The Game of Shifting Loyalties - Pravin Dawane

Here is the corrected version of the text. The original was already very well-written, so the corrections are minor, focusing primarily on standardizing spelling and ensuring flow. If one were to define the current epoch, it might aptly be called the Age of Shifting Loyalties. Words like ‘devotion’ and ‘commitment’ seem to have been relegated to the dictionary, their very resonance lost to time. This erosion of allegiance, this game of faithlessness, begins where all things do: in the home. The new generation watches the relationship between a husband and wife, absorbing their arguments and their dialogues with the blotting-paper sensitivities of childhood. Even if they cannot articulate it, they intuitively know whether a conflict is transient, destined to dissolve, or if it will be stretched to a breaking point. Often, the discord is stretched so taut that relationships snap. The seven sacred vows of marriage begin to stumble on the courthouse steps. The path meant to be walked together diverges. When neither party is willing to compromise in the quest for personal space, the shared space of the relationship itself is lost to the void. The whispered promises of ‘till death do us part’ fade into a silent, mental echo. What signals are sent to the children who learn the alphabet of shifting loyalties in their own homes? The unity between siblings, a bond forged in childhood, often fractures under the weight of property disputes. The land is partitioned, and so are the relationships. The archetypal bond of fraternal devotion, as seen between Ram and Bharat, remains confined to the pages of the Ramayana. In reality, brothers who once would have given their lives for each other now seek to take each other’s lives for worldly wealth. The boundless allegiance of brotherhood is redrawn by the lines of greed. This decay of devotion within the family is not an isolated affair; it is a pervasive sentiment. One is left to wonder if the concept of selfless commitment in relationships is now nothing more than a poet’s fantasy. Whether the media reflects this decay—or whether the family unit absorbs the self-serving, fickle allegiances endlessly portrayed in the media—is a subject for research. What is certain is that they feed one another. A bungalow may be named ‘A Portrait of Happiness’ (), yet contain no trace of joy. Its kitchen is a place where conspiracies, not cuisine, are cooked. The threads of relationships, regardless of their color, are invariably tangled. On channel after channel, the game of ‘divorce, divorce’ is played out on a loop. Yes, entertainment is their business, but must it be so monotonous, so relentlessly negative? I once asked a television producer why they don’t portray different, more nuanced struggles of life. He replied, “If we take up a different subject, the TRP drops, and the show has to be shut down.” This reveals a stark truth: society itself has developed an addiction to the game of shifting loyalties. Grave tensions are being trivialized into cheap sport. No one feels anything. The person one loved dearly yesterday is forgotten tomorrow, and a new affection is kindled. This is not just a few hours of on-screen entertainment; it is a terrifying reflection of reality, where loyalty is changed as easily as moving a ring from one finger to another. The same game of diluted integrity seen in our homes and culture is now played out on our public stages. How many orators are left who truly study their subject, structure their arguments, and offer deep contemplation within their allotted time? Many now do their preparation on the stage itself. A popular speaker, upon meeting me backstage, chilled me more than the air conditioning when he asked, “Please, tell me something about the person being felicitated.” Hundreds of people come to listen with open hearts, yet they leave with nothing of substance—only the empty lather of words. Has the dedication to continuously nurture the very craft that brought us renown, the craft for which society loves us, also begun to fade? Whatever the field of work, when loyalty is lost, its lifeblood is put on a ventilator. All that remains is the illusion of vitality. If the honesty and passion in our intellectual and creative expressions wither away, what intellectual wealth will we bequeath to the next generation? Whether one’s profession is intellectual, artistic, or manual, it is only through devotion that it yields joy. If a task is performed begrudgingly, as a mere chore, it may yield money, but it will not attract true prosperity. Without the sweat of integrity, wealth has no real value. That this plague of faithlessness has infected even the sacred field of education is the greatest tragedy of all. When we read news of scholars submitting plagiarized, ready-made theses, the mind recoils. Do these individuals feel no shame in acquiring such stolen degrees? When service becomes a business, the servants become predators. Corruption is not merely financial; a corruption of conduct is corruption nonetheless. In the realm of spirituality and devotion, the charade is in full bloom. Foreheads are marked with sacred paste and bodies are draped in the robes of renunciation, yet they mask an insatiable worldly attachment. It is a marketplace of performative piety. Witnessing the crores of rupees embezzled in the name of faith, one wonders: if God truly exists, why does He not punish them? By the time justice is served, if ever, hundreds of devotees have already suffered immense financial and psychological ruin. Who, then, is left to trust? This game of shifting loyalties extends to our national allegiance. It is one thing to travel abroad for education, to gather pearls of wisdom. But where is the yearning to return with that knowledge and serve the land of one’s birth? Born in India, but loyal to a foreign land. The justifications are many, and they satisfy the mind, but what of the heart? The mind says the remuneration here is insufficient, the environment is wanting, the infrastructure is lacking. All valid points. But if our brightest children leave permanently, who will change this grim reality? All that will remain is a populace of mediocre labor. Our nation’s finest minds will develop foreign lands without even the faintest sensation that they are committing treason against their own motherland. Our patriotism is now reserved for the fifteenth of August and the twenty-sixth of January, confined to the three-and-a-half minutes of the national anthem. This performative patriotism is mirrored in our love for our mother tongue. We see a concerted effort to ensure that the first words on a child’s tongue are not Marathi, but English. We are so placated by the news of our language receiving ‘classical status’ that we willfully ignore the grim reality of its decline. An entire generation has failed to articulate why the mother tongue is essential. There is no opposition to learning English or any foreign language, but to do so without knowing the beauty of Marathi is to inflict a deep sensory and emotional loss upon future generations. The hypocrisy of staging political agitations for Marathi while failing to enact foundational policies to preserve it is another variation of this game of shifting loyalties. What concrete decisions have we made to protect our classical heritage? The state of loyalty in contemporary politics could be the subject of a comedy sketch. My generation witnessed leaders from different ideologies who were bound by a sincere, reflective commitment to their principles. Whatever their political party, a common thread of unbreakable loyalty to the nation was visible. Leaders of the stature of Atalji and Shastriji were venerable. The idea of politicians switching allegiances for power was unimaginable. Today, switching parties has become as trivial as changing a rental flat after the eleven-month lease expires. A new allegiance is forged in the beating of drums, by tying a colored thread around the wrist or draping a new scarf around the neck. In an instant, the slogans change. Yesterday’s condemnation becomes today’s adulation. New herds of followers offer their salutes. If their ambitions are not met within six months, they cast aside the scarf, break the thread, and prepare to pledge a new loyalty as if nothing has happened. There is no remorse for this betrayal, and no remorse for the lack of remorse. These turncoats are convinced that the silent, gullible masses, whom they deride, can do them no harm. This conviction gives rise to a new level of audacity: corruption. And what a spectacular variety of scams! From fodder to irrigation, from cannons to coffins, from milk to mid-day meals, from sand to ash, from statue construction to blood banks. The demonic jaws that devour our nation’s five-year plans appear in myriad forms. We, the people, watch with a finger on our lips. The soulless pronouncements of ‘The police investigation is ongoing’ are like caterpillars crawling over our rain-coated minds—they leave no mark. These ‘ambrosial fruits’ of faithlessness bring about the death of social progress. And the rising generation learns the lesson: is social service. Even the names and statues of our great historical figures are used for political gain. It is heartbreaking to see these luminaries reduced to a large garland on their birth or death anniversary, a round of applause, and a few televised images. These selfless titans of action, who dedicated their entire lives to a cause, cannot step out of their glass frames to hold their modern-day namesakes accountable. And so, the events of icon worship are celebrated with great pomp. What they truly wish to tell us is this: “Our worship does not lie in garlands and incense. Our worship lies in our dedication, in our loyalties. Let those flow through your veins. Perhaps do not take our names, but please, take up our mission of a life lived with integrity.” Acting was once confined to the stage and screen. Now, performance—projecting an image other than one’s true self—has become the very currency of life. The masks have fused so seamlessly with the face that one can no longer tell which is the façade and which is the person. And so, after a few innocent years of childhood, a human being plays the game of shifting loyalties until he grows old. And then, devoid of loyalty, he dies. Money is necessary to live, and good money is necessary to live well. But it is essential that it be earned by climbing the staircase of integrity. Today, that staircase has crumbled. What we are set to bequeath to the new generation is a legacy of mental turmoil and discontent. Therefore, to awaken in time is the call of the hour. To walk towards the light, one must first comprehend the vastness of the darkness. As readers, we too have a commitment, a loyalty. We must absorb the values of devotion and integrity into our very bloodstream. The ultimate aspiration of life should be the attainment of profound peace. In this life, which we have received for free, we must sow the seeds of a loyalty to life itself. (And as a final request: we must be wary of those who, with clever words, will try to convince you that these ideals are outdated, to be read and forgotten.)

• Pravin Dawane (Writer, Poet, Lyricist)

(This article is the translated version of the original article

निष्ठांतराचा खेळ

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written by

Pravin Dawane

published in the Sahitya Chaprak Diwali Ank 2025 )   https://shop.chaprak.com/product/diwali-ank-2025/