What would it have looked like if they had smartphones and Facebook in medieval times? People would be uploading routine killings, and pictures of dead bodies, torture victims and of the instruments employed in the business of gore. The captions would be distasteful, and the images would gain instant hits with millions of views. And of course, what medieval landscape is complete without the Spanish Inquisition? Linked to disturbing images of the deceased would be admonishments by a holier-than-thou character. Now, recall the clamour over the murder of a social media celebrity last week. Sounds painfully familiar, doesn’t it? We went a step ahead this time around. Images and clips of the deceased were uploaded from a mortuary after the killing. There’s little respect for the dead where people hardly respect the living. Medievalism meets hypermedia. It’s an interesting combination.
Later, there was a revolution of sorts in Turkey. There were images of people in the streets thwarting a coup. There was euphoria. There was a sense of having accomplished something significant. The next day there were people saying, “Had that transpired here, there would have been celebrations at the ouster of the elected government. We would have offered mithai (sweets) ourselves.” What can you say about a people who have welcomed four interventions into civilian rule, gone back to democracy after every 11-year experiment, and are willing to entertain another putsch? That tells you something important about us, something equally medieval in character. There is an obvious dearth of critical thinking. Also, a lack of imagination, for there is no alternative offered to the misrule of elected governments. There’s a saying for situations like this, “One step forward, two steps back.” Smart, clear and concise, it aptly describes the national trajectory. This mode of thinking, or lack of thinking altogether, is promoted in part and reinforced by media pundits of a certain hue.
Each cable TV channel has an impressively dressed sagacious op-ed-writer-turned-soothsayer-TV-analyst. These guys are looked up to. They employ the most persuasive bombast to relate the moral and financial corruption of the elected ruling classes, often disgorging phrases that would embellish a book of quotes like, “Ours is a land littered with decaying corpses providing feed to a flock of vultures.” Reportedly, they get paid unbelievable amounts for offering “analyses” laced with such rhetoric. With the revenues flowing in, the most touched-upon theme of the impressively dressed op-ed-writer-turned-soothsayer-TV-analyst is poverty in Pakistan. The wisdom spewed during the telecast is swallowed whole without an iota of irony.
So, beginning with the videos of the corpse, the smartphones and Facebook shifted to news and views about the failed putsch, rapturing later on with images of the victorious cricket team at the Lord’s. They’re heroes, the young and the old, for as long as they keep winning, which usually isn’t for long because they’re unpredictable. But that is also why they manage to win. Ironic? If they’re back on a winning streak they would be greeted with garlands. If not, they’d try and land without any fanfare so as to avoid a mob. The mob is fickle, and often medieval in its reception for defeated sportsmen.
Changing tack, there is a historical monument in Lahore called Chauburgi. It is a structure with four turrets. The original architectural artwork on only one of them survives. It was constructed as the gateway to the entrance of a burgeoning garden that was met on the other side by the Ravi. It is common knowledge that an elevated track for the Orange Line Train is being constructed on Multan Road. It was argued by different quarters that the track passes close to the Chauburgi monument. Now that the pillars for the aforementioned track have been erected, the situation has become clearer. They are indeed close to the monument, and completely block the view from one side. I implore the authorities in charge to make amends while they can. As of yet, the bridgework hasn’t been laid, so, technically speaking the route can still be altered ever so slightly so as to ensure that the vibrations from the Orange Train don’t take a toll on the building, and the elevated track doesn’t mar the view. It is true that the train will be a welcome addition to the city’s public transportation services. It is equally true that not many gave a jot about the Chauburgi monument with residents of the area routinely depositing garbage on the premises. The interior was, and will probably remain, the haunt of drug addicts and vagabonds. But Chauburgi is a reminder of the splendour Lahore used to be, and a testament to its rich and colourful history. Let’s not treat this memorial of Moghul majesty with disregard. If the irony counts, some of the world’s largest and most beautiful cathedrals were constructed in medieval times.
The writer is a lecturer in English Literature at Government College University, Lahore. He may be reached at [email protected]