Mataji --Modern Wonder Woman
During the 21st Century there exists a (dis)ease that is multiplying in Epic proportions. Anxiety/Stress is the silent plague affecting every mortal on this planet Earth. The age of technology and electronic gadgets has erased the ability to focus and affected our ability to see clearly. We exist in a haze. Multi-tasking has morphed us humans into frenetic, flitty cyborg folk that drive in one gear and one gear only: Autopilot.
Do not fear, Mataji is here. She is Mother incarnate. Always giving of her resources, a bountiful fountain whose waters never deplete. She offers of herself unconditionally in service to all. She can jump high but she cannot fly. She transports herself to the land of mortals where she uses the power of her gaze to transmit instantaneous peace of mind to those in distress. Mataji is saving the human race by Awakening a consciousness that has been lost.
Her spirit was sent to Earth after an emergency meeting was held among the Gods in the Heavens. The earthly inhabitants were in dire straits. The technology age had boomed and exceeded any one’s expectations. Humanity was at risk now as people’s minds began to merge with their computer counterparts. A cerebral epidemic had cut through the mortals, one in which human mind and robot became so interconnected that everyone was “plugged in”. Soul was threatened because it had been slowly hardened by years of mental plaque. Everyone was highly charged and profoundly depleted.
Mataji was born via invitro fertilization from a frozen egg via surrogate. Whom did the egg belong to? None other than Bhumi, Earth Mother herself. She had a sixth sense as to the direction humanity was headed in and new that her earthly biological clock was ticking. Why not use the perks of advanced medicine? She obtained the sperm from Surya, the Sun God, one of her best friends. He threw a celestial celebration on the day the surrogate, Radha was impregnated with their child: Sun Showers!!! Nine months later, the rainbow arched from the heavens to the earth as Mataji was born. She was radiant and glowing. As she opened her eyes for the first time, her third eye also opened. It appeared as a bindi on her forehead, between the brows. This child would grow up to work wonders. Like the Buddha and many before her who had attained enlightenment, this child’s life path was to restore peace of mind across humanity.
Upon seeing her beautiful child, Bhumi did not have the heart to leave her to be raised by others, but she knew it had to be done. She left the child to a couple, Raja and Rani, who had been trying to conceive for years but were unable to get pregnant. After years of tests and trying, they finally decided to adopt. Both were high ups in Corporate America. Raja was CEO of Robots as Housekeepers, Inc. while Rani could have sat on his throne, she too was just as ambitious and had worked her way up the corporate ladder as head honcho of Cell Mobiles International. Her company was the creator of the latest trend: convertible sized cars in which people traveled virtually (through mental cyberspace) everywhere.
It is an understatement to say that these two workaholics were never home. When they learned that there was a baby available to them for adoption though, they were elated. Even before meeting the child, they decided to name Mataji “Macarena”, a name that reflected their favorite Apple Computer and that dance that was popular back in the early 90s.
The day for meeting the baby and bringing her home had arrived. Both Raja and Rani had managed to take only a half-day at their respective jobs. As they entered the hospital room, a light seemed to emanate from the bassinet. “Meet your baby” said the nurse (Bhumi in disguise handed her over as Radha watched on). Raja, in the midst of text messaging and Rani, on her headset finishing up some business for the day, dropped their mechanical devices and felt a warm tingling sensation that began in their toes and spread to the tops of their heads. A burning between the eyebrows ensued and then…. the adventures begin…
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Here are my feedback questions---I had a rough time formatting...
ReplyDelete1) What are your thoughts on "Mataji"? In hindi, this name means "respected mother"--You can give adjectives that come to mind after reading her origin story
2) How can I bring in more humor/satire to the story?
3) How do you imagine Mataji's image? Description?
1. Are you asking what are my thoughts on the name, or on the character? I’m confused so I'll answer them both…
ReplyDeleteThe name is sweet and less overbearing then the word “bhumi” (which in English sounds like a boom! I assume since she’s called Macarena first, that Mataji is a name that she acquires later in life?
I like that the character helps us find peace and detachment from being plugged in.
here are some adjectives and other words to describe:
-meeting of heaven and earth, peaceful, grounding, presence, reminder of what matters, calming, bountiful, darsan, uniting of mind and body, cooling (cause you talk about waters), nurturing, resourceful (literally full of resources),
2. I found it pretty funny – especially when the earth’s biological clock is ticking and she needs to use modern technology to have a baby through a surrogate. I think the contrast between her and the parents is interesting in a slightly humorous way…especially with Raja’s company: Robots as housekeepers. Perhaps there could be more humor in some stories of Mataji/Macarena growing up and bringing awareness to her parents and others. Like remaking of the Krishna eating sand story, to Macarena eating her parents’ I phones or the cables to their desktop computer…? Hmm speaking of Krishna, I wonder if she has a little mischievousness in her which tricks people out of their technology and to pay attention to each other. Like accidentally doing something that locks her parents in a closet together for a few hours without their phones etc…. Maybe she does something that accidentally shuts down all the robot housekeepers for a day and people are forced to cook and clean for themselves, or maybe the robots get reprogrammed to take everyone out to nature for a day (beach, hill station, hike etc). Or does she actually utilize technology to help …like those convertible cars riding through mental cyberspace…that could get into meditation… (I don’t really know what you mean by mental cyberspace is that in your head or in the internet, or some future combination of the two?) With a name like Macarena there’s the potential whenever something mischievous happens, her parents (and friends) say “oooooh, Macarena!” like a call in the dance, and also as in “that’s our daughter!” in a loving but exasperated way. Perhaps wherever she goes animals follow her (like cows in traffic in India) and that creates funny situations (makes me think of the Disney version of Cinderella with her animal friends).
more in next comment box (going over character count here)
3. Are you asking about costuming?
ReplyDeleteIf you push the nature and peace idea forward more…what if she grows into an eccentric hippy who literally has green thumbs and a bird’s nest in her hair? Maybe she wears rose colored glasses, and daisies tucked in toe rings. Perhaps she’s always barefoot in order to be more connected to her mother the earth (does she know that’s her real mother?) What if she treads so lightly on the earth, she never leaves a footprint? Or that flowers spring up in each of her footprints. A line from an old American folk song comes to mind “she’s so sweet, the honey bees, they swarm around her mouth.” Maybe she wears hand woven clothing made out of hemp…a drippy shawl made out of moss?
A couple question for you:
1. When and where does this take place? It feels like India to me, maybe 50 to a 100 years in the future?
2. It seems strange to me that anyone would get a surrogate mom, and then put the baby up for adoption. Why can’t the earth raise Mataji? She doesn’t want to be a single mom? Or does she need human’s to do the job? Also, there are lots of complicated issues around surrogacy and carrying someone else’s baby, which made me wonder what happens to the surrogate Mom? Why couldn’t she raise the baby? It feels to me that she’s used and disposed of, like an underclass person. Especially compared to the adopting parents Raja and Rani, who are literally named King and Queen. Perhaps there’s some reason she can’t keep the child, or some role she plays as the baby grows up? Instead of getting a surrogate Mom directly, Bhumi could intervene in Raja’s and Rani’s fertility treatments by secretly replacing the egg and sperm for Raja and Rani in the petri dish with the egg and sperm from herself and Surya. When the egg in the petri dish gets fertilized it then can be planted in vitro in Rani (or in her surrogate mother of her choosing who could be Radha).
I'm excited to hear more!
1) Light, radiant, golden (perhaps appropriate b/c Surya's her biological dad and Radha her surrogate mom), generous, giving, selfless, third eye, motherly, bodhisattva.
ReplyDeleteI wondered if it made sense to call her "Mataji" when she's still a kid -- but perhaps she gets that name later? Any relation to "Amma" the hugging saint? Also, I didn't understand how "Macarena" was a reference to Apple computers, though I got the song/dance reference. I googled it and it turns out that Macarena was a computer virus targeted for Macs.
A character question: Does Mataji have an alter ego (as per your first assignment) or is she always enlightened and selfless? Does she ever get tired of giving or resent that her purpose is to live for others? The trope (especially with her name) seems to draw on a common archetype of woman as motherly and self-sacrificing.
2) The story's really funny already. I love how it brings in the overblown, melodramatic language of comic books, remixed Hindu mythology, and the technological multitasking world. It's a disarming and fun combination.
3) Right now I imagine her as a golden baby who glows, light emanating from her.
Other comments:
The story reminds me a bit of the Pixar movie, Wal-E (a political commentary on humans living completely plugged in - and yet disconnected - experience). You might take a look for inspiration?
I'm curious about the fact that Mataji can transmit peace of mind instantaneously - that seems like the kind of "quick fix" that the story critiques. Also, there's an interesting tension in the story's critique of technology/cyberspace and the internet-based, mediatized way in which we work. If you imagine technology (video, animation, etc) as being a central part of Mataji's performance, then how could the media be integrated thoughtfully to acknowledge or exploit this tension?
Regarding Shy's comment #2, it makes sense to me that Mataji would need to be put up for adoption because her mission requires her to live, grow up, and exercise her powers in the world of human beings rather than that of the gods. The story's set-up, where the "special" baby ends up being raised by parents from another world, follows the plot of many comic books, both American and Indian. I'm not as aware of the politics of surrogacy as Shy is, and she bring up important points - however I found it funny that Radha was the surrogate mom, since she is known for _not_ being the loyal wife, and perhaps appropriate because Radha always feels halfway in between goddess and human to me.
Thanks Cyn and Shy....Awesome, detailed feedback that is so incredibly helpful :)
ReplyDeleteSure thing! two more thoughts.
ReplyDelete1. Like Cyn said about the baby with a golden glow, I also was picturing that...but was pushing myself to imagine her adult costuming since I am sure you're needing to figure that out :-)
2. Interesting that Cyn interpreted the surrogate mother as The Radha. I just just thought it was a lady named Radha...if you intend her to be The Radha, then more of a reference to her character would be useful. Regarding the politics of surrogacy, here's an article that was in India Currents a while back: http://www.indiacurrents.com/articles/2012/02/03/ethics-surrogacy
The main things I remember are making sure the women who are surrogates really understand the risks to their own health (childbirth is risky), and of course there's the difficulty of emotional attachment too of this being your body incubates for 9 months!
1) What are your thoughts on "Mataji"? In hindi, this name means "respected mother"--You can give adjectives that come to mind after reading her origin story
ReplyDeletemischievous child, mature, giving, selfless, astonishing
Even though the character “mataji” is the center of the story, I do think the name “Macarena” is the one thats more relevant for the story telling, since that is who she is on earth as. Am I right in assuming that her work will be done as the avatar “Macarena”- and though we know that Macarena actually is Mataji, the other earthly characters will not know, and she will appear mostly as Macarena?
2) How can I bring in more humor/satire to the story?
Well, there are already humorous aspects: especially in the couple that becomes her parents. Raja's company....
Also, if Macarena acts and does her work as a little girl, there is tremendous potential for humor, and I am sure your two little ones will give you much more material than I could ever imagine!
3) How do you imagine Mataji's image? Description?
Somehow Mataji is strangely amorphous to me. I do see Macarena- as a glowing baby, as Cynthia says, to grow up into a cute but quirky little girl. Totally charming, but because she is actually Mataji, she is not only giving-- she is the one who knows better what's good for everyone. So maybe she can come across as overly mature, yet childish, opinionated (which can be pretty funny for a kid, especially if the “adults” around don't understand “where she is coming from”)- where is the line between childlike phantasy and a deeper wisdom?
I think she dresses according to her own will and does not want to wear what her parents want her to.....
Hm thats not really an image i realise.
Additional thought: I am very interested in the attention that “surrogacy” got in Shy's and Cyn's exchange..... very interesting that that is part of her story. I wonder what that will end up meaning for her character.
I am also very much drawn to the image of being “plugged-in” I think that has potential for being developed more.