‘A word after a word after a word is power’
Margaret Atwood-
Of late, there are three trending words in our ‘desi’ Dictionary, that is making them world famous in India! One is ‘Godi’. The second is ‘SIR’. The third is ‘Sorry’.
1) GODI- Whenever our kids post photographs struggling to hold their grown up children in their laps or arms, my husband has a comment- ‘Our grandkids are big kids now and there should be ‘no more Godi’ for them. Then I’m also reminded of the times when we would be taking a stroll and our daughter would pretend to be tired, turn to her father, extend her arms and say: ‘Daddy, I want Godi’.
And her daddy would immediately pick her up. Even if she was eight years old!
So I guess no one should deprive their kids of such delightful moments; because in the blink of an eye your little ones grow up and out of the ‘godi’. So hold on to your ‘babies’ as long as you can because there’s no place on earth as comforting as a mother’s lap. Or a father’s arms!
No matter how old you are, the ‘Godi’ is a comfort we carry in our hearts forever. It is the only sanctuary of security and warmth where life’s stress, worries and noises fade away. It is probably the only place to get re-energized.
But look what we have done! We have taken the most charming word from our Hindi dictionary, tagged it along with a spineless organization and made it sound like an insult. By coining ‘Godi Media’, we have disconnected the emotional charging point that offers peace, healing and unconditional love and connected it to a cold and heartless socket.
When our mainstream media, supposed to act as independent watchdogs, started behaving like ‘Lapdogs’, it was Ravish Kumar who first coined the pejorative term. The distinct shift from neutral journalism to a ‘propaganda’ model was obvious when reporters began acting as mouthpieces of the powerful, to spread misinformation. Since the word was also an echoic expression of a name, the media soon turned into Their Master’s Voice.
2) SIR- This customary word is commonly used to address unknown or known people to show politeness, respect, or formality in professional or daily interactions. It is also used at the beginning of official letters to address the head of any organization. Derived from ‘sire’ in the Middle Ages, it is also an honorific title in the modern world, bestowed upon a man who has been knighted by the Queen.
But look what we have done! We have taken a formal respectful word; we have picked up one of the highest British Honorific title and abbreviated it into a joke. The Indian ‘SIR’ is a Special Intensive Revision created to ensure an accurate voters list to update and purify the electoral rolls. But what it became is a significant concern, raising questions about our democratic integrity. It sparked a controversy over our electoral transparency.
There was fierce opposition from political parties and civil society groups who saw it as a deliberate attempt to disenfranchise the poor, migrant workers, and minorities. The umpteen ‘deletions’, ‘additions’ and the rushed nature of the exercise resulted in immense pressure for the BLO’s (Booth Level Officers). There were even reports of suicides due to extreme workloads and stressful conditions. Some called it ‘Vote Bandi’- a demonization of votes.
Some interpreted it as ‘Surgically Invasive Reconstruction’ saying it was less ‘intensive’, more ‘invasive’ and less ‘revising’ and more ‘reconstructive’. All in all this ‘door to door’ exercise soon proved less amusing and more threatening!
3) SORRY- This was an expression which as my mom put it- a silly word which, 'the English taught us and left'. Silly because it comes easily, almost involuntarily to some when they do something wrong; silly because it doesn’t erase what you do; silly because it doesn’t fix anything; and silly because for some is not an apology but just a word.
At times I disagreed with my mom because whenever life demanded it, I never really got to assemble those five ordinary letters into that ‘silly’ word. Sometimes this word of healing, of restoration and of starting over, became so powerful I wondered if it had migrated with the British. Sometimes the word which earlier had unconsciously slipped out of my tongue a million times also became the hardest word to say. And with the passing away of my Daddy, I will always carry that guilt to my grave.
But look what we have done now! We have turned a profound word like ‘Sorry’ into the saddest word in our dictionary. Why? Because now when people shed their fears and opt for freedom of speech, they are somehow also cornered into saying that ‘silly word’.
In the age of Trolls, Shaming and Backlash, more and more celebrities are now joining the Modern Apology Movement. More and more people are opting to stay on the right side of the argument, even if it is very, very wrong.
I can understand if their comments or actions are perceived as insensitive or offensive. But why issue an apology just for speaking out their minds? Is it because of the need to manage their public image? Is it to mitigate the impact of widespread, negative online sentiment? Or is it because there’s always been a touch of narcissism in the act of apology anyway.
Now an Apology has become a transaction, a deal. And The Modern Apology Movement is probably the social media’s motivated desire to be seen as humble and doing the right thing. This deal is far better for damage control.
After all, a reputation is a celebrity’s most valuable asset. So A Big Fat Apology is used to assuage tone down the harm to their image and prevent further backlash. And of course, to protect their financial earnings from the ED. After all, it’s all about the money, honey.
That’s the real reason why most have perfected the art of social media apology. And that’s what is so sad because it never used to be like this. Earlier celebrity apologies were sparse, spectacular and pretty much uniquely done for celebrity contrition. It was never a constant, hot and cold running release of more and more regret and more and more ‘Sorrys’.
However there are some, who even with a public backlash are strong enough to cultivate a conscience and grow a spine. They are the ones who view the trolling as a reflection of the Troll’s own negativity. These are the ones who we should respect and bow down to!
So let us take the cue from Atwood and highlight the words in the true sense because writing is not just a stream of words. It is a path of building, inspiring hope, changing lives and challenging injustices!
Nargis Natarajan writes on social issues. The views expressed here are the writer’s own.