30.12.08

Ashes to ashes: Harold Pinter

What is real and what is unreal?

In a state of delirium, pumped up with medication, laid up in bed, swathed in white from a lightbulb that hurts the eyes, I can see clearly. I can see the reality of the unreal, the unreality of the real. A cliché would refer to it as truth being stranger than fiction.

You said in art there was no difference between the true and the false. Both could co-exist. But, you emphasised, as a citizen one must ask what is true and what is false.

How many times have we seen truth falsified and how often has falsehood been repeated to let each layer get calcified as truth?

I am lying down here and reading. Weapons are ready in little minds more lethal than guns. They are talking; they can only talk.

As you once pointed out, we too will have a Tony Blair moment with a child that survives and a caption that says 'grateful'. What are we grateful for?

We are grateful when those wielding arms declare a ceasefire. We are grateful when war-mongers decide it's time for peace. We are grateful for being alive among the dead. We don't even know we have gone through death in the mortuaries that our souls have become.

I am tired and dizzy. You are gone. It feels the same.

Let me switch off the white light and utter the words that will make me feel I am not alone: Talk to me, Harry.

6 comments:

  1. You are not alone.

    Harry must be pleased as a punch on realizing there are more astute probes than possibly even him who have the prowess to explore every angle,layer and dimension of both the untruths and truths popping up continuously all around us.The distinctions in the real world albeit onerous are increasingly imperative.

    You happen to be one of the sharpest ones left....and therefore carry an immense burden on your shoulders that must never be allowed to make you dizzy or overwhelm you.

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  2. FV:

    Get well soon. Aapki kami kahlti hai blogosphere mein :-)

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  3. Vertigo, so your balance is skewed. If you can then negotiate the real and unreal, that is ironic.

    "But, you emphasised, as a citizen one must ask what is true and what is false."
    Not as a human? Too much stress on country we place.

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  4. A fitting tribute to a great man who fought against big powers.I did not think he shouldve accepted Noble prize.Happy new year to you and more power to your pen

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  5. FV,

    It is really sad that you are so unwell. When you get used to a blog, and the author is chirpy and energetic, you really miss her when she cannot devote adequate attention.

    I genuinely like your strong and independent views, and would therefore very much look forward to your firing on all cylinders. The world needs people like you to participate 24 x 7

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  6. Shiva:

    We are all alone, which is what makes us sharper observers. In a herd we become noises not voices. I hope the dizziness spurs me to realise the importance of the ground.

    Pune S:

    Blogosphere mein tau bohat fankaar hai. Agar kami ka ehsaas hai tau woh duniya shaayad chhoti hogi :) Thanks

    Mask:

    The idea is not to seek a balance but manage to see through the real and unreal. I am always skewed enough for that.

    The citizen reference was Pinter's.

    KB:

    I think by accepting the Nobel and continuing to believe in dissent he was making an even more devastating point: that you can upset the applecart and eat the apples!

    HP:

    I do not like this poem. Have read better poetry of protest.

    Emails? You sent a GWB (Get Well n Blah-on) card?! Have got your fwds...

    Milind:

    Thank you. O usually manage a few smiles through it all. Maybe this will make me see how fragile ceilings are.

    It is good to have one more perspective as you have been bringing in here.

    --------

    A great new year to all those who stop by. Remember it is war against war. Fight bigger battles. Defeat defeatism.

    And yes, take the road less travelled. Easier to spot the footprints you leave behind:).

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