Light-erature

Hey everyone. Wow, 2 months passed by real quick. There were many reasons for my hiatus but mostly procrastination (yikes). Anyways, here I am! Hope you guys haven't forgotten me😂 

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Yesterday was the last day of  Deepavali (or Diwali)- the festival of lights. The name Deepavali literally means 'row of lamps.' It is usually observed for five days and has a lot of traditions to back it up like lighting oil lamps, bursting crackers, eating sweets, gifts, meeting family, etc. It has a vast mythological significance. Here is a stunning depiction, created by Google Arts & Culture, which talks about the placement of Deepavali in Hindu epics. 

Light is indispensable to the universe. Only when it reflects an object can the object be seen to us. The world is invisible without light. 

When such a thing is of great importance to humankind, naturally writers are drawn to incorporating it through figurative language. 

Shakespeare has been known to scatter 'light' everywhere. 

Romeo recurringly refers to Juliet as the light constantly in Romeo and Juliet. She "teaches the torches to burn bright." Her glamorous eyes are like  "two of the fairest stars in  all the heaven." 'Light' symbolizes hope, positivity, well-wishes, and opulence in their relationship whereas the 'dark' looms around bringing ambiguity, ruin, terror, and bewilderment. To quote Romeo: 

"More light and light: more dark and dark our woes." 

As you might know, one of my favorite classics of all time is The Great Gatsby. F Scott Fitzgerald has used an important symbol of green light in the novel. It is present in the end, Daisy's East Egg dock, scarcely visible from Gatsby's lawn. It signifies his aspiration and love for her. 

Chapter 1: It is a guiding force, pulling Gatsby away from his darkness. 

Chapter 5: After meeting Daisy, he is disheartened as it went terribly awkward. 

"The colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever... now it was again a green light on a dock."

This shows a ruin in his dream. 

Towards the end, Chapter 7: Gatsby has completely lost hope in his prospect so he starts watching over nothing. 

In Star Wars (movie series), there are two sides of the Force- the Light side and the Dark side. The Jedis practice the light side of the force, which is used only for knowledge and defense. It is aligned with placidity, tranquility, and passiveness. This side is wielded judiciously and sacredly in order to maintain the decorum of the galaxy. Only the most selfless beings are trusted with the light side. 

Here too, the Dark side i.e., the Siths are present and plotting destruction. They want to rule the galaxy and just want to seem treacherous. 

No matter how much it seems that wiping them out would be for the better, it isn't. Balance in the Force—harmony between all life—is achieved and maintained through understanding and accepting the dark side of the Force and while serving the light side of the Force. 

"The Force is neither light nor dark, master nor slave, but a balance between extremes."

Here is a lovely poem by Rabindranath Tagore titled Light which talks about the splendor light brings in our lives. 

In conclusion, Light is seen as the "good" side whereas Dark is the "bad" side.

Some pictures I took

As a kid, I thought fire was an exquisite thing. When a match was rubbed to the side of the matchbox, a sprightly beam would be conjured that somehow even the slightest ray brought this unusual sense of warmth. It was a mystical thing, I never understood. I knew it was a fierce danger to play with, yet it could suddenly bring life to a dark room. 

The same question ran in the minds of our ancestors in the paleolithic age. When lightning struck, forests would be reduced to residue due to the glowing impact of scarlet-orange blazes. Two stones sparked something with intense heat and light. When hovered over gristly meat, it calmed the food down and loosened it. An aroma seeped into the noses of those who ate it. The meat once nauseating to eat now was rich and luxurious. 

Luckily this "thing" had another plus point; it could ward off lethal animals that lurked in the deep forest. Humans being the only intellectual animals, learned to control and to summon it at will. It became a source of tyranny towards the other animals. 

The use of fire became an integral part of our journey through time. The discovery of fire signals the birth of civilization. It is the stepping stone to innovations that will appear in the future. 

This holistic journey of humanity has been eloquently documented in Yuval Noah Harari's Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. He stresses how fire led humans out of their animal lifestyle and brought them to evolution.

Courtesy: NBC News

Thanks to science, we have been able to figure out what fire really is. It is merely a visible effect of a chemical reaction called combustion. It is an intangible source, not even matter. It occurs between air (oxygen) and a specific fuel. When the reaction occurs, heat and blinding light are released which take the shape of fire as we know it to be. The color of flames depends on factors like temperature and the substance involved. The hottest fires are blue or white and substances like copper, calcium chloride and potassium chloride alter the look of the burning fire. You can watch this documentary- The Science of Fire to know more! 

When you put it that way, the etherealness of fire seems to be removed. But in the vast lands of literature, poets and author have captured the sinister feel of fire. 

In The Jungle Book: Bagheera sends Mowgli to retrieve the "red flower" (AKA fire) from the village in order to intimidate Shere Khan. King Louie, desperately yearns for the "red flower" as he believes it is the only way to dominate the jungle

"No creature in the Jungle will call fire by its proper name. Every beast lives in deadly fear of it, and invents a hundred ways of describing it"

In figurative terms, fire is also used to describe Mowgli. To the animals, his manners are unknown. Cowardly animals fear him, and would rather cast him out than have him live so close to him as he could burn them. The animals can't create or control him. Like the fiery flames. 

Courtesy: Pinterest

Fire is the main topic in Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Fahrenheit 451 is, as the book tells us, the temperature at which book paper catches fire and burns. In this dystopia books are outlawed and firemen burn any they find. Fire represents destruction in creativity. Books are the offspring of an ingenious and intellectual mind. 

“It was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed” 

Says the main character Guy Montag. 

There is a contrast in his perspective. In the course of the novel, as Montag becomes more drawn to books, his opinion on fire changes once more. He considers fire to be beautiful and a source of warmth. It isn't something that should be used to burn objects, rather be enjoyed in a bonfire.  

This shows that the face of fire is multi-faceted and it changes through perceptions.

Concrete poetry is an underrated form of poetry, where the words in the poem are shaped like the idea the poem describes. I found this lovely concrete poem on Fire, which is worth sharing: 

Courtesy: Evie Johnson

It captures the damaging powers of fire and how it wrecks and brings havoc. It is deep and quite graphic. 

Here is another poem by the Australian poet Dorothy Mackellar: 

Just a simple metaphor of fire that branches into several meanings...

Deepavali at my house

A special mention to the album Solar Power by Lorde. I have been listening to her music a lot these days and Solar Power is one of my favorites. Lorde's music is thought-provoking as she usually takes year-long breaks to process fame, breathe and write lyrics that speak to your soul. Solar Power was the by-product of her trip to Antarctica where she realized the saliency of the sun, heat, and light. 

It is brimmed with sunbeams, summer vibes and will help you reconnect with nature. The lyrics are very solipsistic. 

Lorde describes the album to be: 

“smooth and beachy, searching for serenity in anxious times.”

This whole amid lights and festivities, I had been pondering about the effect of Light and Fire in our lives. It is something immense and profound as we have a whole festival dedicated to it. In Hindu customs, fire is used in almost every aspect, such as 'Homa's , Agni- The God of Fire, and even in the Holi festival. 

Fire brought light to our ancestors when they panicked with the onset of nightfall. Hence it is sanctified and feared knowing its hazard. 

Courtesy: Pinterest

Well, that's all. I hope you were enlightened by this post! I was planning to post it on Deepavali, but it took me a couple of days to compile it. How were your Deepavali celebrations? Do have any other books/poems/movies/albums in mind which revolve around light? How would you describe light? Have you read any books I mentioned? Any tips to make my writing better? Are you a blogger too? 

Tell me in the comments! 😁