Dusk

Re: # 15
kulsumbeig

interesting to note that p almodovar also espouses a similar tarantino-esque genre to his film-making

Re: # 14 husna your logic

``it is needed from a girl who is obviously buying time and leaving everything to fate``

does not hold water.

i do not think ``the girl`` in dusk is leaving things to fate, like Mohsin hamid`s mumtaz she is craftily weaving a plot, witness how Ozer writes:

“She” absorbs the ‘All hail’ speech, breathing in his words like Himalayan air- She`s no Palin mountain-climber. Purposely pretending to be distracted?

her purpose-laden pretending to be distracted is a sign of ulterior motives

Re: # 11

moazammudasar you cliam that ``Terrorism stokes the flames if anything. The dictats of propoganda-based Madrassas``

cool down the hyper-bole not every malady in society can be pegged down to the ``madrassas``

Ozerkhalid

Though ``dusk`` is flawless I notice an integrity issues with you: a contradiction in your work. In a previous article entitled ``UK General Elections 2005`` you praise tony blair on his triumph at 10 downing street yet in ``dusk`` you note:

She” listens to Blair holler, bark, entranced by his showmanship, craftsmanship and delivery: reminiscent of bowlers during the Ashes. “She” absorbs the ‘All hail’ speech, breathing in his words like Himalayan air-

Seems like you are criticising him here ? What is your stance on blair ? do you support him or not ? stop sitting on the fence ? what happened to journalistic integrity ?

Re: # 19 husna

you are asking me to ``cool down the hyper-bole not every malady in society can be pegged down to the ``madrassas``. AS a matter of fact education is a universally accepted basic infrasturcture on which society is built. If society starts polluting the ears of enfeabled young innocents then yes they can be blamed for global terror.

Look at the root of the tree. Not its branches.

Re: # 20

thunder you quote ``Seems like you are criticising him here ? What is your stance on blair ? do you support him or not ? stop sitting on the fence ? what happened to journalistic integrity ?

listen do not digress from the subject-matter. ``dusk`` has nothing to do with the UK General Elections. Get over it. That topic is done and dusted.

Learn how to move on. Stop nit-picking everything the author says.

Re: # 11

moazammudasar,

could you please define a few terms (in your following comment) for us: ``Terrorism stokes the flames if anything. The dictats of propoganda-based Madrassas are responsible for that, along with Western display of muscle in foreign policy. Why would modernity ever stoke its own fire?``

1. Terrorism
2. Madarssas
3. Modernity

Thanks

Re: # 23
NT Syed

1. Terrorism: loonie Bins hiding in caves. Using unnessesary violence/force against innocent civilians to further their own cause. Any network/organization seeking to use pressure-tactics to justify ideological/religious/political ends.

2. Madrassas: breeding grounds for terrorists.

3. Modernity: globalisation. capitalism. internet age.

Re: # 1

Hey Cayenne

A few readers took what you said to me LITERALLY (LOL). Are you on vacation yet ? With internet-fuelled action ? Sorry you had a balcony seat to watch Brain-Dead Bravado !! Re: this article: Depression and mood-swings are in tune with the natural state of being, in tandem with prolific William Shakespeare:

``There are tides in the life of man``. (Julius Ceasar, with reference to the Ides of March 15th)

These ebbs and flows pre-require balance. Though with the ``metaphorical`` gravitational pull of gravity it is impossible to control the vagaries of high-tides and low-tides. Surely part of nature`s intention I surmize ?

One counters all the tides.

As baggage.

The High.

And the Low.

Dear Readers:

Undeniably a posse of prodigious authors have graced our pages: exploding onto the scene: Albert Camus, Karl Marx, Franz Kafka, Jean Paul-Sartre and the inimitable Mohsin Hamid. It is gladdening to see comparisons being made. Yet endless debates by certain participants on Chowk as to whether ``Dusk`` conformeth to a Kaka-esque Camus-Esque or Sartrian/Marxist genre should not bear gravitas.

For it conformeth to all. Yet conformeth to none. It takes a body and shape of its own.

Mind-numbing theoretical neatness as to whether this typology of writing fits into one particular brand: existentialist, neo-realist, marxist is irrelevant. Why the sudden fever of categorisation ? Certain works of art, be they paintings, architecture etc... are non-conformist, non-discript, or perhaps a luminously cocktail blend of ``genre-defying``.

Like a lion in his den : This debate can theoretically and frantically roar, rage and fume, though these exercises dilute the core and underlying message behind ``Dusk``

So many other authors have influenced me: Francis Fanon, Arundhati Roy, Voltaire, Anita Desai, Rohinton Mistry, Vikram Seth, Bharati Mukherjee--the list is legion.

All Im saying is that it is too ``Western`` a tendency to grope towards some understanding of the turbulence in our post-modern universe through theoretical prisms. It is only natural that, along with the histories and the political analyses, we turn to literature. Yet rattling our ``intellectual `` sabers, offers us confining entrees and categorisations which we, as mind-using humans must dispell.

A frustration of the less fortunate in a kingdom where a rampant ``Blingocracy cosmetic ruling`` class live in Ivory Towers is disconcerting to any one with a modicum of conscience.

An economic divide has be-devilled us all: where the moneyed suits can insulate themselves from the rules that bind the rest of society.

A visceral pride felt by them of painting the earth a sickly shade of pink

When lands are littered with diabolical blood-red.

bravo ozer! well written - it does truly seem that your inspirations have been drawn from the stated authors! however, this seems to be in a world of its own!

Re: # 27

Aimie

Thanks. It would be glad to hear your interpretation ?

Indeed the divisions between gender, class, and opportunity provide a not-so-subtle commentary on the fissures that run through contemporaneous society. Tellingly, a historical/cultural fragment about the internecine wars of morality are fought on battle grounds beyond the reach of the ``meandering mass majority`` of people, in air-conditioned sanctuaries of ritzy endroits. India and Pakistan are poignant epitomes.

We are all, like Emperor Shah Jahan (builder of the Taj Mahal):
imprisoned in our own ``Agras``, receiving as gifts the ``heads`` of

innocent civilians, raped victims, genocide

Though the largest Coffin on our Conscience

``Poverty and Ignorance``

Re: # 14

Husna

A noteworthy commentary.

Inequity spirals out of control. In the outside world. We all do. From the inside.

Into a degraded existence of moth-like metamorphosis. We remain but on the fringes of society through inaction. This age-old problematique must compell us all to harbour thoughts on how to stop playing out inaction once more.

As daylight fades to ``dusk`` with time`s ticking clock against the backdrop of our bodies and lives, do we artfully weave practical solutions that resonate on many levels.

Or do we ``escape`` like lepricons into the wilderness of inactive sanctity ?

Re: # 3

Sarah

Mohsin Hamid very compellingly caricatures Mumtaz. A lady many readers indellibly identify with. Like Mumtaz the girl in ``Dusk`` lurches with an insecure/uneasy/plotting status on the fringes of an elite-laden society, imperiled by its accoustics, as she is when she hears Tony Blair`s championing slogans. Mumtaz too is fascinated by the accoustics of modernity: namely a taste for recreational drugs, infidelity and sports.

Re: # 6

Kulsum

are not ``permanence`` and ``transience`` both threads of an illusory continuum ?

Re: # 25

The flight`s at 530 am tomorrow morning.How did you know i was being facetious again?.I have to be polite on these boards, `cause of the PC police that prowl around like nosy yentas and peeping Toms, they take half the fun out of venting.Yeah , life is like the tides, like ye were pontificating, but i feel it`s more of a tummy ride, between the hollow and the bloated, and the farts in-between.I would love to discuss this in detail with you, but i have to get out of the office early, pack and deal with all the other tension you get when you decide to take a breather from the tension you already have. Have a good weekend, mon ami.Get wasted.

One more thought.Why are people from the UK , in general, dour, moody, cynical, suicidal , stingy and have bad teeth?.I`ve always wondered.Except you, of course!!!.South asians have strong teeth and gums.I shall ensconce myself in a snug bar in my hotel in Gangtok while the brood trundles off to see Mt.Kanchenjunga.Hope they get lost trying to get there till it`s time to get back to Mumbai.If only wishes were dreams!.