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Journalism of Courage
I dont do fans. Not even in the height of summer. Not even in Delhi where temperatures touch 45 degrees Celsius. I am also comfortable in a closed room with no airwithout ever reaching for the switch. Perhaps it comes from the fact that as a young girl I had the hideous pleasure of two giant lizards falling on me right off the giant pankha that was strategically placed directly above the bed.
Unfortunately,the man I live with is obsessed with fans. For him,the thought of a room without a fan causes him to break out in a heavy sweat. The faster the better is his motto and if the blades start to resemble a chopper at take off,he is happiest. And herein lies the crux of why marriages and relationships break: The inability to agree on the temperature of the bedroom.
But this daily battle reminded me of a History lecturer that we had in college. Dr Dwivedi was a politically incorrect man who used to smoke beedis in class. He was also argumentative and combative. Of course I was addicted to his lectures. One time our conversation turned to what is beauty. According to the professor,if it was functional it was beautiful. Otherwise,it deserved to be junked. At which point,I looked up and asked him if that meant that the ugly,scarred fan in our classroom was a thing of beauty. He spent the next three sessions arguing that it was and by the end of it we were all converts. The logic was simple really. If it works for a livingand inanimate objects can do thatthen it deserves the honour of being noticed. If it exists with no purpose then it must be ignored.
Today,I dont buy into that argument because if I did I would have to reject fashion for a start. But I had to put it out in the public domain when I read the news about the Maharashtra state governments plans to erect a giant statue in the middle of Marine Drive to attract tourists. At first,I thought it was a joke. But when a plan for the funding hit the headlines,I flinched. Like everyone in the country,I respect the heroism of Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj. But surely the
Rs 350 crore could be better utilised? Mumbai is reeling under inflation,food shortages,water crisis,poor civic facilities
do I really need to go on?
The need for the statue then comes into question. If its only function is devalue the lives of the citizenry,then how can it be deemed beautiful?
Nonita Kalra is Editor-In-Chief,ELLE
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