The Evil that Men Do

"The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones."

-Antony's speech in Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

Strange, but I think that may be one occasion where Shakespeare may have been guilty of a generalization. I think that is true for kings and dictators, but hardly so for martyrs, artists and writers. In fact, it seems that quite the opposite is true for these people.

When you think about it you'd realise that we'd much rather sing eulogies to dead famous authors than famous authors still alive. So also for artists, and by that I mean entertainers of any kind.

Many of my friends would rather be caught dead than listening to pop. Imagine what it'd do to their rebel image - the tattooed - where - the - sun - doesn't - shine - body - pierced - kinda brand cool or the gun - toting - gansta - rapper kinda brand cool, all carefully imported in Chinese made retail packages with American designer labels complete with sticky tag-lines.

Strange it seems then that Micheal Jackson has posthumously won everybody's respect (even my friends), the deprivation of which drove him to death. For some reason, all the purported evil he was charged with now seem irrelevant to all of us (including myself) who once railed at this alleged child molester.

If this is the evil that he left behind, you should admit it sounds amazing.

That Which We Call Music

While in college, after the semester exams, there hung about on the corridors a heady mix of marijuana fumes and high decibel rock (and here I hasten to point out that I was and still am a teetotaler, and I don't smoke anything, even meat; I leave all that to others), I used to be convinced and kept asserting to anyone who was intoxicated enough to bother listening to me, that from what I could see, most of the greatest hits of even the most heavy metal bands, were those that were, uncharacteristically subdued considering the rest of their music. Thus, I proposed, that these songs should 'sound as sweet' no matter how little distortion guitar it featured. In fact, some of the distortion guitar was probably hurting the song. I was promptly laughed off (it may have been the cannabis) every time.

Then there is the scene at home, 'the musical capital of India', where you're never far away from someone who has a daughter or two named after their favourite Raga, all for the love of classical music. I have had to quail under their disdain for "all that western hippie music." I was never able to get through to this second version of snobs that if you have to learn and understand something to appreciate it, it sounds less like music and more like math.

The only thing that separates Roger Waters from Bach is 258 years and a wig. The only difference between Clapton and God is that Clapton would 'change the world' if he could. Long after their guitars stop playing, we'll continue to revel in the mastery of their compositions.

Little did I know until yesterday that I was vindicated on both counts, and have been for several years. Why didn't someone tell me about this?

Repositioning Keynes

(as Mailed to Paul Krugman at half a dozen email addresses. This mail has most probably been relegated to the bottom of half a dozen spam/trash folders as you're reading this)

You will see from what is to follow that I am not an economist nor is this a discussion on one of the finer points of economics. I write this, rather, in a lighter vein. Even so, it doesn't take even my cursory understanding of macroeconomics to completely agree with your views regarding the religious right cozying up to the "malefactors of great wealth", the free market fundamentalists, the Freidmanites, the Neocons.

I see the current economic debacle as a great opportunity to 'reposition' Keynes so as to be more palatable to religious right; and there is no better person to do it than you - the foremost Keynesian of our times. You see I am almost convinced that the religious right's pathological aversion for Keynesian economics is probably related to the personal traits of Keynes himself rather than any of his theories. His sexuality and agnosticism is probably what is repugnant to the religious right. Well, it must be more his sexuality than his agnosticism since they thought that Freidman, an atheist was alright.

How I propose going about this repositioning is to highlight some of the things that Keynes said that may endear him to the R.R somewhat (most quotes are from Wikiquote):

1. Keynes hated the commies.

"...youth had no religion save Communism and this was worse than nothing."

-as told to Virginia Woolf and T.S.Elliot at a dinner party.

2. Keynes really hated the commies.

" I am not ready for a creed which does not care how much it destroys the liberty and security of daily life, which uses deliberately the weapons of persecution, destruction and international strife."

-A Short View of Russia (1925)

3. Keynes alluded to that holiest of holies... creation.

"The day is not far off when the economic problem will take the back seat where it belongs, and the arena of the heart and the head will be occupied or reoccupied, by our real problems — the problems of life and of human relations, of creation and behaviour and religion."

- First Annual Report of the Arts Council (1945-1946)

4. Keynes was gung-ho about capitalism.

"For my part I think that capitalism, wisely managed, can probably be made more efficient for attaining economic ends than any alternative system yet in sight..."

-The End of Laissez-faire (1926)

5. Even Bush can borrow a line from him the next time he's asked about WMDs in Iraq.

"When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?"

-quoted in Lost Prophets: An Insider's History of the Modern Economists (1994) by Alfred L. Malabre, p. 220

6. Keynes even shouts out to the extreme right. Sarah Palin and the other doomsday prophets should be delighted.

"In the long run we are all dead."

- A Tract on Monetary Reform (1923)

Of course, after harping on all this, all that we'll have to do is call all the other things that Keynes (here we say, "is purported to have") said that might not go down so well with the religious right, is all a grand left-wing conspiracy.

(end of email)

And all of you definitely oughta take a look at this.

Krishna? Who's Krishna?

(I am going to get lynched for this one.)

As a matter of principle, I try to avoid the 'pooja' circus that keeps shifting from one distant relative to 'family friend's' place on a weekly basis. Then there are the occasions when I am dragged to one against my will. Its on such occasions, my gloves come off. Its all I can to do to fume inwardly(as if the nauseating cloud of smoke from the sacrificial altar around me was't enough), but there is always a lot of things to keep myself in good wry humour.

Take for instance the chatter of women sitting around a young girl, traditionally one who is trained in the nuances of Carnatic music, sitting on the floor in their Friday best (this usually happens on Fridays) singing Krishna hymns/songs/bhajans while their adoring husbands stand leaning against the walls nearby, some with their eyes closed (either to keep from the stinging smoke or probably just asleep) in meditation. Soon, other women join in too. What's amusing is the choice of the song.

"Alaypayuthey kannaaaaa......"
(chorus - repeat 3 times )

The full euphemistic translation of the song can be found here. As if that wasn't convincing enough, there are very suggestive nuances that have been left out of that translation. For example, the line about the moon shining bright goes like:

"Oh, how the wet moon burns like the morning sun!"

Honestly speaking I think its beautiful poetry with just a tinge of passionate eroticism. Yet, in this context, its hilarious.

"They are thinking about their husbands, dammit! They put their husbands in place of Krishna, and worship him," an outraged 'uncle' patronizes.

Yeah, sure, just like the 20 something maiden, with her masterful rendering of,
"Come! take me to a lonely grove and fill me with the emotions of ecstatic union!"

I don't know about him, but I doubt if I'd be able to bring myself to look kindly on my wife making overtures to other men, even if they be amorous smurf gods ( especially if they are amorous.)

Call me a philistine if you want, but I am perfectly capable of enjoying the beautiful poetry for what it is. The fun begins when the real philistines start imagining more to it than there actually is.