They search from door to door. Asking questions shaped by hate and suspicion. They want to know how Christ entered those homes. Did he enter brandishing weapons that struck terror? Or did he wheedle his way into those homes? Using guile and deceit. They are brokers in the market place where power is sold to those, Who can pay the[Read More...]
I am a Muslim Woman And I am not for sale I sacrifice my life for freedom struggle I stand against the British rule I am Shaheen bagh I am the voice you are afraid of In kashmir, In Manipur I stand against the oppression I call out your name In Jamia, In Aligarh I am the history You want[Read More...]
by Madhu and Bharat Dogra Songs of hope are always good but these become even better and more relevant in difficult times. This may thus be a good time to remember some of the greatest songs of hope from Hindi cinema. These became hugely popular at the time of their release and are still remembered and hummed by a very[Read More...]
This was the Christmas my young daughter finally cornered me into admitting that Father Christmas doesn’t exist. I felt a small pang of regret that she had taken another step towards graduating into the less colourful world of adulthood, but also a larger sense of relief that I could now stop lying to her. What a few years ago seemed[Read More...]
My heart is strong but not a stone. I have emotions that are hurt. I have feelings that can be shattered. If you are angry you can shout or say anything. If I do the same it’s blasphemy. Or even I’m not supposed to be angry! If I cry, it’s a drama. If I’m sad, it’s a show. You even[Read More...]
I am speaking with you. We are talking together, speaking of ordinary things, using ordinary words. It is good talk too. The everyday is as much at risk as the light of the sky and as angels, robed in feathers, of heaven. On that note, I wish to speak with you in soul-talk, to talk in my native tongue, to[Read More...]
Capitalism is a form of life riddled with social antagonisms. Every Marxist knows this well. Most have been using the effects these antagonisms produce to predict the fall of capitalism for the last century and a half. However, like the weebles wobble toys from the early 2000s, these contradictions have wobbled capitalism, but have yet (in the West at least),[Read More...]
This is not lifeless Saturn or Jupiter, the Moon, Venus, or Mars. Because a neighboring planet is named for a Roman goddess does not mean that women originate there as if from an unearthly temple of extraterrestrial love. Because another is named for a Roman god does not prove that men are hard wired and destined for war. [Read More...]
How sad the rain sounds On the cardboard roofs How sad that my people live In cardboard houses The worker is coming down [from the hills] Almost dragging his feet From the weight of suffering Look how much he suffers Look how much the suffering weighs Above he leaves his pregnant wife Down the hill is the city[Read More...]
WITNESS: THE RED RIVER BOOK OF POETRY OF DISSENT, 2021, Edited by NABINA DAS RED RIVER, an independent poetry press run by the intrepid Dibyajyoti Sarma has spearheaded recent poetry publications in India – of diverse tenor and fine aesthetic value. Red River has very recently published this staggering anthology of ‘dissent’ poetry to counter the tyranny of our system,[Read More...]
