Azaadi
So much has happened, is happening in our country at this time. I feel like we are on the edge of a powder keg, watching the fuse burn in this horrific slo-mo slide. Some more of the same and some perhaps not.
And yet the majority, seemingly remains unaffected, wondering still ‘ye kya ho raha he bhai...’
Completely understandable. For many of us who are fortunate enough to have made it to some form of security, financial and otherwise, the sloganeering and the stone throwing is an alien and confusingly chaotic situation, unfamiliar and yes, inconvenient for the most part.
And to be honest, speaking and standing for the truth is a dangerous inconvenience these days. It paints a target on your back right, front and centre and for many, comes with a terrible price. Simply because the truth no longer exists.
It is ambushed, laid siege under countless distortions, the facts itself twisted into a million perversions that one is left with nothing but fragments in the end.
Even more so, when the hand of power rests behind those contusions, days pass by before the semblance of truth can even hope to manifest itself.
So yes, speaking truth to power is a great adage to live by, but one that can only be achieved if you are somewhere within that bracket of power yourself.
In May this year, I had written a piece on the inequality that still prevails in our society, appalled as I was at the lack of attention given to it. You can read it here: https://judithnv25.blogspot.com/2019/05/different-but-equal.html
Two months prior, as had many others, I had hoped for a different summer.
Two months prior, as had many others, I had hoped for a different summer.
But summer, as always, did not disappoint. It was hotter than usual, and surprisingly, the end result did not end with the sweet showers of the monsoon rains. Rather we wilted and sweated under the merciless sun for a few more months yet until finally the heavens opened up, long long after.
Right now it still feels like summer, simmering as we are, in the grief and uncertainty of the unknown. Seething under the glare of an unforgiving sun, we squint, blinded with sweat and tears. Thirsting for the cool breeze and soothing rains to wash away this muck and grime.
How long must we wait? How long can we wait?
Until then.
Our voices in unison rise.
#Azaadi
आज़ादी
“यह कैसी कपडे!”
से आज़ादी!
“क्या क्या खाते!”
से आज़ादी!
“ये कौन उठाएगा?”
से आज़ादी!
चमार, बेकार,
से आज़ादी!
नफरत बेशुमार
से आज़ादी!
यह ताना शाही
से आज़ादी!
हम भूल गए
यह क़ुरबानी,
यह बापूजी
की क़ुरबानी,
सिर्फ याद हमे
ये गलत फेहमी,
सिर्फ ख्याल हमे
इस पल की वहमी,
हमें चाहिए
अब, आज़ादी!
यह जाट पात
से आज़ादी!
आज़ाद देश
में आज़ादी!
वह गाँधी वाली
आज़ादी!
अब नहीं रुकेंगे!
सिर्फ, आज़ादी!
अब नहीं झुकेंगे
सिर्फ, आज़ादी!
आज, हमारा देश,
सिर्फ, आज़ादी!
एक बनकर मांगे!
यह आज़ादी!
~ Judith Vaddi
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