#flashreads for Free Speech – III

Another reminder that #flashreads will happen on 14th Feb. (You can see the #flashreads invite or read more about it here)

I’m posting one of my all-time favorite poems below.

सबसे ख़तरनाक / पाश

मेहनत की लूट सबसे ख़तरनाक नहीं होती
पुलिस की मार सबसे ख़तरनाक नहीं होती
ग़द्दारी और लोभ की मुट्ठी सबसे ख़तरनाक नहीं होती
बैठे-बिठाए पकड़े जाना बुरा तो है
सहमी-सी चुप में जकड़े जाना बुरा तो है
सबसे ख़तरनाक नहीं होता
कपट के शोर में सही होते हुए भी दब जाना बुरा तो है
जुगनुओं की लौ में पढ़ना
मुट्ठियां भींचकर बस वक्‍़त निकाल लेना बुरा तो है
सबसे ख़तरनाक नहीं होता

सबसे ख़तरनाक होता है मुर्दा शांति से भर जाना
तड़प का न होना
सब कुछ सहन कर जाना
घर से निकलना काम पर
और काम से लौटकर घर आना
सबसे ख़तरनाक होता है
हमारे सपनों का मर जाना
सबसे ख़तरनाक वो घड़ी होती है
आपकी कलाई पर चलती हुई भी जो
आपकी नज़र में रुकी होती है

सबसे ख़तरनाक वो आंख होती है
जिसकी नज़र दुनिया को मोहब्‍बत से चूमना भूल जाती है
और जो एक घटिया दोहराव के क्रम में खो जाती है
सबसे ख़तरनाक वो गीत होता है
जो मरसिए की तरह पढ़ा जाता है
आतंकित लोगों के दरवाज़ों पर
गुंडों की तरह अकड़ता है
सबसे ख़तरनाक वो चांद होता है
जो हर हत्‍याकांड के बाद
वीरान हुए आंगन में चढ़ता है
लेकिन आपकी आंखों में
मिर्चों की तरह नहीं पड़ता

सबसे ख़तरनाक वो दिशा होती है
जिसमें आत्‍मा का सूरज डूब जाए
और जिसकी मुर्दा धूप का कोई टुकड़ा
आपके जिस्‍म के पूरब में चुभ जाए

मेहनत की लूट सबसे ख़तरनाक नहीं होती
पुलिस की मार सबसे ख़तरनाक नहीं होती
ग़द्दारी और लोभ की मुट्ठी सबसे ख़तरनाक नहीं होती ।

#flashreads for Free Speech – II

A reminder that #flashreads will happen on 14th Feb. (You can see the #flashreads invite or read more about it here)

RULES FOR CITIZENS
A poem by Jeet Thayil

Let us govern those who undertake the telling of stories.
Censorship is good governance. Self-censorship is an attribute of the highest civilization.
If an actor speaks of God, he will be chastised. He will be refused an encore. If he repeats the speech, he will have his license revoked.
Let us govern those who undertake praise of the next world, since what they say is neither true nor useful to us.
Our best recourse is to be warlike.
We do not deny that storytellers are good at their job and give people what they like to hear. But the better they are, the less we wish our children and men to hear them.
We shall refute their attempts to be wise. We shall scoff when they repeat their vile allegation, Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must remain silent.
We will do away with the dirges of famous men and leave them for women, and not the best among women either.
Let us abolish those fearful and terrific names, Cocytos, the River of Lamentations, Styx, the River of Fear, Ganga, the River of Death in Life, Lethe, the River of Bliss, Tigris, the River of Affliction.
We shall disallow travel and the mingling of songs.

#flashreads for Free Speech

From the #flashreads invite:

#flashreads is a simple way of registering your protest against the rising intolerance that has spread across India in the last few decades. At any time on February 14th—we suggest 3 pm, but pick a time of your convenience—go out with a friend or a group of friends and do a quick reading. Mail me for selected readings, or feel free to pick your favourite passage on free speech, or from the works of any writer who has faced sedition charges, a book ban or other forms of censorship.

Feel free to create your own way of protesting.

THE IDEA: To celebrate free speech and to protest book bans, censorship in the arts and curbs on free expression

WHY FEBRUARY 14TH? For two reasons. In 1989, the Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa ordering the death of Salman Rushdie for writing the Satanic Verses. In GB Shaw’’s words: “Assassination is the extreme form of censorship.”

February 14th or Valentine’s Day has also become a flashpoint in India, a day when protests against “Western culture” by the Shiv Sena have become an annual feature. In Chandigarh, 51 Sena activists were arrested by the police after V-day protests turned violent in 2011.
Our hope is to take back the day, and observe it as a day dedicated to the free flow of ideas, speech and expression.

Places where you might do public readings: subway and Metro stations, public parks, coffee shops, open areas in malls. If you’re talking about Flashreads on Twitter, please use the #flashreads hashtag.

If you have a blog, a tumblr or a website, an easy way to join in is to post Tagore’s poem, “Where the mind is without fear” on your site for a day, or choose any excerpt (posted below).

I totally agree! And so I’m posting Tagore’s poem below:

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth…
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

Kudos to Nila-di for organising this. Do join in!

Musings on losing a friend

Since I heard the news of Karthik’s sad demise, I have not been able to stop thinking about how unfair it is. I just returned from his funeral, and had an opportunity to see the spontaneous outpouring of grief, born out of the love & affection he inspired in everyone whose life he touched.

While I battle my own grief, however, I have been able to turn my thoughts inwards, and reflect on our lives & how we choose to lead them. This is an attempt to jot down some of these points (in no particular order) to ensure I don’t lose track of them.

1. Almost all reminiscences start with “the last time we met/talked…” Given that, isn’t it strange how little an effort we put in to ensuring we have many more such moments of togetherness? Meet to your friends & loved ones every chance you get; you never know which meeting will be your last. Because after that, there are only regrets…

2. If you can’t meet, call every once in a while. Saying “I can’t do it” is not an excuse. You’ll miss these people when they’re gone. And they’ll be gone sooner than you think. All of us lead busy lives, full of things we MUST do. The question is: do we make the time to do the things that we WANT to do?

3. When someone you know & love dies, make the time. To visit. To call. Or at the very least, to write in. Yes we know you are busy running the world, but there is always time for a phone call or an sms. And in case you are thinking you won’t know what to say, here’s some news: it doesn’t matter WHAT you say, as long as you say it. For the spouse, the parent, the sibling, the son/daughter who’s in grief, the same words work no matter how many different people say them. The effort is more important than the exact words. The fact that someone took the time is usually helpful, as is knowing that they don’t grieve alone. And if my words don’t help, do this: close ur eyes & imagine losing the person closest to ur heart. Now imagine no one comes to the funeral, no one calls…open your eyes. Go, do the right thing!

4. Say the magic words, “thank you”, “sorry”, “i love you”. A lot! Reach out. Never underestimate the power of a touch, a hug, or a smile.

5. Make your calendar reflect the important things in your life. People say the most important things in their life are their kids, wife, friends, hobbies, etc. And then they spend hours everyday watching tv, chatting with perfect strangers online, mindlessly surfing the net, playing games! I know, because I’m as guilty as anyone else. (Hey, if those things are important to you, go ahead & do them, by all means. All I’m saying is, just take the time to think before you do it, okay?)

Evaluate your calendar: are you spending time on things more or less in proportion to the importance you place on them? If yes, great. If no, start making small changes today.

P.S. – Also read Sunada’s inspiring post which makes the important point regarding living in the moment! (via Gaurav. Thanks!) It also features this beautiful poster, which I’m posting below:

RIP Karthik Pazayanur

One of the advantages, probably the only advantage, of studying at a great school/college is the opportunity to meet, trade ideas & make friends with people of extraordinary talents & intellect. I have been fortunate to come in contact with many such minds. Some of these ‘brains’ also came in bodies with ‘hearts’. Hearts that were calm, peaceful & joyous. These people brought joy to everyone they touched.

One of such rare combinations was my classmate, Karthik PR.

Karthik (Born 5th Oct, 1974) left us for his heavenly voyage on 26th April, 2011, as a result of a shocking swimming accident, the news of which left us all stunned.

Karthik was one of the PGP-Reps of our batch; the lead singer of Baro-C (hindi band); President-Dramatics Society. He scaled many heights in the corporate world as well. However, while his achievements may fill pages, his memories will continue to flood our hearts!

Always ready with an easy smile, and his trademark quick wit, Karthik made friends across the traditional boundaries. Ever the charmer, he always made you feel special, and heard. And he always had time for a quick phone chat, even though he would almost never ever respond to a mail.

He is survived by his loving wife, Anjali. Our prayers are with her, and with his parents in this sad time.

Rest in peace, my friend! We will miss you…

growing up