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Posted on: Apr 19, '08

Homeward Bound Kites

i watched the film adaption of khaled hosseini's famous debut novel 'the kite runner' yday & contrary to expectations actually liked the film, a surprise considering the sense of outrage & disappointment that are still alive in my mind whenever i recall reading the book. that a piece of unabashed melodrama that employs every conceivable cliche could become such a bestseller really had me at my wit's end. not that i don't enjoy the occasional light reading, but my chief grouse with TKR was that its success evidenced a host of unpleasant revelations about our society, current literary tastes & the way we like to use hyperboles & confer high praise simply on account of the difficulty an author may have faced in his childhood or the disease he may have been battling while penning a particular saga. even that's discrimination!
anyway, i think one of the greatest reasons the book worked so well is due to the current geopolitical climate where every conflict seems destined to play out in terms of man's eternal search for 'home'. i know none of this has the profundity of the Ten Commandments but that's not how i'd initially read the heartbreaking tale of the upper class amir's friendship, betrayal & eventual reconciliation (of sorts) with his hazara servant hassan. there is that infinite tenderness & endless longing in the exiled amir's words whenever he evokes pictures of the kebab stalls with their aroma of woodsmoke & burnt lamb that overwhelmed the streets of kabul in the evenings, the first snow fall of the season that embraced the city in its cold yet welcome grasp, & the anxiety, excitement & thrill that one experienced the night before the annual kite flying competition.

reminiscent of an old fashioned morality tale, hassan's betrayal & death mirrors the destruction of the afghan nation. the heartbreak is greater because not only is amir's past an endless series of wrong choices & may-have-been's, but also because the fate is shared by his beloved country too. for the first time i wondered what it would feel like if i were ever to know that i no longer had a home to return to, a country & culture i could call my own, a way of life where i was assured of being understood without the need for endless annotations. shattering doesn't quite cover it.

is this fear what inspires men to challenge the might of nations even at the risk of death? is it this fundamental desire for a home, a place to stake claim to, that lead the tibetan student to end his life in flames as a protest against china's complete disregard for tibet's claims of autonomy? is the desire to claim as rightfully theirs what was forcefully taken from them, at the root of the Palestinian suicide bomber's enormous courage & stoicism?

in a world that gets flatter by the day, we need to seriously address this issue of 'home' for it concerns 'us' as much as 'them'. globalisation & knowledge sharing have brought enormous benefits, especially addressing the problem of higher costs for goods & services, but it hasn't left discontent far behind. thomas friedman in 'the world is flat' offers useful advice to nations & societies to adjust & adapt better in this brave new world where the 'lions' & 'gazelles' play together. the blurring of boundaries is inevitable & has already started. all those who cry for protectionism - be it the jobless voter in america's mid-west or raj thakeray - know they are arguing a lost cause. economic prosperity will outweigh all arguments. however, its time we stopped & took a look at the larger social fragmentation that globalisation has led to, the discontent it breeds amongst those who have had to share their homes & jobs with others. perhaps what we need more urgently is simple kindness to make way in our hearts for those different from us, to open the doors gladly to those who have had doors shut upon them & to raise the torch for those who have long suffered alone.

Tags: fiction, globalisation, ramblings

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lustingforlife said:
Thankfully not a crap post. An addition that apparently escaped someone's attention.

May 21, '08

relativityLEO said:
a crap book and a crap movie. has become a hit only because of current events.

May 16, '08

wits-end said:
actually i thot i was discussing what the film was largely about. ;-))
never mind, thanks for being here.

April 28, '08

dagnysharma said:
Wits,

Ok.. Will it help if I said I was addressing the issues discussed in the movie.. and not actually what YOU were saying?

:))

Cheers,

Dagny

April 26, '08

wits-end said:
also, relating to anything, be it values/thots or ppl/environment/physical stimuli, can never be validation for anything thats unique to me. that is solely, always, an xtension of my selfhood. now u know why i dont share blogs.
;-)
finally, a word abt defending a nation (which clearly wasnt what this post was abt.) yes, i do defend them - both u.s & india. fiercely, passionately, heatedly. i am angry beyond words when indians living abroad presume corruption, congestion, malfeasence r the sole preserves of india. i am furious when indians presume old age homes & teen pregnancies are signs of a decadent culture. both r blind, ignorant & unwilling to learn.

April 25, '08

wits-end said:
guys, thanks for reading & sharing ur thots.
bacchus: friedman is cliched to academics & even those who are well versed in global affairs. frankly, that % is negligibly small & his bk is clearly not meant for them. like freakonomics isnt meant for amartya sen!
ledzep: its like this - good behavior shudnt be reactive, it often is. kindness, honesty, cleanliness..most of these are learned virtues. if my daughter doesnt possess great reserves of honesty, i'd try & teach her.
dagny: frankly, dunno what to say. ur comment seems so off the mark to what this blog was REALLY about. tell me, when i turn for solace to tagore's spiritual songs (which i've spent my entire life listening) after i've returned disappointed frm a bangla rock concert which i expected to enjoy, am i clinging to the old? is nostalgia all about not making way for the new, the unexplored? why, then none of us wud grow as ppl.

April 25, '08

dagnysharma said:
Wits,

Why the tenacious hanging on to OLD.. FAMILIAR values..? What is it but a quest for validation? Why the seeking of validation on the outside..?

The other side of the coin is that physical objects.. physical attributes.. familiar routines and rituals do make us feel grounded.. and give us a sense of belonging and peace.

Personally, I am working on creating that grounding from human interactions.. live or otherwise. To cut out my dependence on ATMOSPHERE to create my world for me... whether it be objects.. places... or rituals.

Then, I would be home everytime I meet someone I love.. someone I relate to.. someone I cherish.. like YOU..

The way people defend a nation.. a way of life.. is good. Only, I would rather invest the same passion into defending a way of thought. For me thoughts have more permanance than physical objects. I know ideas and thoughts outlive civilizations... nations.. and the brains that gave birth to them.

That's exciting for me..

Dagny

April 25, '08

Ledzep said:
this leaves me with mixed feelings.

theres concern for you when you write like this, but am glad you wrote.

...can kindness be reactive?

April 25, '08

soundspot said:
very well worded and nicely expressed.... i agree with you on the part about current literary tastes... give me irvine welsh anyday! cheers

April 25, '08

dagnysharma said:
I have come to the conclusion that you dont like me.. and I am wondering if I should retaliate likewise....

Hmmm.... What do you think?

Dagny

April 24, '08

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