shokeen123
November 5th, 2002, 10:28 PM
I can’t help but wonder about the perceived disparity in our discussions right here on Jatland! There are two social scenarios that can’t escape one’s attention! One that condemns a Jatni and the other that emphatically endorses a Jatni! Please don’t get on the bandwagon to attack me because I had the courage to bring it to the forefront for discussion…
The Jhajjar story has all the ingredients of sensational headline news. The boy meets girl. They fall in love. The girl faces obstacles from the get-go, and her future outlook is bleak as their forbidden love meets the much-anticipated end. The girl succumbs to suicide, and the boy (if not beaten to death) gets ostracized. As vigilante justice prevails, there are no clear winners. But the trail of destruction doesn’t just end there – families are displaced and three more innocent lives are taken. Furthermore, the families involved will forever bear the brunt of the tragedy. The court saga will go on for many more years to come.
Then there is the Bollywood story! An affluent girl has an unconventional dream. She has it all to succeed in the world of glamour -- high society, wealth, education, good looks and perhaps very supportive parents! Her dream is a profession that is unprecedented in the Jat history. To win fame would require her to entertain millions of cine lovers for 3 hours. She will be subject to acting in sync with the story line, be what it may! One might read snippets of her love interests through limelight. And as much as the career is not looked upon favorably by her community, the buck stops here! It doesn’t really matter, because she is out of bounds of such scrutiny.
I am neither condoning nor endorsing either of the two stories, because neither meets or seeks community’s approval. However, I find it unsettling to simply let it go without asking more of myself. Why such disparity? I know for sure that these two circumstances reflect much more about our community than the obvious misconception “haves” and “have-nots.” Although I have not been able to find the fine balance between the two, I am compelled to believe that ours is a society willing to accept a change, while trying to fiercely cling to the past! May be, it just may be a subtle hint of our changing attitude that…there is light at the end of the tunnel?
Let us, (without having WWIII), dissect the anatomy of our dual culture, the two extreme ends of the spectrum, one that subjugates an action to harshest scrutiny and destruction, and the other that encourages an emphatic endorsement?
I have no problem with agreeing to disagree….
Sujata
The Jhajjar story has all the ingredients of sensational headline news. The boy meets girl. They fall in love. The girl faces obstacles from the get-go, and her future outlook is bleak as their forbidden love meets the much-anticipated end. The girl succumbs to suicide, and the boy (if not beaten to death) gets ostracized. As vigilante justice prevails, there are no clear winners. But the trail of destruction doesn’t just end there – families are displaced and three more innocent lives are taken. Furthermore, the families involved will forever bear the brunt of the tragedy. The court saga will go on for many more years to come.
Then there is the Bollywood story! An affluent girl has an unconventional dream. She has it all to succeed in the world of glamour -- high society, wealth, education, good looks and perhaps very supportive parents! Her dream is a profession that is unprecedented in the Jat history. To win fame would require her to entertain millions of cine lovers for 3 hours. She will be subject to acting in sync with the story line, be what it may! One might read snippets of her love interests through limelight. And as much as the career is not looked upon favorably by her community, the buck stops here! It doesn’t really matter, because she is out of bounds of such scrutiny.
I am neither condoning nor endorsing either of the two stories, because neither meets or seeks community’s approval. However, I find it unsettling to simply let it go without asking more of myself. Why such disparity? I know for sure that these two circumstances reflect much more about our community than the obvious misconception “haves” and “have-nots.” Although I have not been able to find the fine balance between the two, I am compelled to believe that ours is a society willing to accept a change, while trying to fiercely cling to the past! May be, it just may be a subtle hint of our changing attitude that…there is light at the end of the tunnel?
Let us, (without having WWIII), dissect the anatomy of our dual culture, the two extreme ends of the spectrum, one that subjugates an action to harshest scrutiny and destruction, and the other that encourages an emphatic endorsement?
I have no problem with agreeing to disagree….
Sujata