The unrewarding awards
It was Jack Benny, the American comedian, who said that he didn't deserve the award he had received, but he had arthritis, which he didn't deserve either. An award is meant to grant recognition that is merited by a deserving person. But, sometimes, like target practice, it hits a few and misses others. People who get awards don't always deserve. At times deserving people don't get awards. Hey! Mahatma Gandhi didn't win a Nobel Prize.
By and large, what works for gifts also works for awards. It's the thought that counts, not what is given in the form of crest, trophy, medal or cash. Now it seems there is fat in the fire. The very thought that counts is taking the thunder out of awards.
These days awards are rewardless, like jobs can be thankless. They don't create a stir anymore; nobody takes interest except for those who win and their families, friends and wellwishers. You may not want to look a gift horse in the mouth. But if you look an award winner in the head, it mostly belongs to the party in power.
The upshot is that awards no longer conform to standards. In national awards, talent is an excuse to confer political recognition. There is also a thriving industry in the private sector, which churns out awards that are bought and sold for money and favours. I know someone who was once nominated for such an award and his name was even announced in the newspapers. Since he worked in the hospitality industry, the award organisers insisted on holding the ceremony in his hotel, free of cost. Refused by him, they dropped his name from the list.
Many of our luminaries flaunt that very award on their resumès. This is but one example of how awards and winners seduce each other. There was a time when a winner had to earn his award. Today, an award has to earn its winner. It's just one more item that can be added to your shopping cart, one more case of conspicuous consumption by the rich and ambitious.
Obviously, there are exceptions to prove the rule. In 1964, French philosopher Jean Paul Sartre turned down the Nobel Prize, justifying that to accept it would jeopardise his integrity as a writer. American actor Marlon Brando refused to accept his ocar in 1973 to protest against the poor treatment of Native Americans in Hollywood. Indian writer Arundhati Roy rejected the prestigious Sahitya Akademi award in protest against the Indian government toeing the United States' line.
When Bollywood star Akshay Kumar was recently chosen for the Star Screen Award for most popular actor, he decided to pass. He said his fellow actor Aamir Khan deserved it more than him. Aamir's film Ghajini grossed Rupees 75 crore more than Akshay's Sing is King.
British actor Peter Ustinov said that at times the refusal to accept an award could be another way of accepting it with more noise than is normal. But it's not easy to check the temptation. Very few people can resist an award.
Yet, however small their number is, some people do push back. For them an award is meaningless to win if it doesn't come with victory. And, victory for them isn't a crest or a trophy. They are after causes and issues, their lives defined by what they stand for. These are people who live to fight; they don't fight to live. Their lives are rewarding without awards.
Many of them luckily win posthumous awards. How does it make sense to recognise people after they are already dead? How can we separate emotion from nomination, not to say that the winners aren't around to benefit from the winning. I understand, it's better late than never, but posthumous award is tragedy of a kind. Many people are dying to get recognition in this life, and it goes to those who are no longer of this world.
Sadly, either political consideration or a consideration amount motivates today's awards. The highest bidder takes the win. The winner takes it all. All takes nothing. An award has become its own nemesis. It's slander in the guise of honour.
I say such an award should outrage any self-respecting mind. If he doesn't earn it by dint of his merit, political connection or purchasing power shouldn't make it worth his while. Instead, a sensible person should find it hard to live with the guilt that the moment he touched that award, his reward slipped out of his hand.
It won't happen I know, nonetheless it's my fond wish. Someone in this country should refuse to accept an award if not given for the right reason, meaning his or her merit. A nation which plays foul with its best cuts off its nose to spite its face.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments