Other Side

 What makes me write a poem? - Anger (Period)


Here is a new one, doesn't end with anger but lest be assured it is fuelled by anger. Please read from text or from image. 


Other Side


Post truth world 

Mocks at you 

With its lies, damn lies 

And pseudo-narratives

Spitting venom on targets

To bring out facts 

From narrated stories

With only heroes and the enemy

One must dig out 

All the dirt and filth 

Hidden behind walls

Full of discarded files 

Counter the narrative 

By digging up the debris 

Of the silenced past

Bring out the story 

Of the other side.


- Swati March 14, 2022


After writing this poem, I remember Urvashi Butalia's book "The Other Side of Silence", the kind of digging of records and files while researching for the book she did, guess it's upon us to bring out several facts discarded as useless, unwanted, uncomfortable debris.





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

मुक्ति की चाबी

Image
बदहाल रातों के लंबे सिलसिलों से गुजरने वाले एक खूबसूरत जहां में, परेशान थी आवाम। घर-द्वार के जवान, पढ़ें लिखे युवक-युवती को काम नहीं मिल रहा था। भटक रहें थे वह, दर-दर, काम की खोज में ।  कितनों ने तो आशा ही छोड़ दी है कि उन्हें उनके पढ़ाई-लिखाई की हैसियत का काम मिलेगा । वह बस जो भी मिला है उस काम पर टिके रहना चाहते हैं । कितनों को तो ऐसा आधा-अधूरा रोजगार भी नहीं मिला है और रोजगार पानें की कोई उम्मीद नहीं बचीं हैं । उस जहां में वैसे तो लगभग 10 लाख सरकारी नौकरी में पद खाली थें । सारे युवाओं की उम्मीद का एक मात्र अंतिम विकल्प था इन सरकारी नौकरी में रिक्त पदों पर भर्ती हेतु अधिसूचना जारी हो जाएगी । इस जहां के चुनावी गणतंत्र के समयानुसार सार्वत्रिक चुनाव की आघोषणा का माहौल बना हुआ था । जहां के नेताओं में कुछ ऐसे नेता थे, जो लोकतांत्रिक व्यवस्था में विश्वास रखते।  ऐसे लोकतांत्रिक व्यवस्था को प्रोत्साहन देने वाले, जो नेता इतने समझदार थे, जो जानते थे की इन 10 लाख के करीब सरकारी रिक्त पदों पर युवा पीढ़ी के स्त्री-पुरुषों को नौकरी मिलने पर, केवल इन लोगों का समाधान नहीं होगा । हर परिवार ...
Read more

UPA vs NDA 2004-14 vs 2014-24 critique of the graphic posted by the India Today

Image
Comparing HDI Values India Today has published a graphic comparison of selected indicators during UPA regime and NDA regime. According to the graphic describing performance of Human Development Index for India during the two regimes, the NDA regime has registered better HDI value than UPA regime. Graphic has taken a ten-year average of India’s HDI score from 2004 to 2014, this is 0.566182, comparative average for the NDA during 2014-2022 is 0.631667. It is curious, that India Today used average of the indexed values to compare performance of the index over a period, instead of comparing the actual HDI values.  Choice of taking simple average of the HDI values during UPA and NDA years, churns out numbers such that on the human development front, NDA 2014-22, appears to have performed better than the UPA 2004-14. Comparision of Index numbers over time Should one take a simple average of the index numbers to compare the performance of this index over a period? One should not, the aver...
Read more

Partition 1947 – Learning, Unlearning and Relearning

 India is celebrating its 75 years of freedom from the British rule under the title, “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav”. Freedom, from the imperialist rule and establishing a system of democratic self-governance is indeed an important achievement in the history of modern India. But as we know it, Indians got freedom but along with it, came the partition of India, which was a decision of the British rule. As if a person lost its limbs, India lost its parts on the right as well as on the left, as the freedom dawned on us at the midnight, on August 15th 1947. By June 1946 it was clear that partition of India is unavoidable. Lord Mountbatten announced a plan, the Mountbatten Plan, which was accepted by the Indian nationalist movement as well as the Muslim League. Radcliffe commission drew the boundaries of the two nations. Respective governments of the newly born two nations, which were, effectively three different parts of India under British rule, were left to deal with issues related to pa...
Read more