Some thoughts about Vishnu: in praise of Pranati - Page 7

Dear Nikita,

Of course you did not hurt me. I am always polite, even when responding to rather abrupt and peremptory posts, and yours is a very polite one, so why should I be upset about it? I genuinely respect opinions differing from my own, and I do see your point about the grey areas, but one can have too much of this there-is-no=wrong-and-no-right argument, you know. There has to be a line in the sand somewhere, or we will end up in moral anarchy.

As for how bad I feel about what the CVs have done to Soham, I would refer you to my response to Jai above. He should never have been brought to this pass. And Varsha as the mistress of that thug Balan Yadav! It is appalling.

Shyamala

[QUOTE=nikitagmc]

Originally posted by: sashashyam

There is surely a clear distinction to be made between drooling over a certified criminal and drooling over a pair of upright and very decent, if occasionally foolish young people, and this should not be lost sight of. That, in brief, is the wrong and the right of the matter. No one can have anything to criticise in any drooling over Archana or Manav or Teju, not to speak of Arjun-Purvi. It is their characters, as shown to us by the CVs, that should be the deciding factor.

Shyamala B.Cowsik

Sigh! I don't think you got my point. :( I was not really speaking with respect to the Soham situation, go ahead and call it right or wrong whatever or disagree with others on it, but I was rather speaking with respect to passing opinions on the adoration/opinions of other people that drooling over so and so or supporting him is right/wrong. I am afraid it will just drive people away from your thread, at the end of the day no one likes to be judged, or told what should be liked and what should not. One can disagree without that too, I guess.

Dear Nikita,

I am sorry that I did not respond at once to this very touching follow up post. It is a beautiful one, imbued with great sensitivity and depth of feeling.

At the outset, I want to clarify one point. You have expressed your perception that you, and some others who think like you, "were being judged and held 'guilty'😆 in the posts in this thread, of supporting Soham and being interested in him or wishing for him to do well simply bcos he was the protagonist's son or cos of the cute baby in the childhood".

I cannot speak for others, but as far as I am concerned, nothing was farther from my intentions in writing this post than to hold anyone guilty' of anything at all, however much my views might be at odds with theirs. After all, in a free forum, we are all at liberty to express our views, but without condemning those of others.

Trying to set out, unambiguously but in non-confrontational terms, the likely consequences of an unfounded optimism, which presumes that a happy ending to this story is a given once there is a family reunion, does not mean that I am holding anyone 'guilty" of anything.

It is more to prevent a fresh heartbreak. I am not given to much of emotionalism, but many of our fellow members are, and I would not want them to feel a fresh sense of loss because they had invested too much emotional capital in this young man. My take on Vishnu as he is today is an attempt in this direction, but of course there is no compulsion for any member to pay any attention to it, or to my views on him either. That is in any case a given in any forum of this kind.

I am sure there are ways to retrieve Vishnu, but only after the legal process has run its course. Acharya Vinoba Bhave and Jayaprakash Narayan received the surrenders of very many reformed dacoits, especially from the Chambal hills, but they all had to serve their prison sentences, with remission off for good behaviour. No one was let off just like that because he repented and promised to lead a blameless life in the future.

It should be the same with Vishnu. I suspect, however, that the CVs will justify Janhvi's sunny optimism, and will, as they did in the case of the body in the boot (who seems, incidentally, to have vanished altogether) short circuit every relevant provision of the Indian Penal Code, and let Vishnu march off with a fanfare to match. That would be a pity, besides being the wrong lesson to convey to the young people in the audience. Most of juvenile crime these days - and it is increasing with frightening rapidity, as also the gravity of the crimes they commit - is due to the (often well founded) conviction that they will never be punished for their deeds, or at the most will get off very lightly.

As for your last para, the depth of feeling in it is so great that it is its own reply.

I would wish to make just one more point. Soham was not just a lovely child, he seemed always to be a very placid one, and then he was only about 3 or 4 years old. It is true that he was passed back and forth between Varsha and Archana, and ended up with the unbalanced and hysterical Varsha. But it is also true that he was throughout loved abundantly, and indeed to excess by Varsha. Later too, he did not lack for physical care, unlike the abandoned street children who are left to fend for themselves, uncared for, unloved, and exploited in every possible way by adults.

So, while you feel strongly that "the innocence of Soham wilted away as a result of the mistakes of his parents" , it might be more accurate to say that because of that one awful error of judgement, he lost out on a decent upbringing, which was his birthright. That was a great tragedy in itself. Worse was the career path into which he has been inducted.

However, he does not seem to have been traumatised at all; in fact he is cheerful and quite at home where he is now. Perhaps that is the greatest tragedy of them all. It is also one that will be very difficult to rectify. In fact, when he learns the truth, the odds are that he will still stick to his mayee and refuse to accept his real parents and family.

If anyone has been and is being traumatised, it would be Varsha, and most of us would agree that she deserves it.

Shyamala

Originally posted by: nikitagmc

Dear Shyamala Ji,

Originally posted by: sashashyam

Dear Nikita,

So, while you feel strongly that "the innocence of Soham wilted away as a result of the mistakes of his parents" , it might be more accurate to say that because of that one awful error of judgement, he lost out on a decent upbringing, which was his birthright. That was a great tragedy in itself. Worse was the career path into which he has been inducted. Yes, that is the tragedy I have been speaking about. He lost a decent upbringing, good education, love from his own family and good opportunities- all of which could have together framed his personality differently. Plus he has lived in that coldness for years now and is probably used to it, life of crime has become a way of life from. One finds himself at such a point that it is extremely difficult to turn back, not knowing who will accept them back.

However, he does not seem to have been traumatised at all; in fact he is cheerful and quite at home where he is now. Perhaps that is the greatest tragedy of them all. It is also one that will be very difficult to rectify. In fact, when he learns the truth, the odds are that he will still stick to his mayee and refuse to accept his real parents and family.

Actually what I meant was this:

1.) Soham was constantly shifted between two homes in his infancy. So much that the poor child could not adjust with Archana after living for a long time with Varsha and neither ate nor drank but cried all day. I guess the change in ambience must have confused the poor boy too. The same thing would have happened when Varsha first started taking him to her home, I guess. It might not actually be classified as trauma, but I did feel sorry for the poor boy in those days.

2.) As of now, we can only imagine what type of coldness, violence and dread he has seen as a child, considering he lived with a psychotic mother (though Varsha seems to have recovered now) and in an environment of crime, which eventually crept into his bones as well. He probably grew up with it and took it for granted as the way of life for himself. I don't think we have been shown right now about how his father was with him, right? (By father, I am referring to the goon with whom Varsha lives) Who knows, someday we might get a reflection of what his childhood had been like, with a psychotic mother, a violent father and people shooting each other about. Just bcos he accepted it as his way of life does not necessarily mean he wasn't traumatised as a kid.

3.) When he comes to know the truth that his real parents were ready to give him away simply cos they were not able to manage two children, or that Varsha turned possessive about him since his mother kept giving her son to her sister back and forth, including at the time of his kidnapping, then I can only imagine how he will feel. As far as I know, it has not been shown whether he knows it already or will come to know of it later. In any case, it will no doubt be agonising for him when he comes to know what his real parents did😭. I won't even blame him if he is unable to bring himself to forgive what his parents did.

Originally posted by: nirvanlove

does genes really affect our personality or is it the environment around the child?

i may be wrong but i find the statements regrading genes extremelly regressive. sorry sasshyam

Ms. Shyamala,

My pleasure, Shyamala. It is a matter of opinion as to what one thinks of about a particular character. For me, Glorifying a character just because there is history attached to it does not make it justifiable. It is what it is right now that matters. Again, this is my personal opinion.
It was interesting to read reactions to your post, such different view points, although I do not agree to quite a few of them, nevertheless, interesting.
I commend you for putting out such a topic that brought forth these intense reactions.😊