We are living in an era where selective narratives are presented as truth: K.R. Meera

K.R. Meera, acclaimed writer and journalist, delivered a speech astatine the ‘Meet the Author’ league connected her latest book, Kalachi, during the 4th variation of the Kerala Legislature International Book Festival (KLIBF) connected Wednesday, held astatine the Kerala Legislative Assembly. The league was moderated by writer Sonia Rafeeq.

During the talk, prompted by Rafeeq’s question connected however radical person forgotten the Citizenship Amendment Act of 2019, Ms. Meera responded by drafting a parallel with The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The communicative is acceptable successful a village, wherever the inhabitants look to beryllium asleep, haunted by a headless soldier’s ghost. Similarly, she noted, we are surviving successful a signifier wherever radical are unaware of what is happening oregon what has happened astir them. Many are persuaded to judge narratives selectively excavated and presented to them arsenic truth.

“In modern times, the quality we perceive is often similar a tale, akin to Yakshi stories, cautiously crafted from a root utilizing selective words and omitting definite details,” said Ms. Meera.

She illustrated her constituent with an earlier mentation of the Cinderella story, which differs importantly from the modern one. In that version, Cinderella was bathing erstwhile a vertebrate snatched distant her brace of shoes. The shoes past fell onto the thigh of a king. Seeing it arsenic a divine intervention, the king sought retired Cinderella and joined her.

Ms. Meera noted that researchers judge aboriginal versions of the communicative were revised to thatch children that luck favours those who bash bully according to societal norms.

Moving from stories to broader reflections, Ms. Meera remarked, “All of america person lone 1 home, that is Planet Earth.” She added that adjacent successful this era, humanity lacks the maturity to look upon our satellite arsenic a whole, beyond divisions and boundaries that are inherently meaningless.

She besides cautioned against the misconception that feminism is calved retired of hatred towards men. She emphasised that feminism reminds america that the hatred itself is wholly misplaced.