Surviving many a slaughter

They tried bullets. He lived.
They tried propaganda. He lived.
They tried Photoshop. He lived.

Then they embraced him. Before that they shrank him.
Taking only the skeleton. Leaving out the flesh and blood.
Taking only the symbols. Leaving out the systems.
Taking only the rhetoric. Leaving out the spirit.
Taking only the broom. Trampling on the Bhangi.
Taking only the saint. Strangling the rebel, the visionary.
Will Gandhi survive?
He should. If we must.

Tomato soup for the soul

(A repost from my Facebook)

Last Friday, Mahirl gave each of us a bowl with a spoon and a spoonful of tomato soup. All of us are used to getting from her, empty bowls, feigning to see whatever she says is there. So, some real soup did surprise me.

Later, heard from mom that Mahirl herself crushed a couple of tomatoes, added some jeera, pepper, corn flour and salt, climbed a chair, and, with her small arms, stirred the soup on a stove. It was truly tasty.

All this, to celebrate Malala’s Nobel prize win.

Mahirl, as Malala, in a fancy dress show, when she was going to school last year.

Also read:

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan and Malala Yousafzai

Malala, Ghaffar Khan and a little boy in Thiruvananthapuram