For quite some time now, moviegoers in parts of India have been participating in a peculiar phenomenon – playing of the National Anthem before the start of any movie. I believe this was a practice some decades ago as well and has now been revived.
Why we participate in this can be answered fairly simply – we do it because we are in effect made to. No matter where or when the National Anthem is played, Indians will rise. But the questions that beg to be asked are - Why do we need to do this? What are we hoping to achieve? Are we so green as a nation that we need to buttress our identity as a people in this jingoistic fashion? What is so wonderful about people reluctantly rising to join the rendition of a composition that they in fact normally feel passionate about?
My reservation about playing of the anthem in theatres is fuelled by what I consider to be the inappropriateness of both the place and the occasion for such an activity. True, it’s a convenient setting for finding a large bunch of people together. But really, that’s about it! What I find absolutely telling is the statement that is flashed on screen before the anthem is played – ‘Please rise for the National Anthem’. There’s something going horribly wrong when you need to tell the citizens of India this – and what is wrong is simply that it is unnatural. Movie halls are meant for watching movies…and wonder of wonders - our brains know this!
But now here’s the tricky bit. Even while harbouring these misgivings over the last few years, I've found myself sucked into the quagmire. Although my mind kept repeatedly telling me that I didn't subscribe to this irrational brand of nationalism, I found a little lump rising in my throat every time I stood up only to reinforce it. An important self discovery and learning for me - my mind does indeed know what it knows… but my heart's a free agent!
Why we participate in this can be answered fairly simply – we do it because we are in effect made to. No matter where or when the National Anthem is played, Indians will rise. But the questions that beg to be asked are - Why do we need to do this? What are we hoping to achieve? Are we so green as a nation that we need to buttress our identity as a people in this jingoistic fashion? What is so wonderful about people reluctantly rising to join the rendition of a composition that they in fact normally feel passionate about?
My reservation about playing of the anthem in theatres is fuelled by what I consider to be the inappropriateness of both the place and the occasion for such an activity. True, it’s a convenient setting for finding a large bunch of people together. But really, that’s about it! What I find absolutely telling is the statement that is flashed on screen before the anthem is played – ‘Please rise for the National Anthem’. There’s something going horribly wrong when you need to tell the citizens of India this – and what is wrong is simply that it is unnatural. Movie halls are meant for watching movies…and wonder of wonders - our brains know this!
But now here’s the tricky bit. Even while harbouring these misgivings over the last few years, I've found myself sucked into the quagmire. Although my mind kept repeatedly telling me that I didn't subscribe to this irrational brand of nationalism, I found a little lump rising in my throat every time I stood up only to reinforce it. An important self discovery and learning for me - my mind does indeed know what it knows… but my heart's a free agent!
