some things diminish: the scent of morning dew rising off sparse grass; news of frying food or what the cat killed three days back. After sundown, in crowded market lanes we still hear the clamour of hawkers, horns, engines, bells,…
Comments closed-Delhi 2020 Would you still love me, my friends, if I lost my sense of smell? Could we still touch from a distance? What if I had a dry cough? If I lost my sense of smell, would I still…
Comments closedMaybe you’d had too much to drink, or maybe you were just dreaming— or maybe you were an I or we, or maybe it does not matter— but a pack of boys on bikes flew up and over the wide,…
Comments closed-‘Delhi Police chargesheet names owner of hospital that treated riot victims’ -Indian Express They charged a friend of a friend, last week— who will be next? Someone is spinning false yarns, my friends, everyone knows. Meanwhile, middle class families fight …
Comments closedWe’re more than the sum of our rations and pay, how much we add to the GDP— you be the breeze on my summer day; I’ll be the malai in your lassi.
Comments closedI’m searching for scales to weigh what’s fair: families are hungry, miles from home; don’t worry, they say, our PM, he cares. Millions are living on water and prayers, while others are forced to work to the bone; I’m still…
Comments closedI dreamed I was writing in green, my father was dressed in green robes— the dogs in the park were frisking, you were spinning beneath a tall tree. I saw the capital emptied of those who hungered for home— two…
Comments closedLet the ceiling fan spin you tonight, my friends, you don’t need to be anywhere. Go lie on a cool, hard floor, my friends, feel gravity hold you down. Together, we’ve come through dark days, my friends, there are darker…
Comments closedYesterday’s tomatoes pucker on the kitchen counter, and uneaten pulao turns under a midnight fan. Meanwhile in Surat, police fire tear gas at workers demanding the right to go home— beware my friends, the season is changing, and there’s more…
Comments closedYes, hunger is stalking the land, you’ve seen it up close, and I hear you. And they are using the UAPA to crush those who dare to speak out. Last night, you lay awake turning; I dreamt of thick smoke…
Comments closedI’ve been reading the Communist Manifesto, and also Wikipedia, and I think we have some things in common. We both want a world ‘in which the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all’ and…
Comments closed‘In the FIR, the police claimed that the communal violence was a “premeditated conspiracy” which was allegedly hatched by Mr. Khalid and two others.’ -The Hindu This world is built on sand and silt, dark clouds are hanging low; how…
Comments closed-Jahanpanah, 1341Smoke drifts in from campswhere starving men stewanimal hides and rotten meat. The sultan is angry; the traveler is put under guard—he fasts for nine days, reciting, Allah is sufficient for us,and most excellent is the Protector.Freed, he finds an excuse to…
Comments closedHow many summers have comesince Harappa and Mohenjo-daro faded or fell? We’ve all heard the story:a rivers runs dry or changes course, a new pestilence rides into town,crops wither in baking fields.Each time it happens must seem like the first time—hungry families camp outside city…
Comments closedWhen Trump met Modi in February,we bought three billion bucks of his militarytechnology and flying machines—now he wants our hydroxychloroquine.If Modi had been a better tactician,he’d have said, Yes, under one condition:keep your deadly helicopters,send food and masks and ventilators!
Comments closed‘Man posts ‘‘no ventilators in Ludhiana” on Facebook, booked for sedition’-Indian ExpressSure, we could put a ventilatorat every intersection—but who needs ventilatorswhen we have so few infections?Either way, we can’t haveany disaffection(if you don’t agree, we might charge you with sedition).
Comments closedIn life, there are times like this when suddenly we can no longer domany of the things we once could—maybe you’re missing a strong drink and friends, and you’re sick of Netflixand your bad internet connection,or maybe your father keeps falling because he…
Comments closedOur worries are nothing comparedto those stranded miles from home,to those who are already hungry,to those who are sick and alone.Last night, you dreamt we both left you,I dreamt my father was gone—in the flat across the back alley,a girl…
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