Neither for you nor for me

Neither for you,
nor for me.

Neither for the Soldier,
nor for the Farmer.

Neither for Country,
Neither for Mother Earth.

Neither for rooting out evil,
Nor for ushering in good days.

It is all a plea,
To fool you and me.

---

ना आपका, 
ना हमारा । 

ना जवानों का, 
ना किसानों का ।

ना देश कि, 
ना धरती कि ।

ना बुराइ रोकने, 
ना अच्छाइ बढ़ाने ।

ये तो है बाहाने, 
हमे अंगूठाछाप जो बनाने ।

---
ନା ଆପଣଙ୍କର, 
ନା ମୋର । 

ନା ସୈନ୍ୟଙ୍କର, 
ନା ଚାଷୀଙ୍କର ।

ନା ଦେଶର, 
ନା ଧରିତ୍ରୀର ।

ନା ଦୂଷ୍କର୍ମ କମିବା ପାଇଁ, 
ନା ଭଲ ଦିନ ଆସିବା ପାଇଁ ।

ଇଏ ସବୁ ବାହାନା, 
ଆମକୁ ଭୂତ୍ତେଇବାର ଯୋଜନା ।

This is a republic day thought. A trilingual post (in English, Hindi and Odia). It may sound pessimistic, but do read between the lines for ushering in some optimism. While I started writing, I had Aadhaar in mind (note the last sentence in the Hindi post). But, then ...  For some Aadhaar related blogs of mine, see.

Nir-Aadhaar

Right to Privacy, Aadhaar and Democracy (also re-posted at LSE blog)

Creative Identification

Aadhaar Interim Order Calls for Some Clarification

If a Lie is told Three Times

Aadhaar, Radiagate and Cablegate 

[The views expressed are that of the author and not that of the institutions/organisations that the author is associated with. Comments are welcome.]

Creative Identification

1. Creative Identification

For progress to happen, 

Schumpeter tells us 

the need for creative destruction. 

For democracy to deepen, 

Martin Luther King tells us 

the need for creative tension.

For targeting to go on, 

UIDAI tells us 

the need for creative identification.

2. From fingerprints to shit hole

First, our fingerprints, 

and our iris. 

Now, there is a clamour, 

for our face. 

It is not far when they will 

trace our footprints. 

And then they will 

map our moles. 

Including those,

deep inside our shit hole.

Earlier versions of these are available as my facebook post here and in my twitter here and here. 

Earlier blog posts on Aadhaar

Nir-Aadhaar

Right to Privacy, Aadhaar and Democracy (also re-posted at LSE blog)

Aadhaar Interim Order Calls for Some Clarification

If a Lie is told Three Times

Aadhaar, Radiagate and Cablegate 

[The views expressed are that of the author and not that of the institutions/organisations that the author is associated with. Comments are welcome.]

The search for the unknown

The search for the unknown

The search for the unknown, 

Has baffled one and all.

The path of science has been reason,

The faithful invoking spiritual call.

Some look hither and thither,

To fathom a piece of that infinity.

Making sense of that unending wonder,

That leads them to that singularity.

Others dwell deep within,

Meeting thyself becomes profound.

Unravelling from that bottomless bin,

An act where prose and poetry abound.

One knows not from where,

That intuition comes to facilitate reason.

Or, how logic seems to be there,

To justify the act of a spiritual person.

The mere mortal is confused,

Thy understanding needs review.

So that knowledge is not misused,

And, search for the unknown continue(s).

(The motivation for this comes from many things, but I would like to highlight three of them. The first being my reading of "The Man Who Knew Infinity: A Life of the Genius Ramanujan" by Robert Kanigel, which is a gift sent by a mentee-cum-colleague, Durgesh Pathak. I immensely enjoyed reading the book and it was a pleasant surprise. The second is a poem I read in a closed facebook group "Adda e-cafe". The poem was written by Vinita Agrawal where the last line read "how much of me I still need to meet." The third is the increasing incidences of misuses or abuses of both science and religion.)

A stroll from troll

The world is increasingly becoming virtual,

With friends having full freedom to stroll,

Even when one restricts posts on ones wall,

There is always the danger of a troll.

A real-life banter can also end up in brawl,

Breaking a bone or two can be for real,

It is no consolation for the Internet scrawl,

When your friendly foe holds you on trial.

Their slander campaign will make you boil,

Slowly and steadily it could drain your fuel,

Engage with utmost care to avoid turmoil,

Conserve for larger issues that need your gruel.

If a troll is still making life a hell-hole,

A stroll will keep you away from that troll.

Also listen to: A stroll in an exotic place.

[PS: Edited on 27 Sept 2014 where I replaced the last two lines. The earlier version was: 'If a troll is still taking your toll,/A stroll will take you on a roll.'] 

A tall order there for pluralism to resurface

In this moment of all round euphoria,
Hope lies in a honey-toned world-view,
A time for mass jingoistic hysteria,
All your aspirations are going to be true.

Do not question the carefully camouflaged,
Be pragmatic and erase the unpleasant past,
Or else you will be sorrowfully glued,

Missing the development that will come fast.

The other is dissent creating discordant,
An act that lacks sense or substance,
Trash it as an incoherent cynical rant,
Preach them vows of patience for penance.

Logic is given the go by, reason has no space,
A tall order there for pluralism to resurface.

(This poem or poetry is written in the form of a sonnet. It is a reflection following the counter-reactions to concerns raised following the results of the 2014 elections in India while its implication is general and goes beyond the elections. The poem espouses plural concerns and in that sense is philosophical and perhaps both Bayesian and Rawlsian.) 

Cooking is an Art

Cooking is an art,
That can destress.
When done wth caress,
You are no less a poet.

Poetry is an expression,
That is beyond wilderness.
Words woven with finess,
Like a chef's mission.

(Cooking can be replaced with any other activity and an appropriate change can be made for chef. The inspiration for this comes from Sahid Akhtar's 'Chand Shabdon se Nehin Banti Kabita', a Hindi poem. I also consider this as an ode to womanhood and motherhood whose work in the kitchen is no less than a poet.)