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The Big Debate About How Artists Are Remembered vs How They Want To Be Remembered.

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Recently, the death of our beloved Chandler Bing shook the world. One of the most popular characters in the beloved 90’s sitcom, Friends, millions of fans took the internet by storm, sending tribute messages and expressing their extreme grief at the unexpected demise of the actor.

Fans expressed that even though they didn’t know him personally, they felt a sense of great attachment almost as if it was the loss of a close family member. 

Sources conclude that Matthew Perry was dealing with addiction since he was fourteen years old and there is some  information about it that he shares in his memoir, ‘Friends, Lovers and The Big Terrible Thing.’ 

During an interview with podcast host Tom Power, last year, he said that he would prefer to be remembered for helping people rather than for his work on Friends as a beloved character – Chandler Bing. 

Following the conversation, the actor remarked, “The best thing about me, bar none, is that if somebody comes to me and says, ‘I can’t stop drinking, can you help me?’ I can say ‘yes’ and follow up and do it,” he said. “When I die, I don’t want Friends to be the first thing that’s mentioned. I want that to be the first thing that’s mentioned. And I’m gonna live the rest of my life proving that.”

However, it seems that fans, especially the international fans, have only taken cognizance of Matthew Perry’s addiction after his death. 

One of the fans remarked, “It has to be realized that just like one person can be a good friend to one person and a lousy friend to another, a good father but a bad husband, similarly, an artist can be their version of who they want to be and their art could have a completely different memory to those who experience them through that art.”

This statement stands true across multiple scenarios. This question of  who owns the legacy is applicable only if people actually knew him. Most people admire artists for embodying the art themselves and many times people perceive the artist and the art intertwined with each other. Famous artists like Leonardo Da Vinci would be remembered by his famous painting of Mona Lisa and not the Vitruvian Man in the first instance. That’s how the nature of memory and history takes form in our minds. 

As an individual, we want to be remembered for what we believe we are worthy of being remembered for. However, for any third person to remember an artist, the impact the artist left on them, is what comes to their mind first. 

While millions believe their beloved Chandler to have passed away, others may think about Perry’s  humbleness and generosity first. It depends upon perspectives. 

A fan commented on a related social media post, “This raises a question if we all want to be remembered in a way that we wish to be or be happy that we are remembered.”

On the other hand, there is a very serious conversation that was opened up about when Matthew Perry talked about how he wanted to be remembered. He has been one of the most loved people in the world yet his journey towards sobriety and overcoming his addiction problems in each season has been overlooked. As mentioned earlier, many fans didn’t know or knew little about his sobriety and the way he was struggling to overcome his addiction yet made such a lovable character with all the jokes and sarcasm for the people. Giving him what he asked for, the belief to remember him with the idea of him healing and helping others overcome addiction is the least his fans can do as a community.

Debates on this can go on, but an actor like Matthew Perry is to be remembered and cherished. He put happiness and joy in our hearts and left only words of appreciation for him in our mouths. Whether or not his way of being remembered worked, it is sure that he has left a hole in our hearts that can never be filled. Rest in Peace, Matthew Perry.

Aanya Mehta

[email protected]

Image credits: koimoi.com

 

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Arts & Culture

Politicising Death: Remembering Former PM Lal Bahadur Shastri

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The sudden death of India’s second Prime Minister (PM), Lal Bahadur Shastri, in Tashkent, immediately after signing the declaration with the then Pakistani President, Ayub Khan, on 10th January 1966, following the 1965 War, has been riddled with mystery and is a hot topic of debate for decades now.

Generations have passed by, but the debate about Shashtri’s death has not ceased to exist, all thanks to the secrecy propagated by our State. Some people agree to the official line that he died due to a heart attack under natural circumstances, but others assert that he fell victim to a conspiracy and was murdered, due to the anomalous ring to his death, and there are many reasons associated to it.

When Shastri’s body was brought to Delhi, his mother, upon seeing the strange blue patches on his body, wailed that someone had poisoned her son, and said, “Mere bete ko zeher dedia (My son has been poisoned).” His close relatives and childhood friends like T.N. Singh exclaimed that they could not make sense of the cut marks on Shastri’s stomach, and the back of his neck. Blood leaked out of the cut on his neck, and soaked the pillows and clothes used by him. What further adds on to the enigma revolving around his death was the fact that no postmortem was carried out.

Even the two witnesses – his helper, Ram Nath, and personal doctor, R.N. Chugh, had met with unnatural deaths just before they were to depose before the Parliamentary body. Some people believe that the Central Investigation Agency (CIA) may have had a role to play in this, and refer to the CIA agent Robert Crowley’s statement in an interview published in the book, Conversations with the Crow, confirming that Shastri’s death was the work of the CIA to prevent India from emerging as a reformed State, and also due the IndoRussian dominance of the region, since he had given the green light for nuclear tests, making the United States feel threatened.

However, majority of those who endorse the opinion of Shastri’s unnatural death support the conspiracy theory that his death was an inside job executed with the help of the Russian security agency Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti. They argue that the ruling party at that time, in order to make Indira Gandhi the PM, might have conspired for Shastri’s death, and that the USSR supported them as they were interested in making India a Soviet stooge while Shastri kept us non-aligned. We must realise that although Indira Gandhi became a very powerful PM later on, she was a political nobody in 1965 when the conspiracy to kill Shastri must have been hatched, nor could she have predicted with any degree of certainty that she would be elected.

Recently, this issue was racked up just before the Lok Sabha elections with the release of the movie Tashkent Files, by Vivek Agnihotri, which is based on the mystery shrouding Shastri’s death, allegedly supporting this view, and it was criticised for being politically biased. Critics exclaimed that the film was politically-motivated and that it exploited Shastri’s death to attack a certain political party, along with its secular and socialist ideologies, and institutions. Even the grandson of Lal Bahadur Shastri, who is a member of the Congress party, had sent a notice to the makers of the film, alleging that the film was an “attempt to create unwarranted and unnecessary controversy”. Politicising issues is something parties are constantly engaged in, for their own political agenda. However, politicising an ex-PM’s death and alleging another ex-PM’s involvement in it, without solid evidences is something that should not be acceptable, at least to the youth of the nation. The Government must instead make efforts at declassifying the documents, so as to maintain the democratic ideals of transparency and oneness with the people that the leaders once fought the colonisers for.

Feature Image Credits: India TV

Abhinandan Kaul

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Campus Central

Student Union President of Ram Lal Anand College Found Dead

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Police suspects it to be a case of suicide but no evidence including any suicide note has been found from the site.

A third-year student of Ram Lal Anand College was found hanging in his south Delhi residence at Nanakpur on Thursday, 30th May 2019 afternoon. Utkarsh Sharma, a 22 year old B.A. (Hons) Political Science student is suspected to have committed suicide though no conformity has been established and the police is still probing the incident.

Sharma used to live in a government quarter with his parents who were not in town at the time of the incident. His parents had left for their hometown in Uttar Pradesh when the incident took place. When his calls went unanswered, the worried parents asked Utkarsh’s brother living in Palam to reach him. As he reached his house in Nanakpur, he found his brother death. Utkarsh  further informed Devendra Arya, DCP of South Delhi. He said that an inquest proceeding under Section 174 of the CRPC has been initiated to investigate the case.

As the President of Ram Lal Anand College, Utkarsh was quite known amongst his colleagues and mentors.  His principal, Rakesh Kumar Gupta remembers him as a smiling student. “I came to know about it. He was a good student and I had spoken to him around 21st or 22nd May. He had told me his exams went well. He always had a smiling face,” Mr Gupta told the Press Trust of India.

Utkarsh’s semester exams ended on 21st May 2019. He apparently last interacted with his college friends around the same time. Minali Gupta, the Vice President of the Student Union of Ram Lal Anand College told that she last met him on 21st May and is in a state of shock with his untimely demise.

 

Featuere Image Credits: Facebook and DU Beat

(With inputs from NDTV)

Priyanshu

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Beyond the Obvious of Delhi University Colleges

Turning a Blind Eye Towards Maternal Mortality

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Three lakh women die from issues in pregnancy and childbirth. So why the ignorance and indifference towards this huge loss to a family?

World Health Organisation (WHO) defines maternal death as the death of a woman while pregnant, or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy. Maternal mortality rate is the number of registered maternal deaths due to birth or pregnancy related complications per 100,000 registered live births. In a world with almost 4 billion women, this issue is touching our lives in one way or the other, yet we do not talk about it as much as we should.

People are not equipped with the knowledge they need, especially in a country like India, to understand the gravity of the issue. This often begins and ends at being a “women’s issue”. Three lakh women, all over the world, die each year from problems in pregnancy and childbirth. About 700 women die each year in the United States alone, while 830 women die each day worldwide, as reported by WHO. The chances of dying during pregnancy, in some places, are 1 out of 15.
I can recall workshops being held at schools regarding menstruation, pregnancy and related ideas only attended by girls, while boys stood outside waiting to hear what this ‘forbidden fruit’ was. Firstly, why should this just be restricted to them when each and everyone is impacted by it?

Secondly, the knowledge provided to the students is inadequate.Several factors can lead to maternal mortality. The first being age, where women below the age of 20, and above 35 are at risk. Socio-economic status in the society is another factor. Where poor and illiterate individuals do not have access to education, healthcare, proper nutrition, guidance, and care are at risk of death during pregnancy. Women are also placed on a lower pedestal and viewed as subordinate, which can be a reason for not being given adequate support during their most important time. The societal pressure of bearing a male child also adds a strain on the emotional and mental health. Unplanned babies, poor sanitation and hygiene facilities,infections, and other factors can also increase the risk. Hypertensive disorders are responsible for 14% pregnancy related deaths, pulmonary embolism causes 3% of the deaths, and 10% women die due to direct complications. Yet, we are not aware of these statistics. To understand the core issues, the world needs to move beyond books like ‘What to Expect When You’re Expecting’.
The Special Bulletin of Maternal Mortality in India by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in June 2018 stated that among the southern states, the decline has been from 93 to 77 and 115 to 83 in others. As reported by the WHO, factors like access to quality healthcare, state subsidised financing, mitigation of social determinants, and positive engagement between public and private healthcare providers has helped India in reducing MMR by 77% in 2016.
The death of a mother is tragic, with a devastating effect on the families. Though the MMR has witnessed a decline, it is important to educate the masses of such prevalent issues. Proper check-ups during the pregnancy and a nutritious diet is a must for both the mother and the baby.

Feature Image Credits: Saubhagya Saxena for DU Beat.

Shivani Dadhwal

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DUB News

DU Student Killed, 3 Injured in Drunk Driving case in North Delhi

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A 19- year old DU student was killed on Wednesday, 23rd January, 2019 in a road mishap. The car hit divider in north Delhi with three of his relatives injured.

 

In a case of drunk driving, a 19 year old University of Delhi student was killed and his three teenage relatives were injured when their car overturned after hitting a divider in north Delhi’s Gulabi Bagh in the early hours of Wednesday, 23rd January 2019.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Nupur Prasad said the four men were heading towards Murthal from central?Delhi’s Regar Pura in a Santro car when the incident took place, around 3am, near a gurdwara at Chowki number 2 in Gulabi Bagh.

The deceased has been identified as Shivam, a resident of Regar Pura near Karol Bagh in central Delhi. He was a first-year BA student at DU’s School of Open Learning (SOL).The injured have been identified as Kashish alias Badal and Nitin, both aged 18.Both are residents of Chandigarh. Arnesh Shankar, aged 19 is a resident of Rengar Pura.

An eyewitness informed the police that the vehicle was speeding. It allegedly hit the concrete road divider and flipped twice before coming to a halt after skidding for few metres. Passers-by rushed to help the victims and took them to the hospital, and informed the police about the incident. Shivam Shankar was declared brought dead, while Kashish and Nitin have been kept under observation and Arnesh was discharged after primary medication, according to DCP Prasad.
During investigations, it was found that the victims were returning from a family wedding in Delhi. They had planned on going to Murthal for a joy ride, said DCP Prasad.He further informed the accident took place around 3 a.m. near a gurdwara in Gulabi Bagh. The medical examination report is awaited to determine whether they were drunk at the time of the accident. A case has been registered at Sarai Rohilla police station and the investigation is underway, police said.

(With inputs from The Hindu)

Feature Image Credits: The Hindu

 

Disha Saxena

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DUB Speak

26/11: The Attack on the Privileged

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The 2008 Mumbai attack is globally recognised as an important part of the history of India, it may not seem unusual at first, but the traction is problematic.

For Indians, sweater weather brings with it clouded memories of the Mumbai attacks of 2008; broadcast tributes can be found aplenty, people get clicked while the bullet studded walls of Leopold Cafe provide a backdrop, and the ones that were directly affected are forced to relive the trauma. The media coverage expected this year is perhaps tenfold, since this year marks the ten year anniversary of the attacks.

It’s important to mark the bloodiest days in history and remember them from time to time, honour the unsung heroes, pay respect to the innocent, and learn from past mistakes. The Mumbai attacks are, globally, the most well recognised and empathised terrorist attacks in India. However, a brief history lesson on the deadliest terrorist attacks in India highlights several ones that exceed the 26/11 attacks in terms of quantum of lives lost. It’s diabolical to evaluate the damages caused by terrorism in the utilitarian sense of the world; any loss of lives is appalling regardless of the number. The only mildly troubling aspect of the attention given to 26/11 attacks is that the international media coverage given to the attacks due to the number of foreign lives threatened and lost. The attacks were meticulously planned and executed along the most famous tourist spots in Mumbai, including the Taj Hotel and Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. Since high profile tourist spots were targeted by the infiltrators, many foreign lives were lost on the Indian soil and that is primarily why the bombings garnered international traction and interest. The New York Times or the BBC were obviously not as interested in the 2006 Mumbai train bombings or the stream of deadly violence prevalent in Assam since decades. The modern world is such that European and American lives are often given primacy over the Rohingyas of Burma, the Syrians forced to abandon their homes due to genocide funded by Uncle Sam, the Hondurans fleeing political unrest, and the millions plagued by starvation and unemployment. India has long been stung by foreign (and even domestic) forces propagating violence and instigating fear.

The ball wasn’t entirely in the court of international media houses. The fate of the accused was addressed by the Supreme Court in this case, but there remain tens of other terrorism cases dated decades back, that await verdicts.

There is no doubt that all matters of national security, in any part of the country, are to be given equal importance and priority. In the status quo, sadly, privilege plays a huge role in the action taken by the respective authorities. Perhaps that’s why the valleys of Kashmir witness day-to-day bloodshed, the children of Chattisgarh live in fear of Maoist insurgencies and Cow Vigilantes continue to haunt the streets of Uttar Pradesh- unchecked.

 

Featured Image Credits: Indian Express

 

Nikita Bhatia

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News

Girl in Stephens commits suicide over bad result

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-Kriti Buddhiraja

A final year student of Economics at St Stephen’s College, Upasana Sahu, was found hanging by the ceiling fan in her east Delhi residence last Thursday. She was rushed to Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital, where she was declared brought dead. In a three-page long suicide note she apologized to her parents, and held herself solely responsible for her death.

Upasana had limited eyesight, and had taken admission into the college through the quota for disabled students. Although she was never an outstanding student, she maintained a fairly good academic record and participated in other department activities as well. In fact, she had already been placed at Infosys by the College’s placement cell.

However, failure in the university examinations came as a rude shock to her, following which she ended her life. Her distraught parents regretted that she didn’t speak to them before taking this drastic step, for that would have perhaps saved her.

That Upasana was reduced to such a miserable situation is a grave reflection on the kind of premium our society places on a single system of evaluation.

What is even more appalling is the near absence of efforts to deal with the problem. Even though there are a fair number of counselors at colleges and otherwise, little is being done to address the causative agent of the problem. Much needs to be done to make education a more engaging experience, and not one that is exclusively result-oriented. Internal assessment is a step in this direction, but clearly not enough.

Further, the government needs to invest in expansion of infrastructure, in order to ease the pressure off students and make education a more enjoyable affair.

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Uncategorized

Dead Human. Humane death?

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Death on road attracts only flies.

– Ishita Anand

A man, lying on the side of the road near a bus stop, sprawled on the pavement, his arms and legs in a weird position. It had rained some time before. And you can see dried drops of rain and mud on his face. He is lying so still that you can’t even make out whether or not he is breathing. All you can see is a boy, barely 19, probably dead, with flies all over him.

“He’s been lying like this for the last 3-4 hours!� says one man at the bus stop
“Did u call the police??� asked another man who had just got off his bus and had enquired about the boy.
“I don’t think anyone did� is the reply and the man walks off yet again, just like he had done before.
The other man was new to Delhi. He didn’t know what to do, how to contact the police. He stopped three girls on their way home from the college nearby.

“Beta, will you call the police? This man has been lying here for a long time and nobody has bothered to inform the police�

I turned around. I hadn’t noticed the boy. I looked at my friends unable to understand what was happening.

“Call the police??� I spluttered, “ WE? Call the police?�

I looked around at the 15 or so men sitting on the bus stop staring at us. I was hesitant, my friends clueless. Should we call? What if we get entangled in something? One of my friends just took out her cell phone and dialled. I stared at her.
“Are u sure?� was what I conveyed with my eyes.

She still dialled and told the police. They said they’d send someone to check. My other friend was getting psyched. I could see a series of emotions pass through their eyes – pity, helplessness, and a bit of shock at seeing a dead man.

I on the other hand felt nothing.
I stared back at the 15 people sitting on the bus stop. “What are you staring at?� I wanted to ask them but I didn’t put it into words. None of them had bothered to call the police. They just sat and wondered whether he was dead. A hundred people probably passed by him. And still didn’t bother to do anything about it.

“I think we should go.� My friend said, “ I’ve told the police. They should be here soon. And if they need us they have my number�

The truth was we couldn’t just stand there even a minute more. It made us want to look at the boy, hoping that maybe he’d show signs of life. But it was kind of evident that he was dead. Flies don’t scatter around a man sleeping. And the weird arrangement of his legs…
He could be drugged. But then he would’ve woken up when it rained. Several thoughts bounced in my brain. All I wanted to think of was getting back home. So I hired the next auto and bid goodbye to my friends, telling them to keep me informed if they heard anything from the police.
On my way back home I started thinking. Do we care about people enough to do something for a boy we don’t even know? It felt nice that we had done the right thing by calling the police. But why did I hesitate? Would everyone hesitate the way I did? I wanted to ask the next person I met,

“ What would you do? Would you call the police, or would you get on the next bus and then forget about it”

I guess the fact is that we’re all afraid. Afraid of getting unnecessarily involved. But was this unnecessary? A mother was waiting for her son somewhere, to return back home, probably getting worried. Was it unnecessary? That boy wasn’t just a body. Yet we hadn’t gone near him. Fearing what? That he would explode? People hadn’t called the police. They had just sat there and then got on the next bus, gone back home and forgotten about it. Hell, I hadn’t even noticed him before. WHY?

We’re taught all our life to be considerate to others. People talk about humanity and making the world a better place to live in. We talk about giving people opportunities. Of giving everyone an equal status. Of helping the aged and the sick. Of charity and goodness.
We just don’t think before supporting these causes. We think that we are sensitized towards the world today. It hurts to see people suffer therefore it’s time to do something about it. Yet, a young boy, probably dead. And no one did anything about it. And walked off without a trace of guilt. It seemed like the right thing to do. To walk off. How is it justified?

It makes me think…Are the to-dos and not-to-dos we are taught all our life actually feasible? They are �politically correct�. But are they the right thing to do? Frankly, I don’t know. But I do know that no matter how easy the decision to walk away was, it’s always doing something about it which is the right thing. It feels nice. At least in this case it was so.

If only people before us had realized that…

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