Sizzling Streets of London

"Do you have an extra cigarette", "Lets go for a drink", "How about a weekend", "Are you shy" are some of the expression that might fall into your ears when you try to dodge crowded streets of London. Not very often you hear them but you do hear them. They can really scare you when you hear them from some strangers. Why am I brooding over this without giving my readers a context? What do they signify? Who expresses them? 

One summer evening I was strolling along a busy street in Wimbledon. Street full of people pass through me with various intentions in mind. Illuminating yellow mercury lights and a touch of romance with wonderful smell of fragrance made my life bubbling. People rush to reach their purpose made me aware that this city does not have time to stand and stare at each other. This makes me rush even though I don't have to. When I was pretending to be rushing two beautifully dressed blondes adorned with fragrance and artificial jewellery whispered into my ever sharp ears, "do have a cigarette" which took completely with a scary surprise. First of all I don't smoke and hate when people smoke around me, making me passive smoker, secondly they were absolute strangers. I replied to them with a my intimidating pleasant smile, "I don't smoke." This was an icing on the cake for the girls because they felt I was a good man. As I walked pass them, they decided to follow me and whisper some more pleasant surprising things into my ears, like "are you shy" "where do you live" "you are so handsome" etc. By now I was absolutely sure that they were looking for more than a cigarette but ignorent me never new the language of this world in which I live. They were looking for a night with them. I just ignored them further and walked my way thinking about my own ignorance and lack of knowledge about the young people who go about doing what they like. I assumed that they were either young prostitutes who are desperate for money or some teenagers who just like to experience something from an adult or they could be anything, let me not run my imagination wild. 

London keeps me on my toes every minute, either studies or some extravaganza which is every day business for Londoners. But London streets really scare me because there can be anyone on the street who are like prowler looking to devour you. It seems like London is ever green with several activities that are going on in and around us but we have keep our eyes wide open and do the needful. Most often I think that London is a wonderful city for studies and it is right but it can be quite depressing too if you don't have money, like these two girls who approached me. One of the students I met said that she went for stripping not because she wanted to, but simply because she could not suppost her studies and her ailing mum. I presume that there are more students like this who go for the thing which they don't usually like to do but situation has lead them to do against their own interest and will. 

I think this is not only case of London but most cities around the world where young people try to meet their needs. Rise in college fees and rise in food materials has changed the situation of the young people in the world. Many drop out of college, some decide to take the path where they can get easy money like selling their skin and so on. How are we to respond to this perpetual problem of the youth? Does the government have any answer for this or its just doing what  pleases the politicians? I have not an answer to them but I do agree that there is a problem which will remain a problem until one day youth decide to take to the streets as it happened in August on London roads and as it is happening on Wall Street in America. 

Magnificat

My being glows in your love oh, Lord

Because this love knit me into a being in my mum's womb

abounding and nourishing whole of my yesteryears

Oh, Lord I am unworthy of this love

Yet unworthiness is not an issue for you Oh Lord.

Oh, My feeble heart a piece of opaque diamond with moss around it

Enemy prowled around me to devour my soul

My being coveted for material things

Things that gave my being a timely pleasure

Oh, My fragile heart fell prey for the snare of the fowler.

Oh, Lord my being gratitudes you, you love of my being

Your felt absence not an absence indeed

Your gentle and subtle touch stirred and shook whole fibre of my being

You bountiful graces hovered over me ceaselessly Oh, Lord.

A faint voice whispered into me, 'Can you hear me?'

Gentle yet a sure knock at my heart's door like morning dew touching the tender ground

This knock made all the difference in my being

Difference to move mountains Oh Lord my God.

Oh Lord Your compassionate  look surrounded my being like odour of jasmine in the garden

Thou look set my soul and body aglow 

Oh, how marvellous to cling on to your look Oh, Lord

like tender child clings to her mother's bosom

Yet thou saith, "Don't cling to me, for thou hath mission to accomplish."

Jerri Melwin Dias SJ.
Photo: A valley at Araranzazu, Spain.

Good or Bad

Human beings have tried to solve the mystery of good and bad for many centuries. Human mind is a mystery in itself. This mind sees everything around him as a mystery. Solving a mystery is not possible because it is a mystery. If it is solvable then it is not a mystery. Good and bad cannot be justified really because as I mentioned earlier in my article, what is good for one may be bad for another and vice versa. Hence I would place good and bad in the category of mystery. We all have try and find out ways and means to be prudent and wish good of oneself and the society. 

In a certain Zen temple there were two Zen students, who were going to meditate in the hall. Along the way to the hall, they saw trees and argued with each other about the trees. One remarked, "Why is that tree so green?" The other remarked, "But why is this tree dry?" And then an argument arose between them. It was about which of the trees was better, the greener one or the dry one. They could not agree with each other, so when they entered the hall, they approached the Master and asked him which of the trees was better. The Master asked them back, "Which one do you both think is good, then?" They started arguing with each other again. One said, "The green tree is better" and the other said, "The dry tree is better."

By coincidence, a novice entered into the hall. The Master asked the novice the same question. The novice replied, "We should not be bothered about such issues. Just leave it." The Master said, "That is right answer. We should not be bothering ourselves with this. Everything has cause and effect. Whatever, we see, hear and think, has its cause and effect. We must learn from the cause and effect of all things." He went on and added, "You both should not divide things into two: good or bad, satisfactory or better. Instead you should learn from all things, you should learn to integrate everything. Separation will stop your progress in learning and practice." The two monks realised that what was being expressed was right and said sorry to the Master and thanked the novice for giving them the light of wisdom.

Integration of good and bad should be our priority. We have accept there good as well as bad but we should not while away our time in arguing what is good or bad but rather see it in the light of good of oneself and the society. This does not mean we have cast a blind eye on the bad that is happening around us. It is very challenging to open our eyes to the bad that is contaminating the world order. Can we really justify necessary violence? Can we consider violence as good if it benefits the society? Can necessary torture be justified? I think in any circumstances these above questions cannot be justified as it inflicts pain and suffering and essentially it violated the human rights. If we browse the news of the world, our ears are bombarded with violence and its effects. Can we consider violence as bad? If yes, what about the Libyan rebels who are fighting against the ferocious leader? These are the sensitive issues that we have deal, first of all in our own minds and hearts and then transform the hearts of the people who destroy the wellbeing of this world. 

Pic: Late early morning landscape in the countryside in Britain. 

My lover speaks of rape

Flaming green of a morning that awaits rain
And my lover speaks of rape through silences,
Swallowed words and the shadowed tones
Of voice. Quivering, I fill in his blanks.
Green turns to unsightly teal of hospital beds
And he is softer than feathers, but I fly away
To shield myself from the retch of the burns
Ward, the shrill sounds of dying declarations,
The floral pink-white sad skins of dowry deaths.

Open eyes, open hands, his open all-clear soul . . .

Colorless noon filters in through bluish glass
And coffee keeps him company. She chatters
Away telling her own, every woman's story;
He listens, like for the first time. Tragedy in
Bridal red remains a fresh, flushing bruise across
Brown-yellow skinscapes, vibrant but made
Muted through years of silent, waiting skin.
I am absent. They talk of everyday assault that
Turns blue, violet and black in high-color symphony.

Open eyes, open hands, his open all-clear soul . . .

Blues blend to an unforgiving metropolitan black
And loneliness seems safer than a gentle night
In his arms. I return from the self-defence lessons:
Mistrust is the black-belted, loose white mechanism
Of survival against this groping world and I am
A convert too. Yet, in the way of all life, he could try
And take root, as I resist, and yield later, like the earth.

Open eyes, open hands, his open all-clear soul . . .
Has he learnt to live my life? Has he learnt never to harm?

Meena Kandasamy won first prize for this poem in Pan-Indian poetry contests.

Apartheid of India: Dalit

Once you're used to it

You never afterwards

feel anything;

your blood nevermore

congeals

nor flows

for wet mud has been slapped

over all your bone.

Once you're used to it

even the sorrow

that visits you

sometimes, in dreams,

melts away, embarrassed.

Habit isn't used to breaking out

in feelings.

F.M. Shinde, 'Habit', in Arujun Dangle (ed), No Entry for the New Sun: Translations from Modern Marathi Dalit Poetry.

ONE INDIA Dream: Unification of India through Cricket

Unity in Diversity is an ever consoling fact for me. This has proved right in several ways. India is rich in its cultural heritage, its multifaceted and diverse people of different culture, language and temperaments. India is a cradle of religions which is a bizarre statement to make. India has the largest number and oldest religion of the world. For many centuries Indian have struggled to keep all the religions in the same cradle. Religious division is the key to non-unification which lead to the division of Pakistan and India. Each religions created their own cradle instead of remaining in one. India has seen some of the worst religious commotions in the world. Religious unrest most often is instigated by the political parties which are unusually motivated by the ethos of evil. Political parties work based on religious disparities and create a political and religious imbroglio. At this juncture a daunting question came to me; Can India ever be united? I looked for the answer for the past 29 years. Did I get an answer? Yes, I did get an answer. India can be united. But how? No religion, no political party, no technologies can bring us together. 

Cricket is the answer. Cricket can make us united and bring us together. This was my feeling when I was watching the World Cup 2011 on 2nd of April. 1.3 Billion people with only one wish, that is to win the world cup and be the Champions. Isn't it lovely to see whole India with one vision and wish. This made me to think India needs to find ways and devices to unite Indians. For me winning the world cup was least in my mind but primarily I was glad to see every Indian, home and abroad cheering in unison. Can this continue in India? India need a genuine reunification in this era. Cricket is the only best solution I  have come across so far. Some people in India consider Cricket as a religion which is perfectly alright if that makes all Indian brothers and sisters, if that makes one to love their neighbours and enemies. Any religion must unite and not divide us because every religion preaches the same message, that we are brothers and sister as Vivekananda opened his address in the world religious convention in Chicago in 1893.  

Now that India has won the world cup after 28 years, all Indian are proud to say that they are Champions of the world. I would also add by saying we are not only champions of the world in Cricket but Champion of unity. We can be united despite our wide differences. Time has come to forget our ghettoes and embrace each other with love and care. This will make us more proud just cricket made us proud Indians. Let each India embrace their so called enemies as we did on the cricket world cup finals. Time has come for Indians to shine forth as ONE INDIA. This was my dream of ONE INDIA and this dream is coming true as the dream of cricketers came true on the 2nd of April.

Betrayal

If Judas had lived longer,

(and not simply hanged himself or

become an forlorn exile)

or if he had abandoned

his conscience forever, selling it with

those thirty shining pieces of silver—

he would have become, in all probability

a very successful politician.

He would have sold scores

of saviours, grew rich and

a millionaire. And contended, lived his life

enslaving men, abhorring slaves—

and Mr. Judas Iscariot, would have

become a kind of star celebrity,

forever remembered. A History.

And to this day,

treachery flourishes—

The fate of Jesus befalls

every other messiah.                            

  By: Meena Kandasamy

In this world,

there is a single critical risk:

even the kisses betray.