The Nothing phenomenon

The bribe that never helped,
The palms that were never greased,
The house that never decided n’y thing,
The monsoon that never brought anything,
The Left that was never right,
The Right that left nothing,
The blasts that never spared anyone,
The school that never taught n’y thing,
The university that produced nothing,
The hospital that never saved anyone,
The nothing that so dominated,
The never that popped up forever,
The eternity that ended before the dusk,
The infinity visible before the horizon,
The greatness that became taboo,
The coterie that defined greatness,
The silence that became approval,
The approval that became bottleneck,
Infectious it was infectious it will be,
The disease called, Metamorphosis.

Ravi Rana, Summer 2007.

Une Existence Vegetale

Aujourd’hui quand je jette un coup d’œil sur mon passé je réalise que j’avais failli avoir une existence végétale (le contraire de l’existence engagée), celle de Meursault, celle des êtres que je connais et dont je méfie. Cette existence m’aurais permis une existence aisée mais qu’aurais-je devenir sans m’exprimer sur le mal et le bien ? Il y avait autour de moi un groupe des « penseurs » dont l’activité principale était de se soucier ou de se marier ou d’obtenir des bonnes notes coûte que coûte. En fait, n’étant pas extrémiste, je n’ai jamais cru que de telles pensées symbolisaient une manque d’esprit créatif mais arrêter jusqu’au là, à jamais….. ? Cette existence végétale me fait penser à la parole de chanson de Robin Williams « there is no dignity in this ,selling your last breath to the world................. All is left in any case is the Advertising space »
Que peut-on dire des jeunes gens qui méprisent cet autrui (euphémisme pour quelqu’un ayant une autre religiosité) et qui en croit leur droit de naissance et le sens de leur vie ? Comment croire qu’on pourrait créer un monde basé sur la vertu d’égalité ? Il est fort difficile de présenter son point de vue devant une majorité qui parle toute seule et qui manque également la raison. Quelque fois je me demandais si il était plus facile de causer en utilisant la logique ou avec des idées basées sur une connaissance issue des rumeurs et des stéréotypes. J’ai échoué a mon essai, échoué si terriblement que j’ai fini par commencer une recherche pour apaiser ma quête de vérité moi-même. Et cela va de soi que la réalité était plus inacceptable que la fiction. La fiction, quant à lui ,on peut du moins éviter à son gré, la réalité on ne peut pas.

Dark Truths

The only thing which resembles to the reality is fiction. The other day when Hanif got “acquitted” I was made to think that if I ever plan to get arrested I will do it in the civilized world. There they even have rights for the arrested people, unbelievable. Here, in our very own Neolithic world even a judge “could not get his FIR launched”. In the civilized world the police will also let me know my crime because they will know it themselves as well. There, the police’s duty will be to get the proofs of my crime and not to discover the fact whether I was a good nationalist or not, it still counts to be a nationalist in this part of the world. Recently I thought that I had discovered the antidote for India’s venom but I realized later that no one needed it, that it has been discovered ages ago, that no one ever needed it. Why could we never run an effective nuclear plant? Because it would have made people more comfortable (I mean respite from electricity problems). Why could we never have world class education facilities? Because it would have made people more educated and thus would have given birth to RTI [right to information (against harassment)] ages ago. Why could we never have an effective policy for the benefit of the daily wage labourers? Because that would have made them more comfortable and more educated and thus they would have voted with their brains and not with their stomach err..........heart.
I don’t know much about Hanif and neither am in a position to know about him but I can simply give him a message : Buddy if you have any grudge against that civilized government then try being an innocent-accused in India and also try being a Muslim and being sent to a jail on smaller charges than those you had in Australia and then only you will understand the importance of being in an educated society. Don’t forget your Australian episode as a dark episode but try understanding that darkness fears itself in the country where you landed after your release. Hanif, have you ever seen a place where headcount means counting the head of minorities? Where massacres become riots in the official documents, where the Father of the Nation is killed every day? Where the birthplace of the Father of the nation has become the laboratory of testing the abilities to tolerating the torture of liberals and off course minorities? I am pretty sure that you have known it all and must have seen it as well, then buddy, don’t bear any grudge against that civilized government which acted out of bovine stupidity (you are free to call it panic) and also followed the rule books!