"A scene flashes through my head. The Delhi High Court. A (Section) 377 hearing in the summer of 2009. As we sat at the back, on the left hand side of the court room were the lawyers of the Home Ministry. I marvelled at their words. They spoke of holes – which hole was designed for what, and how wrong it was for this hole to be used for this and not that. And I listened to our words – dignity, rights, love… How unable we were to speak of holes. And, beyond a point, what does 377 have to do with love? It was bad enough that our lawyers told us to use ‘LGBT’ instead of ‘Queer’ because the judges would not understand Queer. And then to have to evoke the trope of love. Uff.
Not that love does not have radical potential. Ironically, it can have radical potential when love translates into marriage (or at least reproduction). Ambedkar was probably right when he said, “The real remedy for breaking Caste is inter-marriage. Nothing else will serve as the solvent of Caste.” But we know that love is also the glue that holds heteronormativity together. Love, in the context of modernity, helps hold together that same caste, same religion, manly man and womanly woman couple which produces heirs to inherit private property. And let those of us radical types who are against marriage, including same-sex marriage, not forget, that it is not just about marriage. Love is also the glue that holds together coupledom.
Love humbles, sometimes even humiliates, those of us who sincerely believe and loudly proclaim the criticality of friends in our lives and decry the hierarchy between ‘love’ and ‘friendship’. Oh, hang on. Here in lie many points to ponder." Click HERE to read more.
There are two things that keep a living being alive, and
those are, love and tons of kisses. I remember how, whenever they could, my
family loaded me with kisses, which I quickly shared with my dogs and cats in
my childhood.
In recent years, I am keeping the practice alive with these
two handsome dudes. (see below)
One really does not know, why people who kiss a lot, never
mind other people kissing around them, but those who don’t allow their lips to
resemble a ‘duck’s bottom’ and land their lips on another are really those, who
are missing out on a huge benefit of being alive and kissing. Apparently, it is all about being and feeling unloved and hence they can't bear to see others #kissoflove. *sigh*
Of the two handsome dudes, visiting me every morning, one of
them has even started to talk to me and ask for more. Indeed, he mumbles and rubs
himself on my dress to say, I want more. Of course, before the world wakes up,
both of us have shared many kisses. The sibling jealousy among the two brothers
– and we know that in animal kingdom too, the competition is high for the same
woman – is very strong and sometimes there is such a jostle for attention; I am
almost on the ground. Mind you, this is
all in the morning and dogs are not lazy louts like humans who can’t rise, even
if the sun is high on the sky.
Past our morning #kissoflove, we disperse, each to their own
and rarely meet before the next morning.
In animal kingdom, to which we humans belong as homo- sapiens,
only we are cuckoo to monitor kiss and label it even as belonging to religious
groups. So it intrigues me a lot – what do they do, to show love, I mean those
who are against #kissoflove? Are they not the miserable lot, who perhaps have
never loved at all?
In which case, we must now name another category of humans
who resemble the homo-sapiens, but are after all, not so, because it seems
their birth has happened without kissing at all!
To what order they belong, is one of the most profound
questions science must quickly seek to answer. And if they were born without
their parents showing #kissoflove, then, we must know if they are born out of
#kissofdeath.
I pity them. Imagine going through life without knowing the
happiness of falling in love with #kissoflove.
My two handsome dudes #kissoflove
Picture Credit Facebook: RSS claimed
that the kissing squirrels are non-Hindus.
Director Avinash Kumar Singh was bold to pick a subject
close to perhaps many hearts in India – can two people who have lost their
partners/husband/wife marry and start a life once again?
In his film Listen..
Amaya, featuring Farooq Shaikh, Deepti Naval, Swara Bhaskar, he dealt with
this subject quite efficiently although, he finally tucked his tail under him
and fled out, making a statement, that ill disposes women and men in such
situation.
Farooq Shaikh is a widower, and photographer. Deepti Naval
is a widow who runs a beautiful café called Book A Café. Swara
Bhaskar is her daughter, perhaps in the last years of her teens. They both
share a very close relationship, until of course Deepti and Farooq develop a
liking for each other. The relationship is mature, calm and mellow. However,
for Swara ( Amaya ) it is not. She is obsessed with the growing relationship
between her mother and the photographer, and is adding a lot of anger and
negative emotions to the relationship, by causing her mother a lot of anxiety.
Amaya, won’t have her mother have a love life of her own, despite the fact that
together with Farooq Shaikh, she has written a Coffee Table Book (Oh! It is
such a done thing in 2013, when all and everyone is a writer/author!!) ready
for publication. It takes a Chitti ( peternal ) to come from Chennai to make
Amaya understand, that there is absolutely no problem, if Deepti moves on. This
does not mean that she loves her less, or that Deepti has forgotten Amaya’s
father! Amaya suddenly consents to the relationship.
But wait a minute! Director Avinash Kumar Singh, must play spoil
sport! He is afraid that the masses will reject the film and so, guess what? He
has suddenly made poor Farooq Shaikh a victim of Alzheimer’s and now, Deepti
Naval is rendered another blow – she must live with a love that may not ever
remember who she is, in time. She is back with the ‘dead to the world of beautiful
memories and love’.
The Indian audience loved it. The film received The Best
Film (NJISACF), Best Director (NJISACF), Best Director (DCSAFF), Best Actress
(NYIFF). India’s age old widows and widowers have been positioned to maintain
status quo. No love life, after the death of one or the other!
I say damn! Can’t a director show more mettle? Is his
research not complete? If he can make a film, in modern unban India ( Delhi),
then has he forgotten that urban India behaves differently. And if you talk of
rural India, they too are moving forward. Why should a man/woman, who has lost
their partners, live the rest of their lives as widow/er? Communities in India,
like Maharashtrians, re-marry with three months of the passing away of the partner.
It is a practical step taken. Life is paradise gained, why do directors of
films have to preserve dead leaves from regressive social practices of
yesteryears?
Films are supposed to affect change. They create a shake- up
and a good film such as this one made, could win the hearts of people, and make
them think otherwise.
I advocate happiness, I celebrate the will to create your
own future and I say, Love and Life are synonymous. When we reject one, we
reject the other. And vice versa.
I wish the Director a stronger nerve, next time!
Film: Listen... Amaya
Directed by : Avinash Kumar Singh
Produced by: Ashok Sawhny
Written by: Geeta Singh, Avinash Kumar Singh, Vikas Chandra
Story by: Geeta Singh
Starring: Farooq Shaikh, Deepti Naval, Swara Bhaskar
Music by: Indraneel
Hariharan, Punam Hariharan (lyrics)
