Steeling myself against despair
Updated On: 19 July, 2024 07:00 AM IST | Mumbai | Rosalyn D`mello
Practising hope as a discipline makes it possible to survive in a time where one is ceaselessly exposed to obscene displays of wealth in one part of the world and genocide and exploitation in others
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Going by recent events, it would seem we are trapped in a horrible time loop with no escape route. Representation pic
Lately, I’ve been struggling to make sense of our present reality. When did it get so pitifully absurd? Last week, like many of you, I, too, felt like I was being held hostage by the Ambani family through the forced exposure to the unending extravagance and pageantry. Could it be that the bridal couple is simply afraid of the mundane nature of married life, so they keep deferring it through celebration after celebration? What on earth were the Kardashian sisters doing on the guest list? Their presence seemed like a bizarre plot twist. Did we really need such a spectacle to celebrate something so domestic as getting married? What does it even mean to have such deep pockets you have no fear of running out? Is it genuinely pleasurable to live your life in fulfilment of all your wet dreams and fantasies? I always imagined the whole point of dreaming of something was the inherent unattainability. Doesn’t one get bored when all one has to do is order a few people around and throw some money in the right direction to see before you something you had only envisioned?
There was no escaping the lavishness of this reception. It was even reported as a spread in the local newspaper in this border region where I live. But the worst part was not just the endless reams of social media posts about the glamourous outfits, the jewellery, the tacky décor and the traffic jams they inadvertently caused, but the forced exposure to all of it in the midst of ongoing genocide in Sudan and Gaza. It is eerie to be exposed to footage of the bride entering in what looked to me like a tasteless bird-shaped boat alongside images and videos of schools being bombed in Gaza, reports of more bombs being sent to Gaza, and the assassination attempt on Trump’s life that led to ludicrous statements denouncing political violence in America while actively enabling every other form of it in Gaza and other parts of the world. This was not a timeline I had signed up for.
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