If Medusa could tell her tale of doom, stripped of her beauty, crowned with vicious crawling snakes, eyes that could reduce onlookers to stone, we could probably hear a different story from her. And if Medea for instance narrated her compulsions to shelve her father and brother to win her man Jason, and how unfortunately loss of Jason’s love compelled her to indulge in infanticide. What would it all be? From Greek mythology, if we move closer home and if Sita had to narrate her abduction and the subsequent trials and tribulations, would ‘Ramayana’ take a different turn? If Draupadi could document her innumerable conflicts of the mind and heart would that not shed new light to “Mahabharata’…
From mythology to history. History as we all know was always written by victors. Since men battled against men we ended up with a history from a male perspective. Rarely did we get to hear the female side of the story. Subordinated and almost invisible, they never got the socio- political space to present their standpoint.
Do we ever stop to wonder what were the thoughts, indignations and personal battles that plagued ‘Razia Sultana’ and her desire to be a model ‘Moghul Sultan’ she was capable of, rather than be reduced to a mere ‘Sultana’ that she was destined to be. If Jijabai had to write history as she nurtured her valiant son Shivaji would the version vary…..
When in school I found mythology and in particular history very fascinating for the simple reason, it transported me to another time and place. I solemnly believed every word I read. My fascination persisted till ‘Google’ happened and with it came the fact – “There is more than one truth”. This belief was not restricted to history alone, it was applicable to any inquiry I happen to fancy.
A new outlook like an opening of a new door stared at me. And I treaded with a renewed fascination. Different versions rained at a click of a button. With time the realization set in that the proverbial coin incidentally did not have just two sides but many sides and dimensions some of which was beyond my comprehension.
As I reflected on my findings, the erstwhile conceit I so seemed to love to nurture was to peel off. The naive conviction and presumption that I know the ‘truth’ nothing less than absolute truth, had at times in the past not only proved dubious but even false.
The process of shedding my glasses of seeing the world as black and white and being pretentious and judgmental was quick and without much ado. Doubts arise from certain anomalies in our experience of the world however it gives birth to ‘empathy’ and shades of grey and makes us a more tolerant lot.
Ironically ‘Truth’ seems the root of all conflicts, it confronts and challenges our very understanding and yet it manifests in myriad form to sets us free…or so we believe …
