http://www.kantipuronline.com/feature.php?%0B%22d=74407
eKantipur
Finding the Real Punk
By Richa Jha and Sandhya Gurung
"Anarchy", "Punks not dead", "Burn in hell" and other more
hostile graffiti spray painted on the walls of buildings and
even temples grab your eye while walking around Kathmandu.
The typical reaction is, "Must be the work of a punk".
And when you think of "punk" you visualize young people with
torn clothes, unkempt hair, spiked or dyed and usually
carrying a bad attitude with a loitering intent. But is punk
all about vandalizing public property and being a nuisance
to society? Is it only that?
Defining Punk
"Punk was an activist movement in the late 70s in the UK and
spread across Europe. It was a synthesis of music and action
that opposed fascist and imperialist foreign policies
formulated by governments there that usually ignored
problems at home (e.g. the US today), which rendered
qualified youth unemployed", says Sareena Rai who has been
involved in punk since 1990, and is in the punk band Rai Ko
Ris in Nepal. "It was initially to stand against suppression
especially of a 'classist' nature, but with time, it
certainly has got lost in translation."
Rai further goes on to explain that image-wise, anti-fashion
was a form of protest where youths wore torn clothes and
indulged in self-mutilation, vandalism. This image, rather
than stating that these youth were a threat to society,
implied that society had become a threat to them. They had
to defend themselves; they were crying out for a new way
where there was no way. They were unable to afford new
clothes and they had nothing to do (no employment) all day.
These elements along with attempts to stand against
suppression and depravity spread their wings to what is
established as "punk" today. However, as mainstream media
would always have it, it grabbed on to this discontent and
began to sell it to millions of youth world wide, therefore
diluting its validity. At this point, Rai explained why she
herself avoids hyped media, and said that the anarchist band
Crass said it well when they referred to media people
reducing punk to – "Just another cheap product for the
consumer's head".
What is punk, after all?
Indeed Punk and the awakening of youths were all about
breaking the chains of capitalism which has paralysed
society. But vandalism many-a-times took over before,
during, or after gigs (where Rai claims a music performance
becomes a public protest in itself) and Punks have often
been branded as hooligans. However, unlike hooliganism,
Punk aims to reform society.
"Anarchism has also been negatively portrayed. In punk,
anarchy does not mean lawlessness. It rather means evolving
a small society or community without any power base (or
government) in which everyone shares equal responsibility
for his/her own deeds, focusing on individual responsibility
more than state. This is what existed in, say Native
American culture before the so-called United States, and
still exists in many indigenous communities here in Nepal
today," Rai goes on to say. (((Imagine Nepalese people
actually talking like this. I mean, maybe they do, if
they've literally grown up reading left-wing Internet
mailing lists in English.)))
The crux
Apparently there is a deeper meaning to Punk but do the
youngsters in Nepal understand it? Binoj, 13, a self
proclaimed punk says, "Well, I don't know what exactly punk
is but it has got to be about looking cool and playing music
just like those punk bands do." (((Nothing wrong with
this kid's street smarts.)))
Binoj's age and attitude prove that the punk scene in Nepal
is highly influenced by foreign media. The punk craze for
pure commercial gains of the likes of MTV has, in a way,
blinded teenagers from the bigger picture.
In recent years, punk has become more of a fashion statement
than a social movement. Whoever is not a punk is not
considered to be "cool" these days on say, New Road. Due to
advancement in technology and widespread communication,
happenings around the globe are easily available to everyone
at the tip of the finger.
The abundance of the MTV style "Punk elements" over the
internet, television, movies, and music has now established
its roots among Nepali youth in urban areas. These young
people are highly influenced by various (and perhaps just
fashionable) Punk bands and music and end up imitating the
dress, hairstyle, and even ideology (e.g. 'down with the
system!' etc.,) without even caring to know why and or
engaging in action themselves.
From our research and reading, we found that the real
people into "Punk" do not look for fame and are often not on
TV, but are determined to prove a valid point and are always
looking to make the world a better place. Youth who follow
the "Punk" icons blindly without even knowing the ethics
behind anarchism, are usually just in it for the 'rebellion'
without thinking about the consequences of their actions.
In most cases the fake "Punk" who boasts and seeks attention
in the popular media provides a pretty negative idea to
people of the roots of underground, protest music. (((Not
only are they Nepalese punks, they're Nepalese punks
with a real hang-up about street authenticity.)))
Fashion punks tend to think that tattooing, spiking hair,
dressing outrageously, and hanging guitars on shoulders just
about defines punk. They continue in this trend because they
usually don't know what "Punk" has evolved into today (a
thriving alternative (and political) news press; alternative
schooling for children; community responsibility;
alternative workshops and seminars from topics for people
with mental health issues, to women's self-help in
reproductive health issues; etc. (((I'm trying to imagine
Johnny Ramone at the Nepalese mental-health seminar.
Help me, people. Really, raw culture-shock can be a
terrible thing for the sufferer.)))
This misunderstanding of punk usually stems from youths who
perhaps haven't had to struggle enough in life to ever know
what it really means to fight or resist, thus sticking to
the mainstream slogans and complaining that this type of
resistance is too 'political' for them.
Original Nepali punk is hard to find among teenagers. Most
of the "punksters" that we find (crouching in a corner of an
abandoned building) are high on alcohol and drugs. To them,
punk is all about bunking school and college, playing music
in a big show, using foul language to prove a point, and
taking drugs. Thus, there is the association of dope and
petty crime with punk where stealing, extortion, and
forceful acquisition become a part of life. How cool is that?
(((As compared to hanging out in mental health seminars?
Man, that behavior is the APOTHEOSIS of cool. Are you sure
you're getting enough oxygen, up there in the
Himalayas?)))
