Kashmiri: We want azadi.
Indian: We'll give you development.
Kashmiri: We want azadi.
Indian: We'll give you jobs.
Kashmiri: We want azadi.
Indian: You'll survive without us? How?
Kashmiri: As against now?

'Gurgaon' is now 'Gurugram'

'Gurgaon' is now 'Gurugram'
   The idea is BJP's
They say it's for Guru Dronacharya
   Eklavya be like "Bitch please!"
 

We ain't buyin' what's on sale

We ain't goin' to concede 'em
They think we'll stop at bail
We ain't stoppin' till freedom

???, ?? ?????

??? ??? ????? ??,
????? ?? ???? ??,
?????-????? ?? ?????
?? ???-???? ??,
???-??? ?? ??? ???,
????? ??, ????? ??, ????????
?? ?? ????? ???, ????? ??,
???? ??, ?????? ??? ????? ??
???? ?? ????????? ???,
????? ?? ????????????? ???

(??.??.?? ?? ???)

?????? ???? - Bertolt Brecht

tr. Bertolt Brecht's 'General, Dein Tank ist ein starker Wagen'

?????? ????,
???? ?? ???? ??? ?? ????????? ??,
?????? ?? ???? ???? ??
??-?? ??????? ?? ???? ???? ??,
?? ????? ?? ??? ?? -
??? ?? ??????? ?? ????? ???? ??

?????? ????,
???? ?? ?????? ??? ?? ????????? ??,
???? ????? ??? ??? ?? ????? ?? ??? ???? ??,
?? ????? ?? ?? ??? ?? -
??? ?? ??????? ?? ????? ???? ??

?????? ????,
????? ???? ??? ?? ??? ??,
?? ?? ???? ??, ?? ??? ?? ???? ??,
?? ????? ?? ??? ?? -
?? ??? ?? ???? ??

Bertolt Brecht

 

I am grass

tr. from Pash's '??? ??? ???'

I am grass,
I will grow back, no matter what you do,

whether you bomb a university,
whether you bulldoze a hostel,
or whether you burn our rooms -

what will you do to me
What can you do to me?
I am grass, I will grow back, on everything.

Go, burn up our towns,
wipe out Sangroor,
turn Ludhiyana to dust,
my green will do its work even then,
after two years, after ten years...
passengers will again ask the conductor -
"What place is this?
Will you drop me off at Barnala,
where there's a forest of green grass."

I am grass,
I will do my work,
I will grow back on everything
that you try to do to me.

(For Umar and Anirban)

???, ?????? ??? - Savitribai Phule

tr. from Sunil Sardar and Victor Paul's English tr. 'Go, Get Education' by Savitribai Phule

???, ?????? ???

????-?????? ???, ????? ??? ?? ???
??? ???, ????? ?? ?? ?????

????? ?? ???? ?? ??? ?? ???? ??
????? ?? ???? ????? ????? ?? ???? ??

??? ? ????, ???, ?????? ???,
??????? ??, ?????? ?? ??? ?????

???, ????? ?? ?????? ???? ?? ??
????, ?? ??? ?? ???? ?? ??????? ??
??? ?? ?? ???????? ?? ????????? ??,
???? ??????? ??, ???? ?????? ??

Savitribai Phule (1831-97)

 

Ghazal by Gauhar Raza

tr. from Urdu-Hindi

Love for the nation gift-wrapped in faith; farce, that's how it'll be
Flowers, dried-up, gardens, gone, autumn, yellowed, that's how it'll be.

That savagery, once felt, still keeps Europe trembling in fear,
That savagery, will it now burn my land? Is that how it'll be?

Those gas chambers of the past still carry the stench of blood,
What else does blind love for nations do? What else will'it be?

It is true that in dark wells, utter lies, like boats, carry on,
but soon, the light of our truth will sink 'em, that's how it will be.

Those who've grown up on hatred, who've played with it like a toy,
in the days to come, what will hatred make them do? How will it be?

They ask the artists, the writers, why have you returned the honours?
Ask, how many sit quiet? Will shame knock on their doors? Will it be?

Do not eat this, do not wear that, do not, for God's sake, ever love,
The 'anti-national' stamp hovers in the air, that is how it'll be.

Do not forget, the young, the generations after us, are lit embers,
You play with fire an' think the sparks won't reach you; that's not how it'll be.

Gauhar Raza

 

????? 
       ??? 
            ?? ??????? ?? ??? 

For JNU

You can chew the sun here & spit it out,
You can make the mighty eat dust,
It is a university that we're talking about,
Not a king's court where we must.

To the soldier in Siachen

Come back,
the snow is treacherous,
come back,
they are making you fight a treacherous war,
you were not born in snow,
you do not know snow, come back,
I do not want you to fight that war in our name,
I want you to rest, I want you to be able to feel your fingers,
I want the snow in your veins to give way,
for you to be able to breathe, to melt
into a corner, to sleep.

Come back.

Go home.

Go home to Dharwad,
Go home to Madurai, go home to
Vellore, Satara, Mysore, do not stay in the snow,
go home to Ranchi, that war is not for you to fight, that war
is not for us to give to you to fight, let not our name be ice,
let it not heave on your shoulders, do not let us steal your breath,
the people there, the people of the snow do not need us,
they do not need you to fight, come back,
you were not born to snow,
you do not know the treachery of the snow,

go home,
to rest, go home to the sun, to water,
go home to the nights of your village,
go home to the sweltering market-place,
to the noise of family-homes, to the sweat of the Ghats,
to the dust of the plains, go home,

may you never
have to see white ever again like that,
may you never have to see
a colour become death in your very palm.

????? ?? ???? ????? ?? ???? ???? ?? - ????? ??????

????? ?? ????
????? ?? ???? ???? ??

?? ?? ???? ?? ????? ?? ???? ??
??? ????? ????? ??? ???? ??? -
??? ?? ???,
??? ?? ?????,
??? ?? ????? ?? ???

??? ???? ?? ???? ???? ?? ?????
???? ?? ????? ?? ??

?? ?????? ?? ??? ??
???? ????? ?? ??? ?? ??? ??? ??

???? ??????? ??? ??? ??, ???? ????? ??,
???? ??? ???? ??? ??? ??,
???? ????-???? ??? ??? ??

????? ??????

 

For Rohith Vemula

They might have rope enough
for his body,

have they rope enough
for star dust?

Who're the ones marching that day?

L.G.B.T.Q.I.H.K.
What does the headline next day decide?
To call it 'Gay Pride'

The Barakhamba Road/Tolstoy Marg Crossing

An odd, white handkerchief tied on his arm,
    he gets onto the metro at Vishwavidyalaya.

With a stuffed back-pack on her shoulder,
    she boards the bus at Shahdara.

In his grey track pants,
    he hails an Ola from Saket,

With her phone in her back-pocket,
    she climbs onto a Haryana Roadways bus.

---

The red glass bangles he'd bought yesterday
    reflect the winter sun; his fingers dance.

She pulls out a crumpled rainbow muffler
    and waves it to her from across the road.

He sees a small tear in the stockings as he
    pulls down the track pants but doesn't care.

At that Crossing she knows from the map, she
    sees a big crowd - and turns her phone to silent.

#OccupyUGC

??? ???? ??? ???
??.??.? ?? ??? ?? ???? ???

????? ???? ????? ???
?????? ?? ????? ?? ???? ???

"Miniscule minority" "Miniscule minority"

- the judges kept on barking,

clearly they've never been

on a Sunday evening to the

park above the Palika parking.

You fear

tr. from Gorakh Pandey's '??????? ?? ??'

Their anger is a thousand years old,
their hate is a thousand years old,
I only give
some rhyme to their
scattered words, to their desire,
and you fear that
I'm stoking fire. 

'???' ?? '???????? ????' ?? ???

???? ????? ????, ?? ??? ???? ???,
??? ???? ?? ?? ??, ?? ??? ???? ???

?? ???? ??????? ?? ????? ??

?? ???? ?????? ?? ????? ??
?? ??.??.?????? ?? ????? ??
?? ??????? ?? ???? ?????

?????

?? ?? ??????? ?? ????? ??
?? ?? ??????? ?? ????? ??
?? ?? ??????? ?? ????? ??
?? ?? ???? ?? ???? ?????