LAJJA

 (a dedication to Ms. Taslima Nasreen)

Sometimes words tumble out of the heart

Like pus from a swollen wound; it is then
That the artist comes out of his closet and
Shouts at the world through his medium
With a clenched fist, bothered no longer
Whether they would stone him to death or
Crucify him for daring to speak unvarnished
Truths; it is then that motives are assigned
Arbitrarily and the moral police step in with
Pointed fingers and the secular government
Of this secular country, where freedom of
Expression is a fundamental right; panics and
Bans creativity and condemns him to undeclared
Confinement in an undisclosed place like they did
To that woman from across the borders who came
To our shores fleeing from the lunatics in her own
Nation and believing in all that bullshit about our
Fundamental rights and our freedom of expression!
JAI HIND!
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10/03/08                                            R Jayachandran