Posts

The red in my veins

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Iss mitti ke banne hai hum, issi mitti ki hui humari raakh, Keemat hai hum logo ki? Marte jo hai Roz hazaro laakh, Nahi dekhna aiina, nahi dekhna kadd, kya karungi mein unn cheezo ka? Khoon bahao hazaro boond, ashru an-ginat, phir bhi sote hai woh chain ki neend Roz raat. I'm tired, lord, I'm so tired. My hands red from pulling every rope I could to stop them, my feet sore from running towards every refuge. Bury me in the land that I birthed in, in the arms of the mother that fed me, on the lap of the father that taught me how to walk. Why must you break my home for the sins of man? Mother has been hurt for years, centuries even, and you stood and watched, oh father, why must we follow your accord now? It will leave us with nothing to cherish, more so, no tears to cry. Why must you starve your children for the mistakes of man? This land they see, this land they think they rule, is alive, I can feel her, I can feel mother breathe. Every stone, every leaf, every gust ...

It's Medu not Mendu

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Well this is not a roz ki baat but sometimes, just sometimes I feel like looking into the ignorant eyes of my friends and whispering, “ My name is Shetty, and I am not a madrasi.”  Like many second generation Maharashtra citizens, even my grandparents moved from Mangalore to Mumbai. Unfortunately, they were too employed to see the alienating remarks casually being thrown around. I saw it, more so, I felt it. When I say “I was born and brought up in Mumbai !”, to many that may just remind them of all those ‘oh, how can I not love this city’ reels they see on their fyp; Borivali, I'm breaking a bubble here, is not remotely close to the bandra-churchgate-Marine drive glamour. The real problem is not people, it is the PEOPLE.                               _____________ As a tuluva(yes, shettys (bunts) are tuluvas not kannadigas), the last time I spoke flawless tulu was when I was 4. What happened after that...