chale chalo ki wo ma.nzil abhii nahii.n aaii

On 16th august, if you watched TV news it seemed as if whole of india was up in arms against corruption and with anna hazare in his fight for lokpal bill. of course the spontaneous response seems very heartening, but i was wondering if it was city driven, if it was without required depth for a real movement, if it would matter after a few days to the same people protesting at Azad Maidan and every other azad maidan of other cities? and was it premature to call this the second freedom struggle and anna hazare, the second gandhi? or is it just a reflection of our times, of us? the entire facebook twitter campaign for a bill - that ideally needs to be debated among the elected representatives of those who mostly pay their way through most agencies to save time and avoid tedious procedures and of those who have no access to any such thing in rural areas... is it not a mirror to the way we have become, slightly shallow, mostly ill-informed, adequately indifferent and courageous in occasional spurts. the government we have, the movement that is on, the country we live in, the pot holes we stuble into, the girls we kill in wombs, the jobs we get and the salaries we don't, the climate change, the floods, the droughts, the loans, the scams, the double digit growth coupled with double digit inflation, the families, the illnesses, the stress, the security and the lack of it - all of it - isn't all this a reflection and outcome of what we have been for the last 64 years? what next?

Subh-e-aazaadii
ye daaG daaG ujaalaa, ye shab_gaziidaa sahar
Faiz Ahmed Faiz
ye daaG daaG ujaalaa, ye shab_gaziidaa sahar
wo intazaar thaa jis kaa, ye wo sahar to nahii.n
ye wo sahar to nahii.n jis kii aarazuu lekar
chale the yaar ki mil jaayegii kahii.n na kahii.n
falak ke dasht me.n taro.n kii aaKharii ma.nzil
kahii.n to hogaa shab-e-sust mauj kaa saahil
kahii.n to jaa ke rukegaa safinaa-e-Gam-e-dil
jawaa.N lahuu kii pur-asaraar shaaharaaho.n se
chale jo yaar to daaman pe kitane haath pa.De
dayaar-e-husn kii be-sabr Khwaab-gaaho.n se
pukaratii rahii.n baahe.n, badan bulaate rahe
bahut aziiz thii lekin ruKh-e-sahar kii lagan
bahut qarii.n thaa hasiinaan-e-nuur kaa daaman
subuk subuk thii tamannaa, dabii dabii thii thakan

sunaa hai ho bhii chukaa hai firaq-e-zulmat-e-nuur
sunaa hai ho bhii chukaa hai wisaal-e-ma.nzil-o-gaam
badal chukaa hai bahut ahl-e-dard kaa dastuur
nishaat-e-wasl halaal-o-azaab-e-hijr-e-haraam
jigar kii aag, nazar kii uma.ng, dil kii jalan
kisii pe chaaraa-e-hijraa.N kaa kuchh asar hii nahii.n
kahaa.N se aaii nigaar-e-sabaa, kidhar ko gaii
abhii chiraaG-e-sar-e-rah ko kuchh Khabar hii nahii.n
abhii garaani-e-shab me.n kamii nahii.n aaii
najaat-e-diida-o-dil kii gha.Dii nahii.n aaii
chale chalo ki wo ma.nzil abhii nahii.n aaii
August 1947

bol ki jaa.N ab tak terii hai

hundreds of journalists in mumbai will have several anecdotes to narrate about j dey. the point of this post is not to add to that.

j dey was killed on saturday afternoon by unknown assailants who pumped bullets in his body at close range. journalists gathered at his house, for the funeral and for the protest march. i am not sure if there was agreement on what we demanded but we asked for independent enquiry (by cbi?) and special law for protection of journalists.

i agree that investigation in dey's murder has to be prompt and honest. i wonder if that is really possible - since he was supposedly exploring political-police-mafia nexus in many of his stories.

apparently some officers tried to put a doubt that dey was on the wrong side of a deal, or was working on something not exactly bonafide. that's not on. whatever editorial and personal differences anyone might have had with him, it's just not acceptable that someone can now use this to explain (and justify?) the murder. if this is how people think, how will they implement a law to protect journalists who sniff and snoop around for hours to get one nugget of a story?

also what exactly will a special law do to protect journalists? and how will it determine who is a bonafide journalist in need of protection? if someone attacks and threatens a journalist as opposed to a civilian, should there be more stringent action? we need to think.

journalists who are working on special investigations are extremely secretive, even with their families, they would not want a cop to shadow or safeguard them while they are with sources. and the others don't need any protection for doing their daily job, including covering press confenrences and other controversial but not-so-dangerous(to anybody - us, government, people etc etc) issues.

what strikes me is the confidence of the conspiracy and execution. someone around us thinks that he/she/they can get away after killing a senior journalist of the city. if lawyer shahid azmi's murder is any indication, what we will get - at the most - is arrest of a few shooters/contract killers and some links to some gangs.

that is not enough. but then we have been made to accept this time and again. and some where most journalists have stopped doggedly following, campaigning, not relenting. readers also forget. politicians move on to other things before you can say move on.

on saturday i felt that perhaps noone would have the sources to investigate this murder thoroughly and have the courage to take this to its logical end (which means getting the master mind, but then when have we ever got the mastermind, let alone punish them?) through reporting, following up and putting pressure on the system through all media.

i dont know what will happen to this case. but may be it will shake us enough and remind us of our duties as members of fourth estate. naive, activist-ish and idealistic as it may sound, we (like someother professions, teachers, doctors, public servants, politicians, lawyers?) have to take our jobs as important social responsibilities. impartial dessimination of information. getting to the bottom of a story. having all versions and angles. understanding past factors of a case and future implications on the poorest and the vulnerable.

may be his killing reminds us that we cannot let this happen to our society, our city, our country. even if we cannot be investigative journalists, we can be honest, hard working and conscientious citizens who do their duties, which includes asking questions, voting, avoiding any short cuts and not getting used to crap.

dey may have been slightly uncomfortable with all the display of emotion and anger - no matter how genuine and heartfelt - at this cold-blooded, brazen murder. he perhaps would have liked a cracker of an investigation.

Hum Dekhenge
- Faiz Ahmed Faiz

Hum dekhenge
Lazim hai ke hum bhi dekhenge
Woh din ke jis ka waada hai
Jo loh-e-azl pe likha hai
Hum dekhenge

Jab zulm-o-sitam ke koh-e-garaan
Rui ki tarah ud jayenge
Hum mehkumoon ke paun tale
Yeh dharti dhad dhad dhadkagi
Aur ehl-e-hukum ke sar upar
Jab bijli kad kad kadkegi
Hum dekhenge

Jab arz-e-khuda ke Kabe se
Sab but uthwaye jayenge
Hum ahl-e-safa mardood-e-haram
Masnad pe bithaye jayenge
Sab taaj uchale jayenge
Sab takht giraye jayenge

Bas naam rahega Allah ka
Jo ghayab bhi hai hazir bhi
Jo nazir bhi hai manzar bhi
Uthega analhaq ka naara
Jo main bhi hoon aur tum bhi ho
Aur raaj karegi khalq-e-khuda
Jo main bhi hoon aur tum bhi ho

Hum dekhenge
Lazim hai ke hum bhi dekhenge
Hum dekhenge

har baat yahaa.N baat ba.Dhaane ke liye hai

since the festival which celebrates "talking" and "kite flying" (hmmm, wonder if the wise old men saw any connection there!) is here, let's talk about talking.

conversation, life talks, faltu gappa, chakatya, communication, discussions, bragging, name dropping, debates, arguments, confiding, sharing, fighting, telling, informing - so many shades of the same essential act. * am not going to talk about public speech like parliament et al. it's only about us in our little spheres.

then there is element, rather important, of who we are talking to - family, friends among family members, friends, family among friends, colleagues (seniors/juniors), acquaintaces, known strangers and absolute strangers.

and then comes how we do this - face to face, telephone, mobiles, letters, msgs, mails, tweets, so on...

where we engage? in train, taxis, homes, lying in bed, over girls' pyjama parties with lotsa chips, over a perfect drink, by the sea, under one umbrella with your best friend wading through water, over cutting chai, over strong brewed house coffee, which watching a scary, boring, masala movie,.

i have had some great conversations with strangers, on the train, buses, drunken parties - sometimes personal, sometimes poetic... lovely. sometimes i have lost the courage, conviction and confidence in carrying on conversations with some close friends over a period of time, sometimes i have gained it rather slowly. sometimes i share most personal stuff with strangers and keep most important thoughts from my closest friends. girl pals - take a bow, you have been a godsend at all times in life!

sometimes it is only about the beauty of the language, the sound of those words - sometimes it is about the thought (or point!) and not how it is said. sometimes hard facts - jobs, deaths, marriages, birth, death, travel itinery - each one resulting in numerous conversations at all levels with all possible people mentioned above!

it's increasingly becoming hard to be spontaneous, volatile, straightforward, emotional, upfront, frank, silly, stupid... as we grow older we acquire skills (how to say no when you want to say yes or some such gibberish!) - perhaps at the cost natural instinct (to avoid conflict, to not to sound naive and hence silly, to not to sound inexperienced and immature)?

is it really worth it? people are far more evocative on facebook and far less engaging in real - is it true? or am i missing out on keeping with the times? is this how it will be? can we talk about it? over a cup of coffee and til gul and in real?

am a gullible customer and i quote from an old mobile phone ad - today is the day for "JUST TALK" (remember orange ad before it went on to become hutch, vodafone blah blah). til gul ghya aani gode gode bola - take til ka laddoo and say sweet sweet things. Happy Makar Sakranti! (though one can limit kite flying to actual kite flying and not do it while conversing?)

har baat yahaa.N baat ba.Dhaane ke liye hai

har baat yahaa.N baat ba.Dhaane ke liye hai
ye umr jo dhokaa hai to khaane ke liye hai

ye daaman-e-hasarat hai vahii Khvaab-e-gurezaa.N
jo apane liye hai na zamaane ke liye hai

[gurezaa.N = fleeing]

utare hue chehare me.n shikaayat hai kisii kii
ruuThii hu_ii rangat hai manaane ke liye hai

Gaafil terii aa.Nkho.n kaa muqaddar hai andheraa
ye farsh to raaho.n me.n bichhaane ke liye hai

[Gaafil = careless/unaware]

ghabaraa na sitam se na karam se na adaa se
har mo.D yahaa.N raah dikhaane ke liye hai