Rajeshwar meets Rahul at the Dining Table of Rahul: Contact Zone Inverted

The philosophy of space is my passion and I rely on it to analyse various situations. Marxist philosopher Henri Lefevre in his book titled "Production of Space" mentions how space is produced by the virtue of how it is used. Lefevre argues that space is produced by the interaction of spatial practices, representation of space and representational space. Spatial practices is about how space is perceived. Representation of space is about how space is conceived or about discourse on space. Finally, representational space is about lived space. The photograph of Rajeshwar and Rahul sitting together on a dining table with patiently looking packed book racks is about production of new political space at a macro level. However, I will discuss production at a micro level; the dining table of Rahul.

Further, to make sense of the photograph, which is a dinning table of an elite and two persons, the guest and the host are sitting together. The former is in unkempt off white shirt and the latter in crispy white T- shirt. The former looks thin and emaciated. The latter looks well fed and full. The setting is of dinning table. The setting is of house of an MP of India. The setting is of one of the most powerful politicians of India. The setting is of poor visiting a rich. The huge dining table along with the white cutlery is the contact zone, where poor meets rich, where powerless meets the powerful, where scarcity meets abundance, where the electorate meets the elected, where the plebeian meets the politician.

In philosophy of space I find the idea of 'contact zone' very interesting. The term contact zone was coined by the anthropologist Mary Louise Pratt. She defined contact zone as "‘social spaces where disparate cultures meet, clash, and grapple with each other", in her paper titled "Arts of the Contact Zone", published in Profession. The beauty of the concept is its applicability. The concept of contact zone is used to explain classroom situation in which size of contact zone is as small as a classroom. The idea of contact zone is a very strong idea and it was primarily used for a situation of conflict and expression of identity or resistance between diverse cultural groups. The classroom is a contact zone because it is a meeting place of teachers and students. Since I am using the idea I need to explain it and expand the idea to include a new context. I have already mentioned the diverse binaries between Rajeshwar and Rahul's meeting at the dining table. However, the contact zone in the case being discussed is not about conflict. On contrary, one can see the comfort and camaraderie on both sides. Rajeshwar is not hesitant to laugh. Rajeshwar appears to be very comfortable and oblivious of the space. Therefore, I argue it is a situation of "Contact Zone Inverted."

Apart from the inversion due to the absence of the fundamental ingredient of conflict in the context of Rajehswar and Rahul consuming food together at the dinning table inside Rahul's house. The important and significant differences in this case that supports the idea of "inverted" are more interesting. Rahul has been doing this for some time, purposefully and I have mentioned it in my previous write-ups since Bharat Jodo Yatra days. Rahul, unlike popular tactics of politicians going to poor's house for lunch has invited the poor to his house. Recall a photograph in which as a fat politician eats food at poor household the children of the poor family look greedily at the morsel. On contrary, the poor is happily consuming food at rich person's dinning table. If this is not inversion what else is?

There is no chulha (hearth). There is no smoke. There is no darkness. There is no sadness looming large on the faces of the host. There is no singularly squatted politician. There is no leaf plate. There is no mud plastered wall and earthen floor. There is no symbol of silence, ignorance and illiteracy. There is no picture of poverty, pain and penury. On contrary, in the photograph, there is a huge table. The resplendent and aesthetic cutlery. There is brightness and light. There are book racks packed with books. There is wooden panel wall. There is sound of conversation. There is joy and happiness. There is abundance and sharing of the richness.

The photograph of politician consuming food at poor person's house is a picture of sadness. Irrespective of politician from any party photograph of food consumption at poor's house invokes gloom. It is a negative photograph. The photographs of Rajeshwar and Rahul at the dining table looks very positive. Rahul is not hesitant to show his private space. Rahul is not hesitant to share his private space. Ingress into private space of poor by rich is a commonly held perception. There are innumerable reports and research work produced by the elite academicians studying the poor. I suspect any poor has ever studied the rich and powerful. Rahul has done the opposite.

Rahul is further setting new goals and is openly challenging the politicians in power. Would Modi invite Rajeshwar for lunch?