Darkness at noon

NOVEMBER 10, 2015 | BY KNEWS | FILED UNDER FEATURES / COLUMNISTS, FREDDIE KISSOON

Novels are like songs. It is almost impossible to list them in order of preference. If someone was to ask me to name my favouite songs I will rattle off dozens from my head but I will not say I like this one more than that one. For me, it is an impossible endeavour no matter how hard you try. It is the same with novels. But there is one thing that is satisfying; even if you cannot prioritize novels and songs, you can with oceanic definitiveness say which one is among your favourites. And you can point to the high regard with which it is viewed in the world and how high it is ranked by people and institutions. “Darkness at Noon” by the early 20th Century philosopher, Arthur Koestler, remains one of the greatest novels ever written. It is ranked very high by academic institutions. I read “Darkness at Noon” because it was required reading for one of my courses, “20th Century European Culture” during my graduate days at MacMaster University in Canada I feel sad that today Koestler is forgotten. This man had a profound influence on me. I had him as compulsory reading for the philosophy course that I taught for twenty-six years at UG. It is inexplicable that to this day, philosophers who lived centuries ago, are universally quoted but not Koestler. You can find politicians, scholars and commentators making reference to Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, but only President Bill Clinton within recent memory, during the Monica Lewinsky scandal, made reference to Koestler. And to be specific, he referred to Darkness at Noon and not the philosophy of Koestler. If any country the theme of Darkness at Noon is relevant to or can be applied to, it is Guyana, especially on this day – the festival of lights. On this day, Diwali, one is tempted to ask; where are the lights that exist in the heart of the nation and should illuminate the skies over Guyana? As the diyas are lit this evening, maybe there will be a strong battle between the darkness and the light to win control of Guyana. I have become bored over the debate on the Diwali date. This tempestuous disagreement does not have lights at the core of the argument but politics. In other words, those who are supposed to put lights in their hearts this evening will put politics. I have never been a religious person. I don’t think I ever will be. I respect all religions and I firmly believe the church – whatever denomination – brings happiness and mental comfort to people and therefore its role is indispensable and will remain so until civilization dies. But to what extent has religion strengthened the essential fulcrums on which rest the human character? There are thousands of Guyanese today that will ignore the message of illumination which Diwali is all about and use partisan politics to extinguish the lights that Diwali brings. They will replace light with darkness. Why would a religious Hindu dismiss the day Diwali falls on because the man who designated the holiday on November 10 is not from the party they belong to? How can you speak of the light in your heart when the glow is determined not by the fire but by political instincts? Isn’t the Diwali debate dangerously close to the Venezuelan claim on Guyana? Do you support Venezuela or do you remain silent because at the time of Venezuelan aggression, the party in government is one that you do not like. Is it party in power or love of country? The two are scientifically separate and will never meet. Who cares which Minister designated the day that Diwali is made a holiday? It is not the Minister but the lights of Diwali that are important and that should be embraced. This will not be so for thousands of Hindus today. They will see politics as more important than Diwali. This is where for me religion becomes problematic. How can you tell me to put lights in my heart and illuminate my mind and soul because it will make humanity better but you have a convenient approach to humanity? It is not that someone arrogated to him/herself that the festival of lights must fall on November 10. From all that I have read (and believe me the nation has been reading about this controversy non-stop in the letter pages of all newspapers) it seems that the Hindu experts have come up with a calculation that put the date on November 10. Why then should politics replace the lights of Diwali? Darkness has not only taken over the lights today, November 10. Darkness took over this country long ago.