Tuesday 12 October 2010

If only

you were
an imaginary dot,
redeeming me from
the whiff of
what and whatnot;
veiling the contours
that outline
distraught dreams
and 'mull over' diaries'
reveling not in hindsight
but in my forethought;
and imbibing the unsaid
code for survival
between delicate dandelions
and not so delicate trees,
if only you were
an imaginary dot;
i could have made
peace with my memories.

Saturday 15 May 2010

बंद मुट्ठी और संवेदना

दस उँगलियाँ,
दो मुट्ठी
और, हर मुट्ठी में
उबलती संवेदना;
कभी इधर लुढ़कती;
कभी उधर ठुलकती;
सुलगती उँगलियो के बीच,
बाहर निकलने को पलटती;
लाखो बिलखती चींटियाँ
करंट बनके दौड़ती;
हर नृशंश अत्याचार की
कहानी को जोडती;
दमन के विरोध में
उठेंगी हथेलियाँ;
'इन्कलाब जिंदाबाद'
गाते चल पड़ेंगे मस्ताने बेलियाँ;
ताले लगाओ या पहरे बिठाओ,
फौलादी किलो में
कब बंदी बनी संवेदना;
जनम से ही सीखा जिसने,
चक्रव्यूह को भेदना
इतराते हो अपनी
ताकत पर बहुत तुम;
ज़माना देखेगा अब,
बंद मुट्ठियो का बोलना,
'दम है तो रोक कर दिखाओ ,
मेरी आत्मा का मुझे झकझोरना !'

Thursday 18 March 2010

The Republic and the Third Spectacle

let me repeat what i just read,
"Indians celebrated a
peaceful 61st Republic Day...
undaunted by terror threats,
Maoist shutdowns,
separatist boycotts or
even the morning fog
that blanketed New Delhi"
and the day was marked by;
'a solemn start of
a colourful spectacle'
by the coming together of
our President, Prime Minister,
and the President of South Korea.

Few minutes ago,
I met yet another outlander

cornered by the elite agora;
cringing, humiliated
having lost its steel to Posco,
which possibly is vying to be
the new UNESCO,
Indian Republic then, a victim of symbolic violence

now, a victim of real vehemence
quickly handed me 
the news report, the film
and a t-shirt that appealed
'Save me from operation Green Hunt'
with a look both
apprehensive and affront,

it is precisely then that

I had the 'goose flesh moment'
designed by
the State and the market economy
when I found

Debord's Third Spectacle
laughing at me!

Friday 19 February 2010

Audience decry


in times now
We the people;
have goose bumps,
as you play devil's advocate
in the big fight between
state and people;
Some hard talk,
is all; what you assume
audience find adequate;
and as the verdict unfolds,
we see you grappal
with drama and conflict;
staging a trial
for one amongst us
who dared to be the convict.
bringing; your side of the story;
in your language; through
your lens; enacting public debate.
We see your zest
and the swell of your chest
at each smart line that
market-media-state define
but, as the plot thickens
you sign off;
blurring the might of the ethics
with ethics of the might;
and,we wonder if
you would, for once, allow us
to sing our very own song; titled,
'why did you think,
Nandigram was the experiment that went wrong?'

Check out: Karan Thapar in conversation with Dr. Binayak Sen
and a response, 'Dialogue of the deaf' by Sevanti Ninan

Sunday 10 January 2010

Green Hunt

who are these maoists
whose heart carry the fire
of a soul ripped out;
and hands hold the embers;
of life beyond doubt,
when gold is mined out;
and half of us
wage an operation
on the other half
like;
goa, mehdiganj, plachimara;
narmada, bhopal, chengara;
feeding into the voices
drowned by slogan 'development'
like;
kashipur, srinagar, tehri,
singur, nandigram, niyamgiri,
pushing the walls against
might and money,
who are these maoists
also nicknamed naxalites
is he one, many or few?
and why to them is
Green Hunt dedicated;
do they love this land
more than we do?