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Indrajit Gupta comments on two bizarre articles in the press on the Shiny Ahuja rape allegations
What on earth was the Times of India trying to do with its two articles published in close succession about a month ago? We were presented with some delightful practical tips for daily life by prolific and naff journalist Kalpana Sharma (not the Infochange columnist), not once but twice, in two almost-identical pieces printed a few days apart. Both are obviously based on the news of the day, actor Shiney Ahuja’s alleged rape of his maid. First there was this one on June 18, 2009, ‘Beware of the maid!’ (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4667727.cms) and then later on June 28, 2009, ‘The Maid Trap’ (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/The-maid-trap/articleshow/4712540.cms). In both, Sharma dissects the maid-servant, urban India’s version of the Western world’s ubiquitous celebrity life-style accessory, the nanny, and her impact on the home situation. Writing in English as she does, and for the Times of India, it is obvious that her constituency is the upper- or middle-class woman, a demographic to be addressed with reverence and awe commensurate with her credit limit as defined by her multiple plastic keys to the Aladdin’s cave of modern commerce. However, there are disturbing visions raised in this version of ‘**** World’. For starters, it was surprising that Sharma was unable to use her own examples to better effect. In example after example, taken from the world of Western celebrities, a man abandoned his glamorous celebrity spouse for a life with the meaner but more true-to-life nanny. Such a brutal rejection of the beloved constructs of the advertising world was not to be allowed to pass without question. Immediately the mise-en-scene is shifted to India, and by some deft sleight of hand, the object of desire in the West continues to be an object of desire in India – but not to the segment addressed by this article. Therefore, by a wave of the pen, these objects of desire become the objects of disbelief, incredulity and rejection by the target demographic. In Sharma’s articles, Indian celebrities are cited as authorities on sexual mores and norms, presumably due to their personal sex appeal. Their reactions are predictable: a male in love with an object such as the maid is perverted, unworthy and deserving of ridicule. The image of the maid suddenly changes, from the sexually potent object of desire she becomes an unmistakable object of disgust and revulsion. All this at the same time: in Sharma’s vision, the maid spans this great distance in perception in real time, depending on who is gazing at her or fantasising about her, a modern, financially-independent woman or her spouse. This is accusation, trial and judgment all in one. It is not considered useful it seems to elicit the views of the victim/predator maid. It is sufficient to consider the views of either her attacker/victim male spouse, or of the helpless but unspeakably repelled female observer. It is sufficient to consider these views within the isolated context of the male/female employing pair, with no reference to the maid. It is sufficient to introduce the attractive and circulation-friendly figures of western celebrities to grip readers’ attention, and then shift suddenly, abandon the concept of a fatal attraction of the male protagonist to the menial female, and represent it as a perversion to be avoided by a wise and cautious homemaker. At any minute, one was left anticipating a functional defence against the situation in the form of an aerosol, or perhaps a cream presented in a flexible tube packing. The reader is not spared even in the citations. Two identical quotations are inserted in the two versions of the article, ascribed to widely different people. It is clear that people in that section of society surveyed by Sharma think alike, almost to the point that they recite the same script when questioned. To sum up, we have a case-study of the objectification of a victim. Introduced into the plot as a headline, she is then set in a glamorous context as Western femme fatale, capable of seducing even a glamorous celebrity spouse. Having frozen the attention of the reader, it is now time to switch cards; the seductive figure from Western culture now transforms into a seductive figure from the Indian middle-class and upper-class milieu. The flirtation with glamour is brief - as soon as possible, it is clarified for all that the glamour is superficial, the act itself is repulsive and perverse. This entire sequence is represented on the framework of anecdotal accounts of events in the West, and quotations from local celebrities or wannabes. In the finale, the product is sold: it is the household tip to be wary of hiring maidservants. And now to return to our regular programming, which was interrupted to make this public awareness presentation. (Indrajit Gupta is a working manager with 35 years of experience after qualifying from IIM-Calcutta and Presidency College and currently consults with the development sector) InfoChange News & Features, July 2009
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