Of disjointed times and cultural decay

A seemingly unlucky nation as we may appear to the outside world, bad days, however, could hardly grip us for long. Somehow we have been able to fight ourselves out along the dark alleys of history. And we came out victorious. Sadly, on occasions things have not gone well for a long stretch of time. This has become part of a vicious cycle besetting the nation.
The depressing picture applies to no other national fields more aptly than to the cultural arena. Just when the cultural activities began experiencing the onset of a refreshed journey, the urban pockets of the country fell on yet another phase of bad days. With the grim developments in view, the nation is being reminded of the hopeless days two years back when we had to pass through a similar course of uncertainties and barrenness.
At the moment, we face yet another spectre of an approaching philistinism and inanities. We are, traditionally, made to believe that culture and politics are the two sides of the same coin. A nation cannot survive, and a healthy one at that, without letting its culture blossom uninterrupted. Despite many nations' cultural richness, they remain unaware of this invaluable endowment.
Ironically, we boast of our cultural treasures whenever there is an opportunity. But we are equally used to showing our apathy or rustic helplessness when our cultural edifices crumble down. We don the same garb when our achievements start being brought to a nought.
With the nation stuck in a web of political confusions and incongruities, the cultural regeneration is set to beat a retreat. Ours has been a faltering march in this area, yet we could have managed to have glimmers of achievements. But there hovers on us the omnipresent but invisible demon, which keeps sowing the seeds of division, and that of hatred and intolerance, to be precise.
Maybe, a pervasive rot is overtaking us. Thanks to our arrogance, insensitivity or lack of minimum foresight, we love to remain least bothered. This type of psychic pattern has time and again proved quasi-suicidal. Many a nation has invited its doom by an obsessive preoccupation with political gains, pushing their socio-cultural identities in the back burner. As the cultural aspect of the Bengalees has played a dominant role in their independence struggle, it has kept recurring in the nation's crises, including that triggered by politics. It has had both a decisive and palliative role.
In a clear portent of the days of gloom, our cultural monoliths are slowly disintegrating in the prolonged political chaos. Being the most sensitive segment of the cultural landscape, authors are expected to explore the roots of the malaise afflicting the nation. To our great pain, few of them pick the subject, which is the most critical at the moment. The publishing industry does not seem to be concerned at all with the fast downslide in political unrest. The publishers could have provoked the authors to produce works that holistically address the roots of the national crisis, and its perspectives. Some might blame the authors for their escapism, and the publishers for their business-centric disposition. The publishers are found busy organising this or that small book fair in Dhaka throughout the year, with focus concentrated on sales only. Shockingly, they seem to be unaware of the fact that a lacklustre business awaits them in the coming Ekushey Book Fair, too. Like in the past year, the ongoing political unrest will discourage people, to a great extent, from visiting the fair this year. People, readers inclusive, are feeling besieged with visible or invisible fears; they are craving for peace and safety. Some have begun bracing for worse days ahead. In a disjointed times like this, books lose their appeal to even avid readers.
Bangla Academy, in the meantime, is taking brisk preparations to hold an international literary conference on its premises from February 01-04. Noted writers from Asia, Europe and the Americas, along with Bangladeshi authors, are scheduled to participate in the grand event. Against the country's politically tense backdrop, people in the literary circles are waiting for it with their fingers crossed. Meanwhile, the National Poetry Festival is also going to be held from February 01-02, like in the previous years.
Things should not have come to this pass, as literary and cultural activities are not usually affected by domestic partisan politics in other countries. True, in the nine months of the 1971 Liberation War, literary-cultural activities in occupied Bangladesh remained on hold. But that was the time when the Bengalee nation was witnessing its birth as a sovereign entity. Apart from engaging in an all-out armed struggle against the enemy, the nation was also going through a horrific genocide. As logic and human traits would dictate, the time was not congenial to creative pursuits. But, in the aftermath of independence, innumerable creative works added to the new country's literary brilliance. As a parallel event, the country's post-war theatre and other performing arts, too, witnessed a renaissance of sorts in terms of form and content. In every respect, the turbulent nine months of 1971 comprised a defining moment for the nation. To quote from Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times …"
A nation's fight for survival or dignified emergence may obligate it to distance itself from cultural engagement for a period of time. It does not apply to feuds or confrontations triggered by political face-off in a sovereign country.
Coming to the present context, almost the same scenario as we saw in 2013 is being enacted in, literature apart, the country's painting, drama, music and the performing arts. Bad times have also befallen them. The arts-conducive Bangladesh winter wears on with the art galleries going quiet - no major shows, no bustle of the art connoisseurs. In fact, no mentionable exhibition, solo or group, has been organised in the last couple of months. There has been no maiden staging of a new play at the theatres. Except for the Bengal Foundation's classical music festival, held before the ongoing political deadlock, there hasn't been any spectacular musical event in the capital until now. The case of the local film industry is quite different. Barring a few exceptions, our mainstream movies remain mostly untouched by realities. Their clientele also belongs to the class content with whatever is offered to it.
A vibrant culture keeps a nation's socio-political pulse running. Cunning rulers across the world have always skewed cultural fronts in their favour. Ours is a different case. We ourselves are, by and large, indifferent towards the decaying health of our culture. In independent Bangladesh, we had despotic rulers at intervals. But few dared to tamper with the nation's culture. As ill luck would have it, we became victims of political tribalism. The artists cannot resist its onslaught. But they can change the cultural scenario of a given time by remaining active in their respective activities.
Despite being aware, our writers, painters and other creative people hesitate to openly identify the factors that may eventually lead to a prolonged crisis. There lies the problem.

shihabskr@ymail.com