LOOKING AT THE LARGER PICTURE
Some of you might call me parochial, and some might marvel at my ignorance, but I still want to be honest: I did not know of Anjali Menon before an exclusive interview with her was pitched to us. Although I had heard of some of the remarkable films she has created in her short journey as a filmmaker, I had not watched any of them as they are all in Malayalam, a language I do not understand. Not at all.
There is no insidious reason for this behaviour; just the fact that in my logic-driven head, my inability to understand the language, is that unsurmountable barrier which prevents me from connecting with the story. And I also believe there is a lot of truth in the saying ‘lost in translation’. Sub-titles or translations, the same logic-driven head believes, can never do justice to the essence of the story. From its visceral subtext that flows through the entire story to the cultural context that forms the story’s foundation, for me it is all these unarticulated but vital aspects of a story that fall by the wayside when I don’t understand the language. I feel cheated, shortchanged even when a story’s subtleties are lost on me.
Result? I tend to build an even stronger barrier around my logic-driven head.
It’s called insensititvity. I know the loss is entirely mine for I have locked myself in an ivory tower of indifference. Robbing myself from the opportunity to learn from the school called diversity, I realise I’m no different from the frog in the well.
The only redeeming factor in
I too am guilty of being so caught up in the ongoings of my oyster that I tend to believe the ocean does not matter
this self-realisation is that there is no ethno-centrism involved here. Just a lackadaisical attitude. Like the many I know, I too am guilty of being so caught up in the ongoings of my oyster that I tend to believe the ocean does not matter.
After having read Anjali’s interview on page 18 and Wael Al Sayegh’s column on page 12, I feel the same subtext that I earlier failed to understand because of the language barrier, is actually a feeling that requires no alphabet. It touches you if you have an open mind and a generous heart.
Let me know what you think.