BENGALURU: I was fascinated by communists in college. Their red flags, their artistic posters, and the seemingly vast knowledge they possessed at such a young age. They were all from rich families but wore shabby clothes. They all smoked weed, mentioned books and authors, sang, and played the guitar. They were the only political party with ample representation of all genders.
Communists were also angry with everybody – the government, society, history, the economy, and Gods. The only people communists liked were each other, and I respected that camaraderie. The reason I couldn’t become a communist was that I had to work through college. If not for capitalist structures, I couldn’t have paid for my college or Masters. Also, I like splashes of luxury and comfort in this pointless, lifelong revolution around the sun.
However, I have one grudge against capitalism – that they ruin the meanings of words. Most brand names were regular words whose meanings have been distorted by companies. Brand names have a way of sticking in public memory. For decades, the word ‘Xerox’ was used for the act of photocopying. Surf originally denoted the foam created at sea during a ‘tide’ – another word whose meaning is now distorted.
Amazon used to mean the rainforest where 30 million people lived. Today, it is where you get your next phone from. To kindle meant to arouse or inspire. You shot a telegram home during an emergency using frantic lingo like ‘Cm hme. Mm sck’. Java was an island in the Indian Ocean, and a python was a snake you stayed away from, not something you approached after graduation.
Even personalities are not saved. Of all the contributions of Subhash Chandra and Jagadish Chandra, Bose is now known as a headphone you can’t afford. The troubled scientist Nikola Tesla is now immortal through the car of a maverick billionaire. When describing the ideal man, Nietzsche used the phrase ‘Ubermensch’. Today, it’s an app where the driver cancels the ride after finding out your destination.
Big Tech is not the only culprit. Music bands are doing their own bit to wipe out knowledge of the natural world in a manner that David Attenborough wouldn’t approve of. Beatles, eagles, gorillas, and arctic monkeys were creatures going about their lives. Today, their names bring out passionate fans and conspiracy theories. Colonisers came to India in search of cardamom, red chilli and peppers. Today, red hot chilli peppers signify a band singing about information overdose in California.
Fast food companies are guilty too. Sprite used to mean an elf or fairy. Today, it’s an invisible force that gives you diabetes. The word sting denoted bees, wasps, or a carefully planned operation. Today, it is an open conspiracy to pump kids with caffeine and sugar. Paper boats were something you made as a child. Today, it is a drink that vanishes before you finish your first sip!
Doors and windows were what you installed in your new house – not an edgy band, or a software system you use at the office. As a film critic, the highest accolade we can accord a movie is 5 stars. Thanks to capitalism, it’s chocolate that you can buy off pocket change (perhaps a sign of the role of critics today).
Perhaps capitalists know that we are headed for an ecological disaster, and this is their way of preserving the meanings of words. But I dread a world where common words would be uprooted from their meanings and allotted the meaning of a product or service. If you know any communists looking for a new cause, kindly ask them to get in touch with me!
(The writer’s views are his own)