Introverts, Retreat

Subtlety is out of fashion

By Lehar Kala

In an interview to The Indian Express last week, Finance Minister P Chidambaram admitted that the UPA government had been unsuccessful when it came to communicating their achievements to the people. He went on to suggest that’s because the nature and personality of the leaders of the Congress is understated and media shy. The FM noted how US President Barack Obama appears on TV twice a week articulating his stance on issues, and added that citizens expected communication from the top. In a separate sound byte, Rahul Gandhi said he believed in doing work, not talking about it. We could have a raging debate on whether it’s underperformance or miscommunication that led to the routing of the Congress in four state elections but it would be too conveniently simplistic to blame defeat solely on a bungled media strategy. In the circus that is the Indian television news cycle, the PM and his cabinet have no choice but to holler every little triumph off any and every rooftop, especially since the robust Opposition is so good at doing so. In our current electoral discourse, there is very little room for introverted or quiet politicians.

I’m reminded of James Salter’s wry line in the very readable Light Years, “There is no greatness without fame”. We expect our leaders to be reassuringly gregarious and seemingly available, but more and more in every other field as well, the introvert’s existence is under threat. A friend of mine, who’s just finished an MBA from Harvard, told me how she was initially judged (negatively) for not participating in class discussions enough. You are expected to shout down classmates with brilliant insights during class and display your smarts at every opportunity. Topping your GMAT and knowing your stuff simply isn’t enough. You have to find time to socialise as well, despite the course load or whether you like it. Maybe an MBA is for a more out there personality, but now even writers and academics are expected to be determined extroverts. In an article for The Guardian, author Jonathan Franzen hit out at modern culture’s effect on literature, claiming that agents refuse to look at manuscripts by writers who don’t have at least 250 followers on Twitter. Franzen provocatively asks what happens to the people who became writers because “yakking, tweeting and bragging felt to them like intolerably shallow forms of social engagement”?

I’m a born extrovert but my son happens to be the opposite. He enjoys company but is perfectly happy without it. He is yet to get a speaking role in any school play, tends to hang with the same three-four friends and vanishes when I try and goad him into a group activity (the most recent attempt was a class to learn Christmas carols). I have finally accepted that far from striving for glory, he’s not bothered about it and I can only hope that doesn’t mean there is no ambition to excel.
There is a tendency among Indian parents (myself included) to see quiet reflection as disappointing especially when there are so many exuberant kids thriving in the spotlight. There’s a saying poking fun at journalists that’s being posted around Facebook — Stop making stupid people famous. Parents of reserved kids may have reason to worry since a disturbingly large number of ‘gregarious’ people seem to get by quite well just by talking nonsense. Happily, right now, the dreamiest guy on TV is the coolest introvert ever, BBC’s Sherlock whose favourite words are: “Please, shush.”

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