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Musings on modernity

Politics dominated the discussion between N. Ram and Pankaj Mishra at the launch of the latter's "Temptations of the West." KAUSALYA SANTHANAM reports

PHOTO: R. SHIVAJI RAO

CHRONICLER OF SOCIAL CHANGE Pankaj Mishra

The interface, a prelude and prologue became the main event — so comprehensively did it touch on the core aspects of the book and deftly pull together the various issues addressed — while the reading became an adjunct at Landmark when Pankaj Mishra's "Temptations of the West: How to be Modern in India, Pakistan and Beyond," was launched by N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief, The Hindu.

The question and answer session between them that preceded the reading touched on various aspects of the work, which effortlessly blends travel writing, political analysis and social commentary, and also offers insightful glimpses of personalities — from BJP heavyweights to Bollywood icons, teenage `terrorists' in Kashmir to Muslim women in Afghanistan.

In "Temptations of the West," Mishra covers familiar ground with a freshness, vitality and a writer's courage in balancing on the razor's edge.

In South India, unlike in the North, the people have responded to modernity in a way that is closer to Japan; they have managed to hold on to their traditions, said Mishra, admitting that South India is a serious omission in the book.

Origin in the West

"Modernity in a place like England was the outcome of industrialisation. The kind of modernity that India encounters came through imperialism and colonisation. It has its origins in the West and is driven through western-based organisations such as corporates and publishing. South East Asia is a passive receiver of this modernity and every day, we find a way to negotiate it. My own journey is part of this negotiation with modernity. This is why when I write, I have to write about my journey," said Mishra.

In response to a query from Ram about how he views writing about this part of the world for an American audience, Mishra (who contributes to the New York Review of Books and other publications) felt it was part of a larger movement in this era of globalisation "with most of us moving across national borders with great ease. Writing for an American audience about places they were unfamiliar with and seeing what prejudices they brought into it, was interesting."

The discussion did not skirt controversial issues but took them head on. The contentious issue of Kashmir that the writer has addressed in the book figured, as did the issue of cross-border terrorism. Mishra was critical of the media's role in blaming Pakistan for the recent terrorist attacks. "Local rage forces Muslim elements to embrace terrorism. It is necessary to see what prompts and motivates terrorist attacks." The media in the country came in for a lot of flak. "There is a dearth of quality magazines and newspapers. There is no real space for feature writing that is widespread in the U.S. The writing in the newspapers does not reflect the explosion of talent in the country today."

Both Ram and Mishra found a gap in credibility in predictions for India becoming a developed country by 2020. Mishra found "China ten years ahead" and what makes the going better for the giant is that idealism survives there whereas "we have moved away from it." (When did we start worshipping CEOs, he quipped).

Mishra fielded questions from the audience on the idea of democracy, on rural development (book readings generally see the writer as holding solutions to all of society's ills?), on the perception of Muslims by the man on the street, and (heartening from a literary point of view) on the personal ideology of a writer influencing his work.

There seemed to be much about politics and too little about literature that evening. Heart-warming to admirers of R. K. Narayan were the author's tributes to the quality of Narayan's writing.

Despite a timely reminder from the moderator about questions on the writer's craft, there were few queries from the audience. As Mishra is planning to work on a novel next, readers would soon get to see the effective shift in register from non-fiction to fiction.

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