer-- and remarks against him, they said reflected badly on the party. Again he was totally unprepared for this criticism as he was sure that the public loved him.

He was in this unpleasant mood when he returned to find Shubha and Kabir at home with his pet grandson Krishna-a four year old precocious child- and his mood was lifted. He was very surprised however to see that Krishna was unduly quiet. When he found the boy not answering any of his queries, he was worried and in a mildly threatening tone he asked the boy as to why he was so quiet? His answer startled everyone who was there… The boy said that if he was afraid that if he spoke he would be asked to go away as he did to his Naana Kedar.

This remark hit him hard as it came in the wake of reprimands from two different meetings of the day. He just held the boy, whispered some endearing pleasantries,   went to his room and poured him-self a strong drink. For the first time as far as he could remember, he wondered whether he was wrong. His ego rebelled against the thought of saying sorry to any one least of all to Kedar. Later Abida cajoled him to have some dinner and finally as he went into a disturbed sleep, Abida could hear him rumbling repeatedly that he has to say sorry to Kedar…….

Epilogue Circa 2050.    

Kapil and Shubha had another son whom they named as Rahim. Both Krishna and Rahim inherited the best of qualities from both of parent’s lineage. Krishna turned out to be a highly religious person and was the head of a spiritual empire. Rahim after a stint as head of a MNC headquartered in India chose politics as his calling.

Krishna’s spiritual organization was named “nirvana”. Krishna had heard about his maternal grandfather’s lament about pipaasaa and jignyaasaa which everyone had ignored. He could at this age quite understand what his “naana” had meant. He decided that his organization’s motto would be based on what he said. The motto read thus:

**The thirst for acquiring name, fame and material benefits is termed “pipaasaa”, and quest for knowledge of self is termed “jignyaasaa” . While the former is inevitable for sustenance, the life’s purpose is to acquire knowledge of self. While pipaasaa can at best take you to the level of debating secular/non secular paradigm, one will have to transcend to a level of unquenchable thirst (pipaasaa) and quest for ultimate knowledge (jignyaasaa) to be free and truly secular.**

India after experimenting with a decade of coalitions, in its wisdom, had adopted for itself -thru a constitutional amendment- a US styled directly elected Presidential form of Government. The quota raj, caste considerations etc., were slowly replaced by merit-alone kind of mindset, economy was growing very robustly at 15%, and was in the race for becoming number two nation after China.

Rahim was well ahead in the nomination contest of his party for the President.  Nobody saw any non-secular underpinning when Rahim visited Krishna’s ashram for a special audience and blessings.

Ram after a long battle with his ego, finally could apologize to Kedar. The two families of elders had some very good times together before passing away in contentment. Rahim had a son aged 7 named Ishaan and a daughter aged 5 named Zoha, Nobody bothered to ask these children which religion/caste they belonged to except identifying them as wonderful children of Rahim and as citizens of a resurgent India……   

Ekalavya alias Vichu        

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