(published on 29th August 2008 in www.inbandra.in )
DECEMBER 17, 2007
A man and a woman
are one
Bandra is less.
FEB 20, 2008
I know noble accents
and also what they mean.
But I know, too,
that Bandra is butchered
by what I know.
APRIL 18, 2008
Wind at the Bandstand promenade filled me
with brittle fate.
beyond it the water moved adding nothing
and everything.
JUNE 2, 2008
When the houses at Pereirawadi came down
it marked the edge
of the last circle.
JUNE 22, 2008
I do not know what to
believe the imperative of
survival or the inevitability
of gentrification the
demolition or just after.
JULY 14, 2008
Traffic snarl at Hill Road
the only moving thing
is the muddy water in the pothole.
JULY 18, 2008
Afternoon all evening
It no longer rained
The street child at Bandra station waited
In the mud.
AUG 15, 2008
The cobbler at Ambedkar road, flag in hand
basked in the sunshine
The sunshine went up for sale.
DEC 19, 2008
I was of one mind
like the mind
who knows the use of Bandra
Friday, December 19, 2008
Monday, December 1, 2008
Terror Struck
The Oxford dictionary meaning of terror is extreme fear or the use of terror to intimidate people. Terror can hence be a state of mind and the means used to bring about that state of mind. Mumbai has suffered many instances of terror in the past few years.
What differentiates this attack, which is being referred to as India’s 9/11, from the previous ones was the process of terror, the place and people involved. The people were newsworthy, the location premium and the process prolonged.
‘Enough is enough,’ reflects the tipping point. People will not stand for political rhetoric, ineptitude, inaction and failure any longer. They want the political class to act or quit. Act against the perpetrators and improve intelligence and security mechanisms for the nation.
So at the cost of raining on the enough parade, let me offer my reasons for scepticism:
The importance of reason
When emotions run high, there is need for retribution. Post 9/11 American policy was crafted and then justified based on emotion at the time. The Iraq war and its consequences should remind us however, that reason has its place. After the emotions had ebbed the sunshine had gone up for sale. Indian diplomatic next steps should be crafted after reasoned thought and cannot be hijacked by public opinion.
The need to broaden our debate on terror
Terror viewed in terms of guns limits our debate to protecting our borders in order to secure ourselves. Those borders can shift depending on what is under attack-it can be the nation, the city, the community or our homes. We are intimidated by what can harm us, so we endlessly search for better ways to be secure. We live with the fear that the walls we build can be scaled, so we build better walls. Gated communities, surveillance cameras, sniffer dogs and bomb squads stand testimony to an increase in our collective paranoia. When is enough, enough?
As a nation we are almost at the bottom of the heap on most social indicators. We are impoverished. However, we fear terror from guns not poverty since poverty compromises only the quality of life not life itself. Moreover poverty compromises the lives of others not our lives.
Let us broaden our debate on terror and be terrified by poverty too. Let us be reasonable and inclusive. Only then can we truly secure our nation.
What differentiates this attack, which is being referred to as India’s 9/11, from the previous ones was the process of terror, the place and people involved. The people were newsworthy, the location premium and the process prolonged.
‘Enough is enough,’ reflects the tipping point. People will not stand for political rhetoric, ineptitude, inaction and failure any longer. They want the political class to act or quit. Act against the perpetrators and improve intelligence and security mechanisms for the nation.
So at the cost of raining on the enough parade, let me offer my reasons for scepticism:
The importance of reason
When emotions run high, there is need for retribution. Post 9/11 American policy was crafted and then justified based on emotion at the time. The Iraq war and its consequences should remind us however, that reason has its place. After the emotions had ebbed the sunshine had gone up for sale. Indian diplomatic next steps should be crafted after reasoned thought and cannot be hijacked by public opinion.
The need to broaden our debate on terror
Terror viewed in terms of guns limits our debate to protecting our borders in order to secure ourselves. Those borders can shift depending on what is under attack-it can be the nation, the city, the community or our homes. We are intimidated by what can harm us, so we endlessly search for better ways to be secure. We live with the fear that the walls we build can be scaled, so we build better walls. Gated communities, surveillance cameras, sniffer dogs and bomb squads stand testimony to an increase in our collective paranoia. When is enough, enough?
As a nation we are almost at the bottom of the heap on most social indicators. We are impoverished. However, we fear terror from guns not poverty since poverty compromises only the quality of life not life itself. Moreover poverty compromises the lives of others not our lives.
Let us broaden our debate on terror and be terrified by poverty too. Let us be reasonable and inclusive. Only then can we truly secure our nation.
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