Reminiscence 1

I am blessed with the sleeping habit. I have a maximum sound sleep of 5 hours (ghode bech kar type) unperturbed by door/phone bells. As many a time a curse becomes blessing in disguise, at times blessing becomes curse in disguise. but then every curse has to be eventually turned into blessing. I got up at 3.00 this morning,  great solitude. Everyone around you is asleep. Enthused by completion of rewriting a "lost-found" story (type of) first written in 1987-88, conceived the idea of another story (type of) with identification of characters. While making the first green was quite excited to use this solitude to begin to write and began to contemplate the first sentence. i thought of experiments with the story inspired by an protracted opportunity of closely  observing a character, as the protagonist in late 1980s and with rewriting of the 2 "lost-found" ones, wish to revive the experiment. (If wishes were horses).

But by the time I switched on the computer, unexpectedly 2 extremely sad memories entered the mind and absorbed it. Tears found their freedom. Weeping silently in solitude is bit relieving. As I said, eventually the curse has to be turned into blessing, by sharing sadness reduces, people say so.

 December is a sad month for the Indian history owing to Babri demolition and subsequent communalization of Indian politics. It is sad for me and many friends for additional reason -- the death of 2 close friends and pro-people poets. One died in poverty due to lack of proper healthcare and the other stressed by social media and media trials.  Adam, despite institutional ignorance had become a celebrity in his own right. Many people appealed for financial help when he was in hospital, he left without taking that. I had met Adamji for the first time in early 1970s in a poetry recitation program standing as an odd man out in his rustic attire with dhoti-gamchha. by the time he finished recital of CHAMAARON KI GALI, all the eyes were wet. I wrote  long obituaries (saved in blog) and so stop  remembering him with a bit of our last face to face intimate conversation at my place in the morning of 15th April 2011 after his facilitation and poetry recitation program at Hindu college on 14th evening to mark the Ambedkar day by Dr Ratanlal of social justice forum. I pleaded with that a creative person is only a custodian of his creativity and should not destroy the custody. He diverted the by asking me to write a booklet in verse and i had not written a verse for 31 years. After that we only conversed on phone.

 Khurshid had just discovered the strength of his pen not long ago but was writing beautiful poems and translating many great poems from other languages. He was fiercely writing against communalism, particularly against the various shades Islamic fundamentalism and also against patriarchal institutions. I knew him since 1978 or 79 when he joined JNU and could never imagine that he could indulge into any anti-woman act. The truth has gone with him. Friends, character assasination are easiest task with serious implications. I, as a senior citizen appeal to all, particularly, the adherents of Marxism that demands 'in practice,  man must prove the truth', to refrain from making judgmental statements with serious repercussions on the basis of ‘it is said or heard or rumored,. Thanking you all in advance.