You Can Call it "Language Pollution"

INDIA AND THE UGLY RISE OF 'FRIENDLY' SWEARING IN PUBLIC

C***U!!! I heard the teenager swear loudly as he walked down the parking lot. And no, he wasn't angry; he was swearing at his friend, just out of fun and as a part of regular discussion.

B** C**D!!! This time outside a store same day evening, this other teenager on a Honda Activa swore the favourite Indian gaali at his friend who was standing about 50 meters away. And again, he was not scorning, he was simply indulging in friendly swearing.

Friendly swearing is the new in-thing. It is becoming a cult of sorts. And though friendly swearing has always been considered normal amongst friends, the habit is now showing up loudly in the social sphere. However, in its new avatar this seemingly harmless habit should be raising an alarm.

What Is Going Wrong?

Shouting out swear words in public places is extremely embarrassing for bystanders. Imagine a family unit - husband, wife and kids - moving around together, and a gang of youngsters suddenly begin to hollering swear words at each other, followed by a devilish group cackle. Can you visualize the situation? The helplessness of the adults at the sheer insult of their family's sanctity?

These days, we not only have to breathe foul air, we must also put up with foul language. Its a new type of pollution seeping through the Indian society. Call it Language Pollution!

We Need A Code of Conduct for Social Behavior

The code of conduct for social behavior should consist of the Biblical statement "Do Unto Others As You Want Them To Do Unto You".

Its funny though, that the very people who indulge in indecent swearing in public behavior, are ready to indulge in a brawl over someone else's indecent behavior. It is indeed ironical that they take up the task of policing others, whereas let themselves run amok in the society, tearing up threads of decency which bind community living together.

Why Are Teenagers Acting So Indecent?

I was discussing this problem with a very close friend of mine, and she rightly pointed out two reasons:

1. Earlier considered to be a sign of ill upbringing and low quality behavior, social swearing is now becoming part of cool behavior.

2. It is a form of power display, where the swearer gains a sense of social power by being indecent in public. (remember Munnabhai of M.B.B.S. fame? or Pakiya of Satya fame?)

What Can Be Done?

I don't really think we can stop it from happening. But to think we are helpless bystanders does not seem right either. Hence, I tried to think of ways to reverse this trend:

1. Parents should devote more time to their kids. One of the primary reasons why swearing was not so much the in-thing earlier, is because we were accountable to our parents who were spending a lot of loving time with us. With the advent of the dual 3 letter words - MBA and MNC - Indians are trading time with family and kids for their career enhancement. And then we claim to be smart traders. Bah! Kids can never be accountable to WeekEnd-Parents
   
   (WeekEnd-Parent adj. A parent who is only available to the kids for a very few hours on weekends. In case of month end, weekend-parent is not available even on weekends)
   
   
2. Btw, I am not saying we give up our jobs and become housewives and house-husbands and full time parents. But being from the same land that bore the Great Buddha, we must be smart enough to find our own 'middle path'.
   
   
3. Movies, television and print media should not promote swearing and use of low quality language as cool. The 'Bhai' language, a favorite of the Indian cinema, sure has its pitfalls.
   
   
4. Socially swearing without concern for others' feelings is a form of apathy, rebel and a release of repressed emotions. Being pressurized to perform academically and not allowed to connect with and fulfill their natural talent causes a feeling of repression and resentment. This helplessness of the youth surfaces as aggressive, indecent behavior. It is also a way to draw people's attention to the self in a world where everyone is unknowingly feeling lonely.
   
   
5. If the society and education fine tunes towards helping individuals achieve their potential rather than force them into pre-defined standard-sized academically labeled boxes, I am sure that kids will develop sensitivity towards the society from a very young age.
   
   The kids will respect a society which respects their individuality, and hence their aggression and rebellious spirit will give way to a harmonized existence with the society at large.

This is my set of socially creative ideas to counter the increasing language pollution spread by loud friendly swearing in public places. I would love to hear your experiences and comments on the same.

The Chak De! Irony

Chak De! did a chak de at all the award functions. It made a clean sweep in all categories. Best Actor, Best Director, Best This, Best That. Watching this irony brought a sly, helpless smile on my face.

It's really ironical: A film about a bunch of ambitious women wanting to make it big in hockey makes it to the headlines, becomes a crowd puller, a super-hit, and wins tons of awards. While the real bunch of ambitious women wanting to make it big in hockey pass by totally unkwown. Everyone recognizes Sagarika Ghatge (Preeti Sabarwal) or Vidya Malavde (Vidya Sharma), but none of us probably even knows the captain of the real Indian Women's Hockey Team, or its star strikers.

Ironical, that a made-up act runs in circles around the real act. The unreal becomes greater than the real. The persona surpasses the person. Boy! it sure is a damn funny world to live in.

I think it would have been great, if at the end of Chak De! India, Shahrukh would have gotten the entire Indian Women's Hockey Team for real and introduced them to the Indians. He had a big chance to create real celebrities out of them and giving Indian Women's Hockey a great fillip; and it is a big chance missed.

However, I also realized that Chak De! was not really a movie about hockey. It was a movie about aspirational (female) youngsters who are willing to stake both their relationships and their pride for pursuing their enchantment. It is this quality which creates a crowd-winning formula as it appeals to all. The main reason for this appeal is that each of us has a hidden desire to reach out for the stars, but very few of us actually manage to do so.

On the other hand, maybe the movie actually leaves us with an idea of how to actually make Indian Women's Hockey successful and the team a celebrity. If the federation succeeds in making a connection between the players and the Indian population like the movie does, it will create a new level of interest in the game. In fact, the movie is a testimonial to the fact that no one is actually interested in the game, but they are interested in the thrill of victory and in the emotional roller coaster a game takes them on.

Understanding and knowing the players as a person will provide the required emotional aptitude for enjoying the game. The players and their personal stories with interesting photoshoots must be featured in newspapers, in reality shows, in news and in advertisements. Actually, they make great material for a reality show, where the audience is taken into the lives, struggles, hopes and ambitions of each player. Later, everyone will want to watch the games of team of persons they are emotional about. When the players will know that there are a billion people emotional about their winning, guess what? They will start winning!!!

The success of Chak De! has surely shown a path to popularize not just hockey, but any game. Let the audience connect with the players off the playground, and then they will want to watch the players on the playground. Add a generous garnish of glamour to the emotions and you have the right recipe for success with the audience at large!

Chak De! Sports!!!