Chronological dates have significant importance for us. So it should be. it is a reassuring measure, and it is deeply consoling too that there is continuity, a recurrence to our life events, our history, our memories; and that we are not merely flotsams and jetsams jostled this way and that without any linearity in time. The recurrence of a chronological day is, in a way, mysteriously comforting, even though we know intellectually, that no moment ever comes back; as Heraclitus famously said ” We cannot step into the same river twice”. Despite this intellectual certainty on the non-repetition of time, on carefully chosen calendar days, we like to revisit, go back in time, reconsecrate ourselves to a cause, a relationship, or simply pause and reflect. For instance, India celebrates its Independence as a sovereign democratic nation today, August 15th. Indians look back at this journey, the forging of a nation from the crucible of colonial imperialism, the sacrifice of its soldiers in protecting the borders, reflect with pride on material progress over the decades with pride and satisfaction and rededicate ourselves to an ideal of independence. Whether we really understand the implications of independence at an individual level or not, the day is one of euphoria, nostalgia, and rededication. The prime minister speaks from the ramparts of the Red fort sketching a vision for Indians and India. A tingle passes through our spine when the great orator articulates his thoughts. For a moment, we glimpse at what independence could possibly mean, a vision beyond our individual selves. But that is only momentary, temporal until the veil of daily living falls in front of our eyes. Until the next calendar year, August the 15th is just another date on the hanging calendar.
This week’s Friday was also special throughout the world ( at least in many cultures). the date was 13th this Friday, a day that has come to be known for its bad omens, death, ill luck, and of course, thanks to the movies, a day when serial killers and deranged spirits roam about slashing young campers and vulnerable maidens. The number thirteen has had a bad track record on the human chronological calendar for a very long time. The number preceding 12, on the contrary, has had a great run. All good things happen in measures of twelve. Jesus had twelve disciples. there are twelve months in the calendar, there are twelve signs of the zodiac, twelve tribes of Israel, twelve successors to Shia Muslim tradition, twelve Lingas of Shiva, the olympian myth has twelve principal gods, and the twelve labors of Hercules – the famous Greek myth. The moment the thirteenth is added there is chaos, confusion, and death. It perhaps started with Judas arriving as the thirteenth uninvited guest to Jesus’s last supper and thus precipitating the crucifixion. It is widely believed, however, that an old Norse myth ( compiled around the 13th century) started this tradition when a thirteenth Norse God Hoor conspired to kill his own brother with a poisoned arrow which resulted in throwing the world into darkness. Even today, many Skyscrapers avoid the thirteenth floor, and room numbers skip thirteen. GK Chesterton wrote a brilliant supernatural story titled “Number thirteen” Well, whatever may be the reason for the number 13 to acquire negative connotations, the question is, How did Friday associate itself with thirteen?
That is even deeper a mystery if there ever was one. One widely held theory is that it was on Friday the 13th in the year 1307, King Philip of France wiped out the famed Knight templar order for their intransigence. There is also a reference in Chaucer’s Canterbury tales about Friday being a day of cleansing, though, in what context, Chaucer chose not to elaborate. But one thing is clear, the modern myth of Friday the 13th is surely a Hollywood phenomenon. What better way to market a low-budget slasher movie with a twisted storyline than to name it “Friday the 13th” and touch a raw nerve in people who are routinely attuned to responding emotionally to certain chronological dates. When Friday the 13th was released in 1980, it became an overnight cult sensation. Forty years later, there are at least two dozen movies that directly or indirectly dip into the original storyline. Just adding the tagline – Friday the 13th to a movie title is enough to guarantee a decent run of the film and recoup costs. If I remember right, the title “Friday the 13th” was first given to a novel about a stockbroker attempting to orchestrate a breakdown of the stock market on that day.
I was surprised to read that spending in the American economy shrinks a little during the Friday the 13th period ( each year has at least one Friday the 13th, and a maximum of three or four – which is rare). During this time travel is less, road accidents are more, and of course, more than usual crime is committed. Whether these effects are because of Friday the 13th being intrinsically evil, or is it just that people reinforce the myth by behaving oddly, we will never know. But the fact remains, the day evokes a sense of paranoia. However, not all cultures give importance to Friday the 13th. The Spanish and Greeks, I understand, treat Tuesday the 13th as unpropitious, while the Italians choose Friday the 17th.
What I did on the night of Friday the 13th Night was to revisit a movie I had watched with my father way back in 1985, when VCR players, especially the National Panasonic ones were very popular. My father loved Charles Bronson, the rugged Hero with a perpetual smirk on his face, and a gun on his hip or hand. Through him, I acquired a taste for Bronson’s performances. This particular movie “Ten to midnight” came out in 1983, and it is a quintessential Bronson film. It portrayed a psychopath who liked to get naked when he ripped his victim’s intestines. And Bronson, the cop whose task was to find and stop the killer, especially with the murders getting closer home. In 1983, this movie scared me to death. I had many sleepless nights imagining the killer stealthily walking towards the bedroom with a shining blade in his hands. There was pure evil in his eyes, and I would wake up frequently to check and recheck my surroundings from the corner of my eyes. I bought a copy of this movie seven or eight years ago in a sale, and since then it has had a nostalgic value for me. In 2021, the film will seem kiddish, considering we are subjected to far more blood and gore both in real and reel life, but back then, “ten to midnight” was quite a thriller. In fact, it has an iconic status in the Slasher genre just as Friday the 13th.
On that note, Happy Independence Day to all Indians.
God bless…
yours in mortality,
Bala