Being Modern

Modernity is very much distinct from fashion. The will to heroize the present is called modernity. Fashion is merely related to calling into question the course of time.Smoking or mating cannot really be defined as signs of being modern. Many people merely adapted as a fashion statement or more so because of peer pressure. But being modern is all about broadening the mental horizon. In 'Chokher Bali' by Rabindranath Tagore the character named Binodini, is modern but very unfortunate of her to be born in an age where her perception of things were generally regarded as 'Ashubho'(unfortunate). She bestowed with the spirit and courage of a man being born a woman. She learned English when the Indian society despised it and did not chop off a hair after becoming a widow which was the custom during that time in India. We can also recall Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar in this context. Starting widow remarriage and child education at a time when the time was against it, is called being modern. Some days back when Deepika Padukone's 'My Choice' video went viral, some people criticized it terming it as a modernity stunt. When I don't want to comment much about the content of the video but I do praise her for saying that even in the 21st century, depression in India is regarded by people as madness. Peopple often face humiliation in the society if they are sufferers of depression and most in fear of being neglected refuse to go for a treatment the result of which is fatal many a time. And as farr as the emancipation of the women is considered in this context, the video was utter rubbish. What I want to say is that an urge to reform is called modern. What gets expressed is the effort where we try to become modern.