THE BEAUTY IN CHAOS.

 With a very straightforward yet abstract title, The City At its Limits by Daniella Gandolfo  is an eye-opener to the need for an open-minded living. The writer has beautifully shown how we all live in a society ruled by blind beliefs.

Her book opens with a quote by Georg Hegel. “A thing is what it is, only in and by reason of its limit. We cannot therefore regard the limit as only external to being which is then and there. It rather goes through and through the whole of such existence. “

We are all living a life based on taboos. It’s a very casual term till one realizes the depth of it. It’s ruling us, our lives and making us the person we are.For me, a taboo is an unquestioned restriction.

They've ruled over every stage of life, especially in India. From olden times where the bride and groom never saw each other until marriage, to giving birth to a girl child, division of castes, giving shelter to someone from an untouchable class etc. to now where the taboos go something like-

“Don’t enter the kitchen girl, you’re chumming”-Taboo!

“Eating non-veg on a Tuesday? Haw!” – Taboo!

“Sleeveless clothes in a temple? Are you nuts?”- Taboo!

“Oh. My. God! You know she actually fell in love with her driver!”- High class taboo

Taboos have grown along with time. From “Don’t show your face” (i.e. what we now call ‘overly dressed’) to people whistling over hot figures! With years, taboos are broadening. They come from beliefs and they keep altering over years as generations pass. Generations are ruled by culture. So what defines the culture of the century? It’s the restrictions. So is it the restrictions that influence culture or vice-versa?

Have you ever wondered what most of the taboos revolve around? Who’s actions are judged? Who are the ones to get affected if they go beyond the acceptable behaviour? History suggests that 80% of the taboos are said to have been revolving around women.

Digging a little deeper into the subject, I have always been surprised by how people perceive social issues. A girl walking on the street in shorts get eve-teased by a boy.  And the raised question is “Why was she wearing shorts?” and not “why did that bloody boy eve-tease her?”

Everything that our family has taught us, every principle that we hold in life has a restriction or a preconceived notion in it, in a way. Taboos have become a way of living. Sure they do have negative aspects, but the other side of the coin has stories to tell too.

They have instilled values in people. It’s a taboo to talk rudely to an adult, to disrespect an elderly person, to cheat on your spouse etc. Every society has it's own set of restrictions and they need to be respected. Also, a shift in perspective plays a vital role. When the writer mentioned about the naked lady’s photo on the front page of the newspaper, my first reaction was “What the hell!” .. It’s what we call human nature to react this way. The nature that has come up with my upbringing and the set of values I have. The nature that is ruled by what my mother told me ever since I was a kid “Never reveal body parts in public. It’s indecent and intolerable.” Being inquisitive,I asked her why and she said “Bad people do that.” So the image in my mind says “If she reveals her body in public, she’s bad.” Taboo set! Mind-set,set!

A part of accepting things that go beyond taboos deal with conditioning of the mind. When our mind sees something every day, it ignores it while it happens because it’s a daily sight. That’s how our attention goes to unusual stuff happening in the surroundings. On reading about some actress who went nude for a magazine you wouldn't talk or react as much as you would after knowing that a lady walked naked on the street to protest. You are definitely going to judge this lady, no matter what because ‘there are always other ways of protesting’. Ask yourself, what’s wrong with this one when on the other hand you're casually smiling at a nude model's photo from a magazine?

A tinge of sensitivity is very important. Even now while we deal with Shivaji Nagar, there are parts of it which are very conservative in nature and the customs there haven't altered much in a very long time. Developing consciousness is essential while we deal with such places. We are new to the place and people who have lived there through so many years. Out there, our motive is not to change what already exists because the beauty of the place lies in those virtues and values. There's a reason why the place and people have remained that way and it'll be interesting to dig deeper into that. We are there to highlight them and bring them out to the outer world. I go to that place with the thought of learning how to understand them, co-exist and spread their beauty in the right manner. In every corner of every street, something brilliant is happening every moment. Somewhere someone is going against all odds and coming up with something genius. We need to capture these instances because history is being created every moment. There are so many old shops with brilliant ancient art that gets lost in the streets and their chaos. There is some art that's slowly dying away but still taking place under some broken roof, temples are running into ruins and the historicity of the place is lying unattended. It isn't fading, it’s hiding itself behind all chaos and attempts to semi-modernize. You have to look beyond the seen. You have to look beyond the broken glass window which is letting in a ray of light, because somewhere inside it’s splitting up into a rainbow!

Sure every city has its limits. But its beauty lies in that. And over the years, things do change. Because change is constant, but you have to make peace with the fact that the speed varies. : )

On the other hand, Mythic City by GyanPrakash helped me understand the importance of knowing the history of a place. It was a perfect example of how time changes and brings along unexpected changes. How a city can rise up or run down. Through a series of events, the author pointed out why Bombay has undergone a downfall. Being a Bombayite, I could relate to a few parts of the article on a personal level. I’ve sensed the fear during bomb blasts, been stuck in traffic for hours due to heavy rains, seen slums encroach upon streets, seen a high urban sprawl and lived through jam packed train hours etc. Bombay has always been a city of dreams for people who haven’t lived over there. But I never sensed the excitement because I belonged to the city. The writer has intricately pointed out the various highlights of Bombay directly as well as indirectly. In the island city, every place has a different highlight or speciality and all the dots together make Mumbai a limitless place to be in. Cinema has been the highlight of Bombay from time immemorial. Even today, people say “Amitabh Bachchan K Ghar K Waha” (Near Amitabh Bachchan’s house) when they have to go to Juhu. Or how brands that sell the most are the ones which showcase clothing lines from movies. Cinema has affected Bombay in the most intriguing ways. The life of a Mumbaikar revolves around his own schedule only. Most of all, I love the people. Every single one of them. How no-one smiles at you, how they just need a reason to frown, scowl n scream. It's not because people are hard or cold. It's because no-one cares about your day, because they're probably facing worse. 

Every single one of the people here have a past, stories to tell, things they haven't cried about. Because that's not something we indulge in here. No, in Mumbai, when you're hurt by no matter what, you just get back on your feet n move on, because there's nothing else you can do, no-one you can go to n after all 'कितना काम बाकी है'. Bomb-blasts and floods occur every now and then. People mourn for the time being, help the stuck up ones and are fearlessly back on track the very next day. It's a fast place and you have to cope up with its pace!

Sure Bombay is full of flaws too. Every city is. But if you truly love it, think of it as a person. When you love someone, you accept them with all their faults and flaws. However, every person learns from and grows up with their past. A part of one’s identity always lies behind. There’s a reason why you are the person you are. But that’s not why you should be someone else, something that you’re not. Because your beauty lies in being yourself. (Truly disliked the Make-Mumbai-A-Shanghai part!)

Following that approach towards my work, I want to focus on bringing out Shivaji Nagar’s natural beauty. I am not looking forward to changing or adding anything to the place, except public value. My only motive is to bring in light the historicity of the place through my preferred mediums. In my first visit, I judged Shivaji Nagar in a negative way because it was very chaotic and messed up. It seemed very easy to get lost in that mad hole. On re-visiting it over a period of time, I started understanding the beauty of that place. Interacting with the locals helped me a lot in understanding the nature and structure. Every street has something different and interesting to offer. People will help you, some will just smile and pass by you and some will shoo you away because they're too occupied. If you show some patience, engage a little more with the space, you will take a lot of learning back with you. This place has the tendency to surprise people. It surprised me with its streets dedicated to different art and design works, the co-existence of so many religions in harmony, it's structure and most importantly, the people. They could be called chaotic or full of life, depending upon the one making the comment!

Ishiyetaa Saxena