Huxley, and the meaning of words
(article at above link)
This essay is a tribute to the victims of democracy: the long-suffering Palestinians, the traumatized Iraqis, ...black Americans, Native Americans. We're trained since childhood to ignore victims of democracy and to associate democracy – the word – with feelings of well-being and bonhomie. Aldous Huxley was well aware of the conditioning behind the emotive aspects of the word, as long ago as the 1920s: he knew it was sheer falsehood.
Excerpt:
When a Palestinian uses the word ‘democracy’, he means oppression. When a white, middle-class American uses the same word – well, he or she feels the reverse. When a Hindu uses the word ‘beef’, he definitely does not have the same sensations as a Muslim. And when a Frenchman says soixante-neuf, well, we have a fairly clear idea of what he is getting up - or down – to.
Showing posts with label kamasutra. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kamasutra. Show all posts
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Friday, March 7, 2008
Three Folds Across Her Middle
http://unlikelystories.org/sayeed0308.shtml
(article at link above)
The failure of the nation state in South Asia is reflected in the region's cinema, which clearly shoes a lack of shared imagination, with films being classified as A grade and C grade, corresponding to their elite and mass audiences respectively. Unsurprisingly, the female form shows the same schizophrenia at work, with the mass audience demanding the traditional, heavy female form, and the westernized elite plumping for her svelte, westernized counterpart.
Excerpt: "But how do we explain the figure on the catwalk? For explain her we must, since the ideal of feminine beauty in the Indian subcontinent still clings to that outlined centuries ago in The RatiRahasya (Secrets of Love):
She in whom the following signs and symptoms appear is called a Padmini. Her face is pleasing as the full moon; her body, well clothed with flesh, is soft as the Shiras or mustard flower, her skin is fine, tender and fair as the yellow lotus, never dark colored. Her eyes are bright and beautiful as the orbs of the fawn, well cut, and with reddish corners. Her bosom is hard, full and high; she has a good neck; her nose is straight and lovely, and three folds or wrinkles cross her middle - about the umbilical region."
(article at link above)
The failure of the nation state in South Asia is reflected in the region's cinema, which clearly shoes a lack of shared imagination, with films being classified as A grade and C grade, corresponding to their elite and mass audiences respectively. Unsurprisingly, the female form shows the same schizophrenia at work, with the mass audience demanding the traditional, heavy female form, and the westernized elite plumping for her svelte, westernized counterpart.
Excerpt: "But how do we explain the figure on the catwalk? For explain her we must, since the ideal of feminine beauty in the Indian subcontinent still clings to that outlined centuries ago in The RatiRahasya (Secrets of Love):
She in whom the following signs and symptoms appear is called a Padmini. Her face is pleasing as the full moon; her body, well clothed with flesh, is soft as the Shiras or mustard flower, her skin is fine, tender and fair as the yellow lotus, never dark colored. Her eyes are bright and beautiful as the orbs of the fawn, well cut, and with reddish corners. Her bosom is hard, full and high; she has a good neck; her nose is straight and lovely, and three folds or wrinkles cross her middle - about the umbilical region."
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