Happy Independence day.

By Chittaprosad from DAG's collection
Freedom as a revolutionary act
Overthrowing the oppressor
violently or not
its always an act of upsetting the power centers.
Essential for it, is a shared future
however narrowly defined.
It is seldom an individual's act. It is an act of belonging (even if it is done alone).
It is essential and useless in almost equal measures.
Essential to assert our existence.
Useless due to our inability to comprehend the full scope of change.
Often we hurtle ourselves from under one oppressive foot to another.
Freedom from.. something
merely shifts our concerns from many oppressors,
to the one we are ready to tackle.


Punishment sisyph.jpg
"Punishment sisyph" by Titian.
Freedom as (exercise of and negotiation of) control(s)

There is no one ideal world
and yet, to achieve one, many people have to converge.
In a fight to design the utopia of your choice
one has to exercise control (and consequent oppression)
It is for the ones who completely understand the consequences of their freedom
or for the ones who are completely blind to them. 


Freedom as a feeling
Wide stretched hands and face against wind.
this symbolizes freedom to the concrete dwelling urban creatures.
So oppressed by one's own superego
they impose enjoyment on themselves.
Unmoored, unhinged, the individual lives life as an illusion. the illusion of freedom.


Freedom as anarchy
"Meri Marzi"
The only notion of freedom as understood by us Indians.
The anally retentive infant wants itself at the center of the universe.
The illusion of consequence-less, responsibility less lives
Its this faux freedom that is dragging the world down.

Freedom as an inevitable responsibility


Comments

Unknown said…
Amazing work - both the blog and the video.
Tue Dec 02, 03:22:00 PM GMT+5:30
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