'Bubble' of Democracy!

We are living in stormy times, where turbulence shakes the world at every level—global, national, and regional. As man-made wars rage on and human-caused climate disasters scorch the earth, the ideologies and institutions that once stood as pillars of hope in the twentieth century are now crumbling, weighed down by nepotism, personality cults, and sycophancy. At the heart of this growing disorder is the tragic reduction of democracy to a mere word—an empty badge of pride, worn without true understanding of its essence or the profound responsibility it demands. Democracy, now too often reduced to the ritual of elections, allows politicians to claim the "will of the majority." But in this age of coalition politics and the manipulation of voter preferences through digital narratives, we find ourselves trapped in a fragile bubble of democracy—one that could burst at any moment.

One of the greatest threats to democracy lies in the infiltration of celebrity culture and fandom into politics. When politicians become more like celebrities, aided by image consultants and public relations experts, they start expecting blind admiration from voters, as though they are fans, not citizens. Political parties are evolving into a kind of religion, demanding uncritical loyalty to both strengths and flaws, good and bad. Any dissenting voice, no matter how valid, is treated as an existential threat to the political system.

No human being is always right or always wrong. The same holds true for political organizations, which are, after all, groups of (im)perfect people. They, too, can never be right or wrong all the time. Divergent voices and spirited debates are the lifeblood of resilient institutions, enabling them to navigate even the stormiest of times.

It was in 2020 that Justice Chandrachud made a powerful observation that bridge the 'imaginary' discontinuity between democracy and debate. He stated, "Dissent is the safety-valve of democracy." Dissent creates room for self-correction within any system. The ability to acknowledge mistakes and make amends is a mark of true moral strength and integrity.

In a world where dissent and democracy are seen as opposing forces, and the crucial safety valves of democracy—dissent, debate, self-correction, and adaptation—have been rendered ineffective, we stand on the brink of democracy's irreversible collapse. The democratic bubble is already riddled with cracks, and it’s only a matter of time before it bursts.  

Gurupooja on Vijayadashami

Dedicated to Jayasree Ma'am with love

To the one who taught me how to learn,

Whose gentle hand, leading me into the world of wisdom,
Ignited in my soul an ever-burning flame,
A thirst for knowledge, to learn and unlearn,
To forever seek and question,
And embrace the art of thinking beyond the confines of certainty.

You planted within me the seeds of curiosity,
Evergreen, blooming each day
In ways both unexpected and wondrous.

You bestowed upon me the sacred love for learning,
Boundless and pure,
And charged me with the moral duty to share this light,
To offer my hand to those in search,
To guide with humility
As I ascend higher into the temple of wisdom.

Your guidance, like a beacon,
Has kept many from wandering astray,
Leading them onto the radiant path of knowledge.

For all your students—those whom you’ve called your own
And those whose hearts you’ve adopted along the way—
We offer our deepest gratitude,
A bouquet of blossoms laid humbly before you,
For sharing with us the greatest treasure,
A gift no thief can steal, no force can claim.

You taught us to transcend the shallow use of knowledge,
To rise above its mere pursuit for power or praise,
To see it as a prayer,
A sacred offering,
Lifting us closer to the truth
And the divine.

Ashes to Flight

A girl in her tender teens
dreams of chasing rainbows,
a world of colour and wonder,
enticing her to explore.

The twenties arrive, a time of flight,
where ambitions bloom like wildflowers,
and aspirations soar on wings
woven from faith and confidence,
in the boundless power within.

But then, the thirties come—
and the life boat meets fierce waves,
rocking in perilous ways.
You tell yourself it’s just a storm,
that vibrant days of joy and light
wait just beyond the horizon.

Yet, as the thirties close with a thunderous crash,
you find yourself in fragments,
shattered and scattered,
pieces to be gathered, mended,
while your yearning for a soulmate
fades into the wilderness of endless time.

The forties stand as a daunting peak—
a time to glance back at broken shards
of who you once believed yourself to be.
The promises once held like treasure
have dissolved into nothing,
crushing your ego like fragile glass.
You stumble through the dark,
tasting the bitterness of shattered wings
and crumbled dreams.

But now, it is time to awaken—
to rise from the ashes of lost years
and forgotten dreams,
to rebuild with strength anew,
and let the flame of your rebirth
light the path ahead.

If still you don’t wake up,
eternal slumber will claim you forever.

 

 

Warp and Weft of Life

Two pillars hold the weight
of society's fragile frame—
Marriage and morality.
Marriage weaves a thread of duty,
binding hearts in the fabric of belonging,
as long as we seek the world’s embrace.
Morality, like an unseen fence,
traces the lines between our lives,
our acts, our tangled ties,
defining what we dare and deny.

        

Silence

Silence speaks its own language,
with a grammar etched in stillness.
It is the deepest conversation,
a quiet force that soothes
conflict and heartache.

In silence, you hear the whispers
of your inner voice,
the pulse of your life’s rhythm.
And it is into this silence
that our souls slip away,
when the heart beats its final note.

Wings to fly

As the years pass by,
they tell you softly,
all you need in life
is peace, calm, stability—
a quiet nest to call your own.

You swallow their words,
savoring their soothing promise,
believing these truths,
woven for everyone,
must surely fit you too.

I pictured myself,
a small bird sheltered,
tucked beneath the tender wings
of everyday comforts,
my world, a gentle bliss.

But only time revealed—
I did not need a nest to rest,
but wings to soar,
to stretch wide into the sky,
chasing the rainbows
my father taught me to draw.

(Counter?)Public Sphere

The concept 'Counterpublic Sphere' is an example of negative ontology as it stands for the absences in Habermasian Public Sphere. In this frame of analysis, 'Public Sphere' controls the conceptual understanding of 'Counterpublic Sphere.'  Moreover, the very notion of public sphere becomes possible only through the bracketing out of private sphere. 

The concept of 'public sphere' has been a pertinent point of debate and discussion in critical theories since the publication of The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere (1962) by Jurgen Habermas. Habermas' concept of the bourgeois public sphere presents an idealized vision of a space where private citizens engage in rational discourse, yet it simultaneously exposes the power dynamics and exclusionary practices that shaped the very fabric of Enlightenment-era democracy. 

Over time, significant critiques of Habermas's concept of the public sphere began to take shape, leading to the rise of Counterpublic Studies, spearheaded by scholars like Rita Felski and Nancy Fraser. This new direction challenged the limitations of Habermas's framework, offering fresh perspectives on marginalized voices and alternative public spaces.Rita Felski contributed to the discussion through the conceptualising of feminist counterpublics in her work Beyond Feminist Aesthetics: Feminist Literature and Social Change (1989). Nancy Fraser reconceived the term 'counterpublic' as 'subaltern counterpublic', bringing together the notion of the subaltern theorised by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak and counterpublic proposed by Rita Felsi, in her essay "Rethinking the Public Sphere: A Contribution to the Critique of Actually Existing Democracy" (1992).

The conceptualization of the subaltern counterpublic sphere as a challenge to the Habermasian public sphere requires careful examination. The term "counter" inherently suggests opposition. While Felski and Fraser challenge the Habermasian idea of the public sphere, they largely maintain its structure. Their theorization involves creating an oppositional space that counters the exclusionary nature of the existing public sphere, yet still operates within the same foundational framework established by Habermas.

Thus counterpublic sphere is an instance of negative ontology as it is the absences in habermasian public sphere that define the former term. Hence counterpublic sphere also invariably repeats the Habermasian distinction between public sphere / private sphere. A deeper theoretical analysis reveals the fragility of this distinction for two key reasons: (1) the human subject is not an autonomous entity but a cultural construct shaped by language, value systems, laws, and social institutions; and (2) the boundaries between self and other, public and private spheres, and real versus virtual realms are increasingly blurred and unsustainable. 

A comprehensive understanding of social structures depends on framing of new concepts that examine experiences and issues in all spheres of life beyond the public/private divide.