Day 7 - Killed.

April 4, 1968, an activist.
April 4, 2017, acts of activism.
Shot, released... and killed.

- Based on the ridicule of activism that Pepsi made by its recent advertisement launched on the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, a civil rights activist in U.S.A. This haiku poetry is inspired by the Wire article, Activism and Tokenism.

#Day07 #The100DayProject #100DaysOfProseToPoetry #PepsiAd #HaikuPoetry

Day 06 - The Single Stories

Saturday, afternoon. 

I log in to Facebook.

A friend's wall-post pops up.

"I marvel at the mindset 

of Indian army men

who rescue 

the same people 

who pelt stones at them 

in Kashmir.

He adds, "I also wonder 

at the morality 

of the Kashmiris 

who clutch 

on to the hands 

of the same army men

at whom they pelt stones!"

and he hashtags, 
"#Twisted #WheresKarma"

I read. 

There's a reaction 

already in my head.

Sharp.

Instant.

But, I pause. 

Think.

Come back.

and reread.

Like? Dislike?

Or Comment?

Shall I?

What's the point?

Will it be a troll?

Shall I just send 

a personal message?

I pause, and Think.

 It's on his public wall. 

So why a personal response?

I write,

about my views,

my schooling at the army school.

and my views counter to his.

Or is it in addition to his?

I write, 

"story of Kashmir has more to it... 

while there are those 

'who rescue the same people 

who pelt stones 

at them in kashmir',

there are still those 

who rape and humiliate. 

I am not saying 

that all Kashmiris 

are victims or becharas. 

But when we pose 

a blanket question 

on a "morality of Kashmiris", 

or for that matter anyone else,

I think, there's an opportunity 

to dig deeper 

than what we see. 

If we only present 

or engage 

with one side of the story, 

it leads us 

to veneration 

or hate. 

I assume 

you want none... 

and I hope 

what you seek

is a more nuanced 

and dialogical discourse."

I tell him, go watch, 

‪Inshallah, Kashmir: Living Terror

I pause.

I read what I wrote.

Should I hit send?

Or should I not?

And then I hit it. 

It's gone. 

Gosh! Should I go and delete it?

Or edit something?

I wait. 

I re-read. 

Get up.

Walk away.

Do other chores.

When I come back to the screen,

I see the notification blinking.

A new comment from him.

He writes, 

"I agree with you 

on blanket stereotyping. 

There is a big difference 

between 'morality of Kashmiris' 

and 'morality of the Kashmiris'. 

Maybe, I should have written 

'those kashmiris' 

which is what I meant 

with the definite article 

and maybe you could 

take a pause 

before 

jumping 

to a conclusion 

that the definite article 

was missing!"

I read. 

And reread.

I pause, 

this time more intentionally.

as was suggested.

not to jump 

on conclusion 

or for conclusions.

You know those moments,

when you want to laugh

and express pity or anger

at the same time?

This was something like that.

I pause.

I read.

I hit reply.

I write,"Sure"

I think, 

"no it's not able that definite article. 

It's about that judgement 

you through 

on a group of Kashmiris 

whose journeys you don't even know.

It's about the army men 

whom you venerated

whose journeys, again,

you don't even know.
It's about these single stories
you hold and regenerate."

I add an emoji - :-) 

and add, 

"thank you for clarifying,

I think, " You see,  

a father who rapes his son 

or a daughter 

in the night

and still takes 

care of him or her

in the day

the child might receive the care,

but could you say

he or she shouldn't throw tantrums?"

I add another emoji - :-)

And hit send. 

P. S. - And while 

what's said and what's not

in the comforts of our homes

there may be

some Kashmiris still being raped

and some army men still being stone-pelted.

- Based on a Facebook conversation with a friend.

#Day06 #The100DayProject #100DaysOfProseToPoetry #Kashmir

Day 5 - Grateful, I am.

For early morning cuddles

and you-are-home kisses,

for the home we have built,

and the garden we have grown.

For the green and the black 

and the milk-based teas,

be it with the lemon grass, 

mint or without anything.

For the Moonlight, 

be it movie or the night,

for 'omelette in the fridge' 

and hands held till I sleep,

for the walk in the garden,

and the AC and the trimmer,

for the subbing in my class,

and the breakfast and the dinner.

For last night's conversation,

and your embrace when I cried,

for the care with which 

you hold me every time,

for the drops and the call

as and when we go away,

for challenging my worldview

and adding many perspectives new,

Oh, my love! Grateful, I am

for moments such as these 

and a thousand many more,

for this life with you,

that I so dearly adore!

- Based on the gratitude notes my partner and I share and post in a part of our home for each other.

#Day05 #The100DayProject #100DaysOfProseToPoetry #Gratitude #Grateful

Day 4 - Judge Not, Lest Ye Be Judged!

"Where's the Christian version of ISIS," he asked.

Remember,
the 400 years
of trans-atlantic slave trade 
that maimed and raped,
killed, kidnapped and enslaved,
over 20 million Africans "heathens"
to bring them to Christ?

Remember, 
the manifest destiny,
and what it did to Native Americans?
or the 90% of Australian Aborigines
who were wiped out
in less than a century
by Christian Europeans?

Remember,
Salem Witch Trials?
the Spanish Inquisition?
Or Crusades?
Or the lord's Resistance Army
that has raped and killed 
over 100,000 Ugandans
in past 15 years
to establish Biblical law?
And by the way - not to defend -
but that's far more destructive
than ISIS, won't you say?

Remember,
American white supremacists 
are identified 
as a larger terror threat 
to American security 
than Muslim extremists 
by law enforcement agencies 
and research organizations?

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/national/article142989399.html#storylink=cpy

Remember,
the UN reports that say,
in central Africa Republic
Christian militia 
has destroyed
every single mosque
and enforced ethnic cleansing 
on Muslims?

Remember,
George Bush,
a devout Christian said, 
"God told me to invade Iraq",
and killed over 1 million civilians 
in this so called war?

Oh, brother!
There are people 
who misrepresent Qu’ran, 
but Qu’ran itself 
doesn’t produce terrorists,
just as the Bible 
didn’t produce 
the Ku Klux Klan.

You ask about ISIS,
which by the way 
is a result of that bomb 
you dropped in Iraq 
in the name of your God.
So they invoked their Allah,
with equal falsity in their intentions.

So before you would want 
any Muslim to speak for ISIS,
remember, my brother, what Jesus said,
judge not, lest ye be judged. 


- Based on Qasim Rasid's Twitter Post in response to being asked to speak for ISIS.

#Day04 #The100DayProject #100DaysOfProseToPoetry #ChristianISIS #ISIS