Of divisive powers at work !

Humra Quraishi

Dark times churn out the best of Literature. There's the climate, that atmosphere, those build –ups, those 'triggering off' moments for the take off! Unease within and around is apt for any writer to unleash his sorrow, pain and turmoil on paper. Perhaps, that explains why many more amongst us are writing.
It wouldn't be amiss to say that there's been turbulence in the air. News reports of killings, violence, torture, rapes and molestations, injustices have been on …an ongoing feature. An atmosphere of unease is spreading out, as killings and more killings are holding sway. Strangely or not really, barricades are put if you and I want to protest.Yes, even non –violent protestors are threatened with the aftermath! Tell me, why is the sarkar of the day so very wary of you and I, so very rattled by our queries at what's going on …at the horrifying situation wrecking havoc on us – the masses of this country! In fact,recently Gulzarsaab had aptly

I have heard him before but never before did he look and sound so pained with the halaats around. That evening he spoke not just of the prevailing violence but also of the communal build-ups, the plight of those seeking refuge amongst us. Yes, the hapless fleeing from one border to the next…

commented if you pick up any of the day's newspapers, it would so heavily laced with news reports of violent - killings that if you were to squeeze those pages blood drops would spill out …He was speaking in New Delhi in the backdrop of his two very latest books : his debut novel 'Two' and 'Footprints on Zero Line-Writings On The Partition ( Harper Collins). And as always he spoke along the emotional strain, from his very heart.
He'd said what pained him was today's ground reality. We are seeing those tell-tale signs of partitioning. As though we haven't learnt a lesson from the killings of the past, we are not visualizing nor comprehending what lies ahead.He'd more than hinted of the divisive powers at work which seem hell bent on destruction.
Gulzarsaab was at his frankest best, if I may say so. I have heard him before but never before did he look and sound so pained with the halaats around. That evening he spoke not just of the prevailing violence but also of the communal build-ups, the plight of those seeking refuge amongst us. Yes, the hapless fleeing from one border to the next…

He'd got nostalgic about his birthplace – Dina, in Pakistan, and about his roots, people and places. Quoting these lines from his volume - Footprints on Zero Line – 'It has taken me seventy years/
To return to Dina and touch the dhaiyya/ How much have I run in the wasteland of Time/
How long have I played hide-andseek!/
An old picture of the railway station/
The smoke from the engine hovering mid-air./
Its colours had begun to fade And standing at one of the doors of the train/
Was my Abbu./
The picture was beginning to flake off /
When I reached the dhaiyya/
The board was still there at the station/
So was the name.'

Also these lines of his - ' Silence at the Border/
Why is everything so still at the border? I am scared of this frozen silence/
This stork -like silence is very cunning/
While standing on one leg/
Meditating with one eye closed/
It keeps the other open./
Cactuses of thorny voices sprout/
At the slightest stir/
On either side of the border./
In the deserts along the border/
Even the wind moves holding is breath/
And the sand blows rubbing its neck against the ground./
A stillness has descended on the border/
I am scared of this icy silence along the border.'

Changing times

And as I sit introspecting, it would be apt to say that Nayantara Sahgal's latest novel – When the Moon Shines By Day (Speaking Tiger)- is again a reminder at what's been on. Just about the crux will relay what lies welltucked in those pages of her novel-" India has changed. Rehana finds her father's books on medieval history have been 'disappeared' from book stores and libraries. Her young domestic help , Abdul, discovers it is safer to be called Morari Lal in the street, but there is no such protection from vigilante fury for his Dalit friend, Suraj. Kamlesh , a diplomat and writer, comes up against official wrath for his anti – war views.A bomb goes off at Cyprus Batliwala's gallery on the opening day of an art show…in this atmosphere, Rehana and her three book-club friends, Nandini , Aruna and Lily, meet every week to discuss a book one of them has chosen- their oasis if peace amidst the harshness of reality – even as Rehana's German friend, Franz Rohner, haunted by his country's Nazi past , warns her of what is to come. All revolutions, he wryly observes, follow the same path."

Time is running out

How about these lines of this subcontinent's best known poet – writer – activist - Faiz AhmadFaiz - "Speak Up!
Speak up ,for your lips are not sealed And your words are still your own .
This upright body is yours – speak, while your soul is still your own .
Look there,in that smithy , its red oven ,fierce flames , the padlocks are already opening their mouths
and each fetter is skirting around . Speak up now,for time's running out. Before your body and mind fade away,
tell us ,for truth is not yet dead . Speak
Whatever you have to say!" Also, his these lines … "So what if my pen has been snatched away from me /
I have dipped my fingers in the blood of my heart /
So what if my mouth has been sealed ;I have turned / Every link of my chain into a speaking tongue."

The writer is a well known columnist and author.



		EDITOR'S MAIL FROM THE EDITOR Rajdharma National Security The Road Ahead Leadership Public discourse Foreign policy Economic reforms Aam Aadmi Public Health Gandhian perspective Armed forces Koregaon Bhima clashes Realpolitik My Lords ! Muslim Youth Gender justice Crimes against women Signs of the times Issue:Feb' 2018 Subscribe Now	Signs of the times Of divisive powers at work ! Humra Quraishi Dark times churn out the best of Literature. There's the climate, that atmosphere, those build –ups, those 'triggering off' moments for the take off! Unease within and around is apt for any writer to unleash his sorrow, pain and turmoil on paper. Perhaps, that explains why many more amongst us are writing. It wouldn't be amiss to say that there's been turbulence in the air. News reports of killings, violence, torture, rapes and molestations, injustices have been on …an ongoing feature. An atmosphere of unease is spreading out, as killings and more killings are holding sway. Strangely or not really, barricades are put if you and I want to protest.Yes, even non –violent protestors are threatened with the aftermath! Tell me, why is the sarkar of the day so very wary of you and I, so very rattled by our queries at what's going on …at the horrifying situation wrecking havoc on us – the masses of this country! In fact,recently Gulzarsaab had aptly I have heard him before but never before did he look and sound so pained with the halaats around. That evening he spoke not just of the prevailing violence but also of the communal build-ups, the plight of those seeking refuge amongst us. Yes, the hapless fleeing from one border to the next… commented if you pick up any of the day's newspapers, it would so heavily laced with news reports of violent - killings that if you were to squeeze those pages blood drops would spill out …He was speaking in New Delhi in the backdrop of his two very latest books : his debut novel 'Two' and 'Footprints on Zero Line-Writings On The Partition ( Harper Collins). And as always he spoke along the emotional strain, from his very heart. He'd said what pained him was today's ground reality. We are seeing those tell-tale signs of partitioning. As though we haven't learnt a lesson from the killings of the past, we are not visualizing nor comprehending what lies ahead.He'd more than hinted of the divisive powers at work which seem hell bent on destruction. Gulzarsaab was at his frankest best, if I may say so. I have heard him before but never before did he look and sound so pained with the halaats around. That evening he spoke not just of the prevailing violence but also of the communal build-ups, the plight of those seeking refuge amongst us. Yes, the hapless fleeing from one border to the next… He'd got nostalgic about his birthplace – Dina, in Pakistan, and about his roots, people and places. Quoting these lines from his volume - Footprints on Zero Line – 'It has taken me seventy years/ To return to Dina and touch the dhaiyya/ How much have I run in the wasteland of Time/ How long have I played hide-andseek!/ An old picture of the railway station/ The smoke from the engine hovering mid-air./ Its colours had begun to fade And standing at one of the doors of the train/ Was my Abbu./ The picture was beginning to flake off / When I reached the dhaiyya/ The board was still there at the station/ So was the name.' Also these lines of his - ' Silence at the Border/ Why is everything so still at the border? I am scared of this frozen silence/ This stork -like silence is very cunning/ While standing on one leg/ Meditating with one eye closed/ It keeps the other open./ Cactuses of thorny voices sprout/ At the slightest stir/ On either side of the border./ In the deserts along the border/ Even the wind moves holding is breath/ And the sand blows rubbing its neck against the ground./ A stillness has descended on the border/ I am scared of this icy silence along the border.' Changing times And as I sit introspecting, it would be apt to say that Nayantara Sahgal's latest novel – When the Moon Shines By Day (Speaking Tiger)- is again a reminder at what's been on. Just about the crux will relay what lies welltucked in those pages of her novel-" India has changed. Rehana finds her father's books on medieval history have been 'disappeared' from book stores and libraries. Her young domestic help , Abdul, discovers it is safer to be called Morari Lal in the street, but there is no such protection from vigilante fury for his Dalit friend, Suraj. Kamlesh , a diplomat and writer, comes up against official wrath for his anti – war views.A bomb goes off at Cyprus Batliwala's gallery on the opening day of an art show…in this atmosphere, Rehana and her three book-club friends, Nandini , Aruna and Lily, meet every week to discuss a book one of them has chosen- their oasis if peace amidst the harshness of reality – even as Rehana's German friend, Franz Rohner, haunted by his country's Nazi past , warns her of what is to come. All revolutions, he wryly observes, follow the same path." Time is running out How about these lines of this subcontinent's best known poet – writer – activist - Faiz AhmadFaiz - "Speak Up! Speak up ,for your lips are not sealed And your words are still your own . This upright body is yours – speak, while your soul is still your own . Look there,in that smithy , its red oven ,fierce flames , the padlocks are already opening their mouths and each fetter is skirting around . Speak up now,for time's running out. Before your body and mind fade away, tell us ,for truth is not yet dead . Speak Whatever you have to say!" Also, his these lines … "So what if my pen has been snatched away from me / I have dipped my fingers in the blood of my heart / So what if my mouth has been sealed ;I have turned / Every link of my chain into a speaking tongue." The writer is a well known columnist and author.