Q & A with Ashish Nandy in Outlook magazine (needs subscription)
Will the loss of Test cricket be lamented in India?
We have lost the language of lament in modern India. That is why Indian creativity in social knowledge has been so cramped. Modernity can become creative only when you have thinkers like Nietzsche or Dostoevsky, who recognise what we have lost in being modern. That sense of loss humanises society. We Indians are only supposed to celebrate the gains of progress, not the losses. I doubt if many will miss Test cricket.
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Why do Bollywood and cricket unite India?
They do so because only three areas of our life—cricket, cinema (Bollywood) and crime—recognise capability wholeheartedly and unconditionally. Unlike other channels of social mobility, these have no caste or religious prejudices and are least bothered about social background and polish. That’s why all three areas have become so important for so many Indians and have acquired a pan-Indian presence. They are the three most popular professions today.
So..who is Ashish Nandy? I should admit I had not heard of him before today. I did not subscribe to Outlook to read the whole interview and so have to depend on a google-search to find out more. The information below was gleaned through the introduction to an interview with Time Asia in 2000.
Professor Ashish Nandy is a political psychologist, sociologist and director of Delhi's Center for the Study of Developing Societies*. He's also a versatile author, having written books on post-colonialism, alternative sciences, psychology and cricket.
... and books about what Bollywood tells us about the Indian psyche!
* I just learned that there is also a Center for the Study of Culture and Society (CSCS), based in Delhi...but thats different than the CSDS!
1 comment:
maybe cricket not as much but Bollywood is unaffected by considerations of caste and class prejudice?? Do we see any Dalit heroes or heroines, directors, scriptwriters, producers, big distributors??? The Khans might dominate the acting business but the money lies in upper-caste/Pclass/hindu hands. Even the values peddaled in these movies reflect those of the ruling elite. Where is the subaltern voice in mainstream Bollywood cinema? Where the women in positions of power and influence? Do they have any say in fashioning their own images or do they merely kowtow to the dominant ethical and aesthetic ideals of the time, plumping up their faces and lips on botox at age 30 until they all look like geese anuses. I don't know which Bollywood Dr. Nandy is talking about. Dr. Nandy is on crack yo!
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