I first heard "Blowing in the wind" as a recessional hymn in a church in Delhi.That was long ago.It touched me deeply.and the words reverberated in my mind ever since.And I was delighted when Dylan won the Nobel ,although I studied literature and I had considered folk songs, pop,country,rock and so on as just beautiful flowers in the wild.
I first heard "Blowing in the wind" as a recessional hymn in a church in Delhi.That was long ago.It touched me deeply.and the words reverberated in my mind ever since.And I was delighted when Dylan won the Nobel ,although I studied literature and I had considered folk songs, pop,country,rock and so on as just beautiful flowers in the wild.
I for one do not remember any of his songs nor do I find any of his songs a must that I listen to all the time. Certainly most of the Indians for whom you purport to write have neither heard of him nor have they ever felt bereft for not having heard of him. An indian asking \\\'show me a greater songwriter\\\' is ludicrous for whom English is not even their mother tongue. I remember hundreds of songs in Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Bengali and English which I listen to or poetry from all over the world either in Hindi,Urdu,Bengali or translated from other world languages into English but to appoint oneself as guardian of taste for all Indians is utter nonsense. Those who are questioning the award are basically questioning the dearth of depth and understanding of the Noble Committee and its utter vacuity and ultimately the deep bias when they can not find anyone from other languages
Re: Really do you represent Ordinary Indians
by David Jacob on Oct 22, 2016 10:28 AM
The Nobel Prizes were awarded by committee which was not from an English-speaking country. I do not find much to condemn in the committee's decision (dearth of depth, vacuity, deep bias).
Assessing the worth of literature will be a subjective thing; questions of how many people have come across the author's work will arise.
In that situation, a person performing his works in the most widely distributed second-language will have an advantage over artists in more localized languages.
Ahoy, Mango Indian !! Well said, and Dylan will live Forever Young. If it was left to me, I would give him the prize twice -- once because he deserves it and twice to show the 'carpers' what they missed all this while.
