Caught in Between

I know

That my troubles are nothing

Next to your traumas

And the world’s worries.

But to each, his own.

But how can I forget...!

   A poem on Gujarat genocide

The dead are never at rest, especially at night            
Sometimes, I hear him moving upstairs
bolting doors, moving furniture
against the doors to make a barricade
I cannot sleep
Other days there is a heavy silence
Orange silence with only a crackling sound
and an acrid smell
Suddenly he cries out aloud

Run Amina Run! 

I tell him that the crowds have gone
years ago
I no longer hurt
and he is dead
but he keeps screaming
They are coming !

Run Amina Run !

Written by Ashok Gupta in the memory of 2000 men women and children killed in the state led genocide of Gujarat in 2002 and 200,000 who lost their homes and dignity.

For more, see luthfispace

on two feet and Wings

Have you ever been on your own in a strange land where you don’t even speak the language? How would you feel if you had to make a living amongst strangers when you don’t know whom to trust? What will you do if you witness bloodied corpses and experience violence when you are barely ten? On two feet and wings is the tale of a small boy trying to find a place in this big world. Published by Hachette India, it is the story of Abbas Kazerooni as narrated by him.

 

Abbas is the descendant of the once rich and aristocratic family of Kazerooni. However, he does not get to experience any of the splendour as he was born after the revolution when Iran is under the control of Ayatollahs. He is a normal child, playing football, riding bikes and boasting with his friends in his spare time. He never dreamt that he would be sent to an alien land all alone though it is for his own sake- his parents are frightened that he would be recruited for the Iran-Iraq war to avenge the family’s connection with the Shah regime. Abbas is forced to flee Tehran. He is to go to Istanbul and try for a British visa so that he can stay with his cousin Mehdi in England and continue his studies. Istanbul does not seem to Abbas to be very welcoming the night he arrives but fortunately for him, he finds a good taxi driver who takes pity on him and helps him find a decent hotel that charges a reasonable rate. Abbas then befriends the hotel owner, Mourat and does all kinds of odd jobs to make his ends meet. His grown-up talks and enthusiasm to make money earns him the nickname “Little Man” and all the guests at Mourat’s run-down hotel adore him. But it is not easy for the nine year old boy to live on his own in a strange land- he spends nights crying for his Maman and Baba, he eats only once a day to save enough to last his stay in Istanbul, he is afraid of being taken advantage of, he almost gets killed for money… On two feet and wings is a remarkable tale of a little boy’s survival, told with all its innocence. And what makes it even more remarkable is the fact that it is true.

Pages: 233

Price: Rs. 250

Drawbacks: two or three (minor) printing mistakes- nothing that the reader cannot make out, but the editor could have been more careful.