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| Sunil Sharma |
“Most
people are not really free. They are confined by the niche in the world that
they carve out for themselves. They limit themselves to fewer possibilities by
the narrowness of their vision.”
― George Eliot
Displacements.
Placements.
That is the stuff life is made of.
Our
latest call---“Displacement: The Quest for New Skies and Nests” --- was on this
universal human trait---migration; displacement and placement in fresh contexts
and the eternal search for “fresh” geographies of mind and soul; of anchoring
in new climes and lands, away from the ones that gave meaning to your earlier
existence and dreams.
Of
moving out of stale for the stimulating environs.
It is
in the genes of every species---the DNA of the evolutionary process.
If
there is no displacement, there shall be no placement.
The
desire for migration fuels the onward journey.
A
conscious and bold act of planned movement; of challenging the stasis and
making informed choices and of dreaming of better worlds through praxis and
change.
Constant
modification---the dialectics of growth.
Of refashioning
old narratives and visions no longer in sync with a desire to grow fresh wings
in the deserts of mercantile civilizations, and fly off towards greener
pastures.
A
trait, a yearning, both ancient and modern.
Of
traversing the Silk Routes---medieval and post-industrial; being urban nomads;
charting the paths already trodden by others.
Founding
new Romes.
Of
making, re-making, shaping and re-shaping the given; finding newer
possibilities, going out and exploring foreign shores---re-purposing and
re-imagining self, society and life!
The
flux of life.
Chaos.
Decentring.
Re-centring.
Going
to a far-off place and finding that all places resemble the ones left
behind---in terms of biases and prejudices.
Perhaps
leaving old for the new ghettoes.
But the
human mind and will keep on working and re-working the clay of possibilities,
and, like Maya Angelou, knows why the caged birds sing!
It is
all about breaking out, overcoming the traumas of loss and displacements, and,
re-alignments of factors and facts; of weaving fresh fictions and
epistemologies about living and reality---and, most important, changing these
for better, equitable and democratic social arrangements.
First
steps towards the blurred topography, a land shimmering in mist, and the
miracle happens, sudden and startling: the path gets shown by a mysterious
force or a willing universe out to aid the traveller in their long journey; a
mood beautifully captured by---who else? --- Rumi with all-seeing eyes:
“As
you start to walk on the way, the way appears.”
How apt
that sage is in his understanding of the world!
And that explains the complex of the history, philosophy and science of human success story, and of other species, in the march forward.
Happy
to showcase some select responses to the call for July.
Ways of
exploring the theme and interpreting it in their own way.
The
star-studded edition carries other interesting threads of literary and cultural
conversations.
Please enjoy!
Sunil
Sharma,
Dear Sunil,
ReplyDeleteMuch to ponder about in this insightful column. Wishing you the best with all your writing endeavors. May you have ongoing success with Setu.
Karen
It's a continuingly relevant theme to reflect on the issues involved in migration, settlement, adaptation et al, what with the contours of the present-day world. Congrats to SETU for featuring all these perspectives, vignettes, and nuances concerned.
ReplyDeleteA permanent feature, for nature and mankind
ReplyDelete