One of management‘s most favoured statements "Change is the only constant" would have been classified as a cliché by now had it not been a moving dynamic. That’s closely followed up with the ability and propensity of adaptation. The underlying message is accepting and reinventing the self by embracing change. Where it gets stuck is when change hovers uncertainly between what was and what is.
In politics, the so-called majority view goes through so many presses of the representative iron that the end-product is almost unrecognizable. Literature, that freehold repository of free thought, and mirror of life is faving a similar dilemma.
A few years ago, Japan’s education administration put in process closing down in literature wings in order to focus on science, the more preferred field of study. The bang for the buck has now descended on other countries, leaving Oxford University in a state of panic.
It’s not that literature study is at stake. It’s the challenge to universality and inclusiveness. Voices of discontent are rising in developed countries to replace the hitherto taken for granted mandatory study of William Shakespeare with literature composed by black writers. Sometime in the future, there will be similar demands for LGBT writers as well.
The arguments can’t be swept aside. The universality of Shakespeare or Rabindranath Tagore has served its purpose and found to be less inclusive in today’s world. The fight against classicism and apartheid hasn’t been won yet, though some are trumpeting success from the turrets. The more of Oscar Wilde is being known, the more is being revealed of the truths that were carefully hidden away.
As in management where sworn processes are being questioned and dismantled, literature, too, has been going through transitions. There is an openness that would have been deeply refreshing for George Orwell and Wystan Auden, with which work depicting some of the darkest chambers of human possibility is being accepted. This is where change hovers in between, given equality and fairplay continue to be hammered.
Tagore’s first lines roughly translated run "the droplets fall, the leaves they sway" is a literary manifestation of Sir Isaac Newton’s theory of "each action has an equal and opposite reaction." The new reality is perfectly personified in how the Black Lives Matter protests on sports fields are petering out. Race, caste, religion continue to do the opposite of whatever was intended -- divide rather than unite. The positives are consigned to table talk instead of being socially integrated. Tagore’s description of an 11-12 year old is no longer universal, as isn’t Shakespeare’s portrayal of Shylock.
Auden pointed to as much in ‘Funeral Blues’ in saying:
"The stars are not wanted now: Put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.
For nothing now can ever come to any good."
The metaphysical in him was referring to the impact of death on a close one. And yet, the words can suit a different purpose. That is where the same event seen through different eyes needs to be viewed, the words heard and assimilated. Any such difference cannot but be influenced by the shape and form of mental make-up of those that were for so long not seen or heard.
At the other end of the precipice is the very concept of universality. Not everyone has the gifts of great writers. One doesn’t necessarily have to be great to make a profound statement. It’s inclusiveness and relevance that are under the microscope. Pushing literature aside isn’t the answer to the demands of change. Those that swear by Shakespeare and Tagore have had to swallow more modern expressions of the core.
More not less is required, simply because all the facets of literary fancy and poet‘s licence don’t hold good on their own. The kernel matters more than the colour of the flowers. For management, the pain is in the added investments. Science always falls back on "new evidence."
In any case if it doesn’t hurt, it ain’t change.
Mahmudur Rahman is a writer, columnist, broadcaster, and communications specialist.
