Day 13: The Side

"Maoist kill 25 CRPF jawans."

Wait, before I say further,

decide whose side 

you have already assumed.

And no, there's no judgment,

definitely not on your morality

or intellectual capability.

And even if there was one,

would it matter?

So, inform yourself

of your side.

Or are you one of those

who forever sit on the fence?

Or may be those who have a side,

but prefer to show as if on the fence?

And, I feel you already feel judged.

But I have said it, anyway.

Moving on...

You see, it's kinda funny

that a story is presented 

in these sides, that we
automatically assume and fight for

in our heads, and in such hurry

to move on to the next article 

or the next page...

"Mehbooba says,

Bullet and dialogue

don't go together."

And before we read

and interpret what she mean,

we would have 

already written a hate-post

or a moralistic outrage,

or even a passionate spoken word,

just like this one.

You see, when the sides 

are defined and given to us,

when we don't question

the boundaries of those sides,

or the form, the base,

the origin or the state,

or even just why these sides 

are on each other's,

we are already bought into a side

and the side whose story we want to read

is the story we actually only read.

Before we read 

what we want to read

let's break it down a little,

just a little, you see.

The Maoists came out 

of an affect of a situation,

of feudal lord's oppression,

And now we write about 

Naxalite-affected areas.

The side that affect today

was the side once affected by.

So do I assume 

when the powerless 

assumes power

the history repeats itself?

when it's only history repeating,

then how does it matter 

which side is more right,

yesterday's right is today wrong

and today's wrong is tomorrow's right!

But since you and I 

have taken our sides,

let's ask this, 

Whose death 

are we ready to mourn?

and whose loss 

are we ready to report?

Is it really about 
the feudal lords, 

or the Maoists,

or the Jawans?

Of course, Mehbooba.

The bullets and the dialogue 

don't go together.

Because bullets take sides.

Bullets abuse sides,

and sides misuse bullets.

But dialogues diffuse sides,

and it can only happen 

when we are ready to diffuse.

So Rephrase. Re read.

People kill 25 people.

Now, your side is my side. 

So let's talk, my friend.
B'coz our personal is political.

Until it turns into a bullet.

- Based on the first page news - Maoists kill 25 CRPF Jawans and Bullet and Dialogue don't go together, Hindustan Times, 25th Apr, 2017.

#Day13 #The100DayProject #100DaysOfProseToPoetry