Book review: Disgrace (J.M Coetzee)

From the dais of Swedish noble prize academy, in his banquet speech coetzee said:
"Mommy, Mommy, I won a prize!"
"That's wonderful, my dear. Now eat your carrots before they get cold."
That’s very much like him. He is master of making an ordinary moment steer throuh your conscince, exactly when you thought it should have passed just like that. And when you thought “now surely this is going to stay, this is a turning point”, he will walk away with a vaccant, void look to that extraordinary.
Coetzee novel, disgrace is story of David Lurie, a professor at Cape Technical University in South Africa. The first sentence of the novel claims that: "For a man of his age, fifty-two, divorced, he has, to his mind, solved the problem of sex rather well." However, in the first half of book, he his exactly trying, miserably, to solve this problem. Perhaps looking for sex and intimacy, he fails to get both from single person and makes a considerable mess out of it. With soroya, the prostitute, he found sex but she rejected any effort of his for intimacy. With his student, Melanie Isaacs, the professor in him was able to find some intimacy, but when the men tried to get sex, he really screwed it up. (by the way, David was already twice divorced). Earlier the cost has to bear in form of divorce, this time it was disgrace.
Lurie is charged with sexual harassment. He chooses not to defend himself: "I plead guilty. That is as far as I am prepared to go." The university, indeed contemporary society, demand more: remorse and an admission that he understands he has done something wrong, but Lurie is only willing to say he did what he did. If he wanted, he could be forgiven: a token punishment and then everything probably pretty much back to how it was before. Lurie isn't willing to go along with the charade, and he forces them to impose the harshest punishment, and he leaves the university in disgrace. Perhaps, David believed that he committed an act of “sex” with Melanie but not of “harassment”. Coetzee has also very sensitively presented the interaction between David Lurie and parents of Melanie. Parents choose to respond to this event by “tolerating” since now…. the past cannot be changed.
Lurie flees to his daughter, Lucy, who has a plot of land in the countryside and lives by selling flowers at a local market and boarding dogs. here coetzee describes the things again in his characterstic style. When lurie things “ what kind of life lucy was living in farm, toiling, taking care of dogs and selling flower” he writes in bracket “ what else you thought life to be!” Hhhmmmmm…….J
Pages after pages, cotzee potrays how does disgraced Mr. David tries to come to life by engaging himself with ordinary life. But with coetzee that peak, that high, that surprise and that devastation is only a line away!
On one fine day, three hoodlums enters the house and they rape Lucy. The father locked in bathroom, trying to shout at peak of his voice, cursing his old age for lack of strength. The way coetzee has describe the helplessness of a father is really heart rendering. However, when lucy opens the gate of bathroom the rage in his eyes did not find a similar expression in his daughter eyes. Here comes a big lesson in david’s life. Throught his life he has been thinking and desiring for love as pleasure and intimacy. With lucy incidents he knows that sex can be used also for “ subjection and subjugation”. Lucy also chooses not to tell the police that she was raped, only that her father was attacked and some property stolen. As her father did in his case, she does not believe the authorities and the systems in place are equipped to deal with what happened to her. She explains to Lurie:
'The reason is that, as far as I am concerned, what happened to me is a purely private matter. In another time, in another place it might be held to be a public matter. But in this place, at this time, it is not. It is my business, mine alone.' 'This place being what ?' 'This place being South Africa.'
on rest of the canvas, coetzee sensibly painted the interplay of power, powerless, how lucy learns to respond to her pain by tolerating it and in the end she goes to the home of petrus, the fellow who made the whole plot of rape for acquiring lucy’s plot of land!
However, exactly when we thought that coetzee has reached limits of his understanding of human psyche, he changes role….from a novelist to a poet. The metaphor of street dog’s life leaves a profound impact on reader’s mind. About to day, its pretty certain that sooner rather later they will die….. but still lets work to reduce the pain.
I haven’t captured even 1% of what cotzee has said and the way he has said. So guys, get one copy of “disgrace” and go thru it. You will certainly appreciate how writing can be made to shift from one plane to another in just matter of few lines, few paragraph and nothing may happen in writing of 10 pages.

organized anarchies!

organized anarchies!
hi

we the people

The following discussion is about a theft, which made me interact with a different rather hitherto unknown aspect of society in which I am living. In fact why I have chosen to share this otherwise personal experience with u all is based on the assumption that the air I breathe, the water I drink and the vulnerability I face I shared by rather a majority of people. By this incidence I would like to bring home some points like what went wrong and what can or should be done. I have face the burnt but would like u all to be part of the solution, which this incidence demands.
The incidence occurred somewhere around 7pm in greater noida, a satellite town of delhi. I was talking on my mobile phone near noida bus stand when I felt a sudden jerk on the hand in which I was holding my mobile. It took me few seconds to realize that what has always been a remote possibility, even though newspaper reporting it everyday was indeed happening with me! Alas he was get away from me faster and faster. What to do? I shouted and started running after him. Whatever has to be needs to be done now only. Because tomorrow in absence of mobile there will be remorse, guilt and a load of consolation from friends and parents… what has happened has happened pls forget it. But that will be tomorrow, there is a clear and distinct present and lets keep doing the action. Shout and run after him.
To my luck, a mobile team of police came on bike hearing our shouts (my brother and a friend was also part of this great chase!). they responded quickly and within no time the thief was caught. While in police station, the thought that mobile will be there with me tomorrow was a bit hard to sink. Ya I was relieved……. But that was only for time being.
The thief, whose name I came to know as harish, was given a sound thrashing by police in station. Perhaps everyone present there took there turns. The most amusing thing I saw wa the belt with which Mr. Harish was beaten. It had a phrase boldly written on it “SAMAJ SUDHARAK”.
Then came the time to file an FIR (first information report) and begins the story of power, powerless, inactivity, courage or lack of it, ignorance and finally submission of rational thinking human.
“saheb ke pass jayiye, vo batayege ki FIR main kya likhna hai”. The next moment I realized how innocent I was n my understanding of the real police. The whole FIR which I was asked to write was modified. What I was asked to write was a complaint of mobile loss! No mention of chase, shout and immediate catch! Why I wrote it? Well I was made to belive that it’s a normal police procedure. First file the report that mobile was snatched, then police will frame the charges and next they will show the arrest. I admit in that stress ful environment I would not forsee to what end all this was directed to. After this preliminary round of report filing we were asked to come next day.
THE NEXT DAY
Well friends, it almost felt like a year. We were told that the concened person (tiwariji) is on round and will arrive in sometime. Belive me that fellow came after 4 long hours of making us wait. The time which me and mohit spend in police station’s park was horrible. I was thinkinh the only differnce between us and harish was that he was suffering within the confinement of 4 walls while we were made to undergo the pain in open! And moreso, whenver we said that its getting late for us, we were forecefully advised not to go unless tiwariji comes. The moment we were sitting on table along with him it became clear why we were so earnestky asked to wait. Dude the whole episode was sesatonalized! To our great surprise the event was reported in local newspaper with altogether different storyline. It reported that Mr. Navneet ari from delhi was looted by armed gunman in noida! Polocec is searching them!
And and and …… the report! It was recored in manner such that some presidential medal will be awarded to them. Instead of twolpolice personnel who were involved in incidence metion was made of 4! The yesterday attendence register was getting filled today. Who came and reported when an where was suitably adjusted in the register! Amazing…… the whole record was fudged. The report read how with help of spies police laid a trap for culprit and caught them red handed. Phew….. the heroes!
I aaske them that this is not how the things have actually happened so why are they misleaaading and why am I boubd to sign on it. Prompt was the reply “ u have reported that ur mobile was snatched and now its upto police how it wnts to show the catch. Sir, ye service record ka sawal hai. Aap cooperate karo hum bhi cooperate karenge.” Well I never understood how this will affect my case as the report finally mentioned that mobile has been found with all the specifications mentioned.
Now now now….. enters the judiciary. For now I realized filinf an fir was a huge mistake. Law wise, once a lost object has been found by police the claimnet has to go to court for getting the release order. In principle it makes sense as the motive is to check the case when police itself arbitrarily assings the object to anyone may be to its own kith and kin. So judiciary enters as a neutral party beliving only in th evidences produced.
I came to know that I cannot file na application all y myself. I need to hire a lawyer for the same! The lawyer charged Rs. 1500 for the case IN ALL.
Once the application was filed, to make it heared by the judge the as soon as possible requires its own lubrication mechanincs. I steno out my file at the bottom making sure that the hearing come atleast 3 days later. However a RS. 50 note by our lawyer ensured that it was at the top of the file and infatc recive the hearing the very same day.
This whole episode lasted for 4 days in which everyday we had to travel for 5 hrs. however when after getting the release order from court whne we reached police station fto collect our reply the apathy was once aging into action.” Saheb nahi hain, kal aana.”
A RS. 200 note made sure that even without saheb work could be done.
To get my own mobile I had to bribe the system. The system which was working without doing any wrong as per the rule book. There discretion could have made us wait for many days. so indeed the money was acting as an lubricant!!

so, what went wrong? what will make a common man take courage to fight such injustices? what are the institutional mechanism which can help?
let's build an idea.

first encounter with blog

for past few years i was involved in an non technical field and was not very conversant with changes which are taking place on net. i passed out from iit bombay in 2002 and in just a mtter of 4 years am finding myself total novice in cyber space! amazing the way ideas can be posted and propogated. in what way it can influence me is yet to be seen.