WHAT HAS ENID BLYTON MEANT TO ME

 ENID BLYTON GAVE ME A FAMILY

All the characters in her books that I loved, became my family.. I laughed and cried with them, worried and felt guilty with them, and eventually grew up alongside them. 

I saw how they helped each other through crisis, and learnt how valuable families could be. 

SHE POINTED TO QUALITIES THAT COULD SEE ME THROUGH LIFE

Her characters learnt the value of patience. diligence. Keeping their temper in check. Being kind. Life taught them these lessons, not lectures. I learnt them too. 

Some of the characters were vain, headstrong or cruel, and were not well liked. I learnt to check my own behaviour too. 

LIFE WASNT A FAIRY TALE

Life wasnt the same always.. there were ups and downs, adversities and joys, comings and goings.. She taught me to accept all with equanimity.. that this was the nature of life..

BEING INDUSTRIOUS

The children were industrious.. always upto something that was productive.. the homeless ones made themselves a makeshift home.. the hungry organized food..  they helped their parents make ends meet when times were tough... they ran around trying to discover what was behind a mystery..

All this taught me the fun of work and how one could be one with it. 

OBSERVING NATURE

The biggest contribution made by Enid Blyton to me was to introduce nature.. to a girl brought up in little houses with no gardens, she taught me the beauty of blue skies.. white clouds.. huge welcoming trees, climbing creepers, and the scents of a garden... 

I WAS NOT LEFT WANTING

Because I had these virtual or families in my mind, I did not feel wanting, or deprived.. I had the confidence to follow my instinct.. I did not need to participate in things that did not interest me, just to belong.. I felt there must be people like me somewhere in the world, if not immediately around me... 

SHE GAVE DIRECTION TO MY LIFE

I think she gave direction to my life.. to focus on what was really valuable.. curiousity, industriousness, to be with nature, and to do what interested me.. I did not even interact with stereotypes of what would be expected of girls of my age and era.. 

Not all the heroic characters in her books excelled at studies, or were first in sports.. or were rich.. but they were good human beings, who looked out for others... So I did not feel the need to follow a template set by someone else for me.. I could follow my own calling.. 

What more could a parent have done for a child ?

Which is why I have always say : Enid Blyton raised me. 

Treating Women as Objects..

A neighbour sent me this video. I wrote back : This embarrassing video may pass in macho Indian films but is completely out of place in political messaging. I guess some infantile admirer of the BJP has made it as his paen of praise.

The song itself is rather innocently worded and sung. It is the video which conveys troubling messages :

1. In a long song (in video terms 3 min is very long) the featured woman has no identity except in terms of her immediately married family relationships - there is no reference even to her parents or siblings. One of the oaths I remember in my family's sanatani marriage practices was to not step out without permission of inlaws and husband. Another oath was that you will henceforth have no contact with the home you grew up in !

It seems that these regressive practices fit in well with BJP's world view - rather than help take society in a more just direction, BJP would rather exploit the fault-lines for its passing advantage.

2. The featured lady exhibits no aspect of her life apart from her marital home relationships - she is not even shown managing her home, purchasing anything outside, interacting with neighbours, or heaven forbid - going to work. Seeking to put women in isolation, occupied only in serving their needs, seems to serve these exploitative right wing men well.

3. The lady is featured in nice traditional clothes and is seen singing and dancing throughout - it is a bit much for a 3 min video with no other activities/aspects. She is fixated on the man (presumably her husband), seeking his approval and affection.

But the man treats her THROUGHOUT the video as a sex object only - many of his looks and gestures are lewd almost for a video targetted at families presumably. Perhaps the video maker did not mean it - it looks like he is too culturally devoid to imagine what affection between genuine partners - a husband and wife can be like.

4. The husband is shown as higher in status while the wife simpers and prances around him.

The point of analyzing this objectionable video is that it shows inadvertantly what 'culture' might mean to the BJP and some of its core followers. There is nothing implicitly Indian about the machismo and coyness on display. Everyone I know who saw this video, thought it was vulgar. Vulgarity does not come from exposing body parts alone. It also comes from showing women as objects for men to consume.