Annie Zaidi's Blog, page 19
March 22, 2018
On Kedarnath Singh
It is difficult to describe the experience of finding a poet who speaks to you intimately, whose words reach inside you, drops pebbles into the lake of your mind, casually strolls through your bloodstream. I borrow the latter image from the poem “Surya” from Zameen Pak Rahi Hai(listen to the poet’s recitation), where he describes the sun as the only thing his people can trust.
Kedarnath Singh
Kedarnath Singh
March 9, 2018
Something Approaching Home
I'd been told the village I was headed
to would be twenty-five or thirty kilometers from the kasbah where my
family home was. I could take a bus, they said. Well, two buses. Or a
series of auto-rickshaws.
It didn't sound so bad. What was thirty
kilometers? I had forgotten though; thirty kilometers in metropolitan
cities is a whole different kettle of fish. Mumbai's local trains
maybe
to would be twenty-five or thirty kilometers from the kasbah where my
family home was. I could take a bus, they said. Well, two buses. Or a
series of auto-rickshaws.
It didn't sound so bad. What was thirty
kilometers? I had forgotten though; thirty kilometers in metropolitan
cities is a whole different kettle of fish. Mumbai's local trains
maybe
February 22, 2018
Gaddhe mein sadak
A few days ago, I had decided to visit my ancestral home in eastern Uttar Pradesh. As the taxi neared our destination, I was re-introduced to that sardonic phrase: Gaddhe mein sadak. It is hard to translate. The nearest phrase I can think of is ‘road-pocked hole’, an inversion of ‘pot-holed road’. It has been a while since I had encountered such a road. People often threw the phrase around in
Maulana Azad and azaadi
Today is Maulana Abul Kalam Azad's death anniversary. I knew very little about him, except that he was one of the tallest leaders of India's freedom struggle. While researching something else this year, I came upon a booklet, a convocation address delivered by JP Narayan in 1966. Here, he describes Maulana Azad as 'father of speech', and speaks of the wonders of his oratory thus:
"At this point
"At this point
February 20, 2018
No lovers of rules
If there is one trait of our citizenry
that betrays itself visibly on city roads, it is our tendency to try
and bend the rules just a little bit for very minor or even no gain
at all, and being willing to generate total chaos along the way, even
to pose great risks to our fellow citizens in the bargain.
On the major roads of most Indian
cities, there will always be that one guy who
that betrays itself visibly on city roads, it is our tendency to try
and bend the rules just a little bit for very minor or even no gain
at all, and being willing to generate total chaos along the way, even
to pose great risks to our fellow citizens in the bargain.
On the major roads of most Indian
cities, there will always be that one guy who
January 22, 2018
The street as a potato
The street is an eternal shapeshifter.
It transforms quickly, urgently, and then collapses back into its
grey, rough stillness at nightfall.
It turns into a theatre when a group of
people start performing an act. It turns into an art gallery when
people paint or draw rangoli designs around the time of festivals.
Sometimes pictures of gods are drawn and it even turns into a sacred
It transforms quickly, urgently, and then collapses back into its
grey, rough stillness at nightfall.
It turns into a theatre when a group of
people start performing an act. It turns into an art gallery when
people paint or draw rangoli designs around the time of festivals.
Sometimes pictures of gods are drawn and it even turns into a sacred
December 31, 2017
A true Badshah of the people, after all
I have just finished reading a biography of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan by Rajmohan Gandhi.
I started by wanting to share some snippets from the first chapter but as I read, I found that I wanted to share almost every page of the book. This is not possible (for copyright reasons). So I'm putting down a little that I've learnt about the man known as the 'Frontier Gandhi'.
As a schoolgirl, I
I started by wanting to share some snippets from the first chapter but as I read, I found that I wanted to share almost every page of the book. This is not possible (for copyright reasons). So I'm putting down a little that I've learnt about the man known as the 'Frontier Gandhi'.
As a schoolgirl, I
December 30, 2017
Sarcasm on a bumpy road
Journalists quoting chauffeurs, cab or
auto-rickshaw drivers has become a bit of a cliche. After the last
election, there was a fair bit of eyerolling about it and part of
agrees: it would be nice if political ideas were formed outside of a
car.
Yet, I also undersand that taxi and
auto drivers are a reasonable indicator of public sentiment as far as
governance goes. Three big
auto-rickshaw drivers has become a bit of a cliche. After the last
election, there was a fair bit of eyerolling about it and part of
agrees: it would be nice if political ideas were formed outside of a
car.
Yet, I also undersand that taxi and
auto drivers are a reasonable indicator of public sentiment as far as
governance goes. Three big
December 25, 2017
To the language of love, with love
Here's a twist on the Ship of Theseus paradox. The original paradox is this: if a ship has been restored or fixed after having all its parts replaced, is it still the same ship? Now what if a ship was taken apart, its rusty parts polished, its software updated and the whole thing re-assembled and manned by a new crew. Is it still the same ship? A decade ago, Urdu was a cultural vessel that
December 24, 2017
Riding with ladies
Last week, I was very upset with Kirron
Kher for shifting blame onto a gangrape victim, suggesting that she
shouldn't have gotten into a share auto-rickshaw when three men were
already seated inside.
The day after she made the statement, I
found myself getting into an auto-rickshaw with three male passengers
and one male driver. This is actually fairly common across small and
big cities in
Kher for shifting blame onto a gangrape victim, suggesting that she
shouldn't have gotten into a share auto-rickshaw when three men were
already seated inside.
The day after she made the statement, I
found myself getting into an auto-rickshaw with three male passengers
and one male driver. This is actually fairly common across small and
big cities in
