Baroque in Hackney finds Lessing’s Nobel lecture
… incredibly moving. In some ways it reminded me of my own desperation for books when I was growing up; it also made me grateful for my riches, reading about the man in Zimbabwe who, trying to start a library and sent a box of books from America, put them away wrapped in plastic saying, “but if they get dirty where will I get more?” whilst facing my own wall of books. It also shamed me as a parent. When did I get so lazy? I suddenly think I should put a password lock on the computer and ration out the MSN on the basis of chapters read. After all, her shelves are groaning with Jane Austen, To Kill a Mockingbird, I Capture the Castle, A Wrinkle in Time. Is it an insane idea?
Take a look!
Now, the rant: As I noted in this blog a couple of times earlier, I love Ms. Baroque’s writing style a lot; and hence, this footnote in her blog post was not only off-putting for me but a bit painful too:
“Shanti” means “the peace that surpasseth all understanding.” Call me a Westerner, but the older I get the more I think that “the peace that surpasseth all understanding” can only usefully be applied as a definition of death – and thus, in my book, is something I’m not very interested in. At the least it sounds pretty damn boring. In any case, there was no peace at all in that place, not even the kind most people would be able to understand, and even appreciate. But that too is another story… and it was the first time we ever heard Mama Baroque say the F word!
First thing: I do not know where from Ms. Baroque gets that meaning for that word. Wiki, for example says it can mean inner peace (among other things); and here is the Sanskrit dictionary entry for the word:
zAnti: f. tranquillity , peace , quiet , peace or calmness of mind , absence of passion , averting of pain (%{zAnti}! %{zAnti}! %{zAnti}! may the three kinds of pain be averted!) , indifference to objects of pleasure or pain Kat2hUp. MBh. &c. ; alleviation (of evil or pain) , cessation , abatement , extinction (of fire &c.) AV. &c. &c. ; a pause , breach , interruption Hcat. ; any expiatory or propitiatory rite for averting evil or calamity Br. &c. (cf. RTL. 346) ; peace , welfare , prosperity , good fortune , ease , comfort , happiness , bliss MBh. R. &c. ; destruction , end , eternal rest , death Ka1v. Katha1s. BhP. ; = %{zAnti-kalpa} BhP. ; Tranquillity &c. personified (as a daughter of S3raddha1 , as the wife of Atharvan , as the daughter of Daksha and wife of Dharma) Hariv. Prab. Pur. ; m. N. of a son of Indra MBh. ; of Indra in the tenth Manv-antara Pur. ; of a Tushita (son of Vishn2u and Dakshin2a1) ib. ; of a son of Kr2ishn2a and Ka1lindi1 ib. ; of a R2ishi MBh. ; of a son of An3giras ib. ; of a disciple of Bhu1ti Ma1rkP. ; of a son of Ni1la and father of Su-s3a1nti VP. ; (with Jainas) of an Arhat and Cakra-vartin L. ; of a teacher (also called %{ratnA7kara-z-}) Buddh.
What is more painful for me is Ms. Baroques invocation of “Westerner”, implying that “Easterners” are the ones who are interested in such boring things. So, here is a classic example of defining “the other” first the way you want or think or imagine the other to be, and then railing against them! To be fair to Ms. Baroque, may be that is what she was told — that Shanti means “the peace that surpasseth all understanding”; however, I would have been happier if she took the time to check before accepting the translation blindly.
Tags: Doris Lessing, meaning of Shanti, Nobel lecture, Shanti
December 9, 2007 at 2:40 pm |
Guru,
Ms. Baroque’s approach is the norm in Western culture, however painful that might be to you. Even Western “experts” on Indian languages and culture often fall into that cognitive trap. I wonder whether you know of a study that explores the cultural/evolutionary reasons for our inability to understand the “other”.
December 9, 2007 at 3:40 pm |
Dear Biswajit,
The cultural/evolutionary reasons would be interesting to probe and understand (because, that would imply that we are missing some aspects of the other culture too), though, off-hand, I can not recall any such study. However, personally, I think if one makes a conscious effort, then most of the pitfalls can be avoided, even if our cultural and evolutionary past manages to mislead us now and then.
Guru
December 16, 2007 at 4:43 am |
Again vague memories from the past. I think that F.W.Levi (could be Levy or Lewi)in his introduction to ‘Abstract Algebra’ (Calcutta university Press) has some comments on the differences he noticed among Indian and western students’ understanding some abstract concepts. I do not think that he had any comments on the reasons for such differences.
December 16, 2007 at 1:39 pm |
Dear Swarup,
That is interesting — a bit of anthropology from a mathematics book. However, I do not know if the book might be available here in US. I will check that.
Guru