Born in A Dog's Country
Why is a dog’s tail always crooked?
Why was I born in a dog’s country?
I write poems about dogs and myself,
still, I’m not pelted with stones.
Perhaps, stones have better use.
to shape gods and the like.
Poem by Kunjunni
Translated from Malayam by T.R. Joy
In a 2003 Kathmandu Post article, Baburam Bhattarai said that Gandhi could have got nothing done if others hadn’t followed the path of violence and vandalism. That Gandhigiri is just a notion. What does he think today? Does he still believe that Gandhi’s ideology of truth and non-violence is inferior to Prachandapath? Be it Gandhi or Ganeshman, it doesn't make a difference to us. We have hung them both on the walls.
I wonder from where do Indian directors and writers come up with marvelous ideas like Lagey Raho Munna Bhai? Who could have ever thought of troubling Gandhi’s soul to make a guest appearance with Sanjay Dutt? Every frame here is executed with such great care that I wonder if Nepali films would ever match up to such craftsmanship?
We, Nepali youth, have a problem with dhotis. Let's face it. We just can't stand dhotis. Is Bhattarai's aversion to Gandhi a result of that? These leaders tell us that we shouldn't be grateful to our Indian counterparts for anything or everything they have done to us. When we don’t feel shame to vandalize the statue of our own father, the one who created Nepal and is long dead, I really don’t expect the mob to respect anybody else. In a country where the majority of the people belonging to the Madhesi community have been living as second-class citizens of their own country, how can I expect them to respect ‘dhotis’?
Should we denounce Gandhi? Those who don't trust their people cannot be considered brave. How fearless are those who cannot abandon their weapons? I understand Maoists' reason for not wanting to depart with all of their weapons. How could you extort, kill or ‘beg’ without guns? Who would keep quiet when you say “Quiet!” if you don’t have any guns? How can you force people to vote for your leader if the people were fearless?
Gandhi isn’t dead. How could he be dead when we actually won our battle against one autocratic kings of our time in a non-violent movement? Why Maoists’ leaders fail to realize that they are not the only and all-powerful people here? In front of the force of the entire Nepali people, their PLA is just a weaker and minor force. Then why do they doubt our very existence and our say in our politics?
Go, watch Munna Bhai. Make your Dashain worthwhile! If you don’t like the film, you can always curse me.
