People Always Clap For The Wrong Things

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 1 January 2025 Poona is considered to be a city of aesthetically-inclined people, having refined tastes in music, arts and all sorts of cultural activities. Alas, it's no longer true. December 24 was the great playback singer Mohammad Rafi's 100th birth anniversary. There were indeed many programmes in the city, remembering the legend and playing his immortal numbers. But no FM channel in the city played his songs! A couple of channels did play but perfunctorily and those were Rafi's most pedestrian songs like, 'Chaand Mera Dil, Chaandni Ho Tum' (Film: Hum Kisi Se Kam Nahin, 1977 and 'Dard-E-Dil, Dard-E-Jigar,' Film: Qarz, 1980) which he himself didn't like. Amin Sayani told me this. But when there was a concert on December 28, in which Shreya Ghoshal sang her pavement songs, there was a tsunami of people for her programme. This reminded me of J D Salinger's famous quote, "People always clap for the wrong things." The quote by J.D. Salinger, "People always clap for the wrong things," holds a profound insight into human nature and our tendency to misjudge what truly deserves applause. Salinger seems to challenge the conventional notion of applause as a measure of merit or accomplishment, suggesting that recognition often fails to align with intrinsic value. This quote is a powerful reminder that our collective judgment can be easily swayed by superficial qualities, whether it's celebrity status or dazzling presentations, rather than thoughtful analysis. Salinger invites us to question our propensity for applauding the wrong things and encourages a more discerning perspective that values substance over spectacle. Mediocrity, when you get used to it, is just as agreeable as (genuine) creativity. People have no taste and feel for aesthetics. But this decline cannot be ascribed to social media. Our collective sense of beauty and aesthetics (Zauq-E-Jamaliyaat) began to wane long before the advent of social media. Social media just expedited the rotting process. Lack of refinement in all walks of life has resulted in our violent and uncouth behaviour. All our languages have gone for a toss. To quote a Pakistani Urdu poet, "Kisi Ki Be-Adab Zabaan Se Nahin Shikwa Mujhe/ Meri Apni Zabaan Kahan Bahut Nafees Bachi Hai " (I don't complain about the bad language/ My own tongue has become so uncouth). Yes, we all have got inured not just to substandard languages but to all things that used to be polished and aesthetically agreeable once upon a time. To witness this widespread deterioration is no less than a punishment. This reminds me of Mirza Ghalib's lament in his quatrain, "Woh Firaq-O-Visaal Kahan/ Woh Shab-O-Roz-O-Maah-O-Saal Kahan/ Fursat-E-Kaarobar-E-Shauq Kise/ Zauq-E-Nazzara-E-Jamaal Kahan" (Where're those separations and unions/ Where have those nights, days, months and years gone/ Who has leisure for falling and indulging in love/ Where has that discernment to appreciate beauty gone). This saddens me no end. Don't you also rue this ebbing away of finer sensibilities? ---- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://www.newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/people-clap-wrong/d/134213 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism