A Blog of One's Own

One more Keralappiravi has passed on 1st of Nov, 2008. As the govt. tirade against the Chengara struggle and the apathy of the general public to it continue in Kerala, let us remember Poykayil Appachan (1879-1939), the tireless crusader against casteism within the dominant churches and outside; he not only redefined religion but urged people to convert the dream of liberation into a reality on this earth. For Amarapuram, established under the leadership of Poykayil Appachan in 1910s, so many dalits had shed their sweat and tears and they’re not mere pieces of land, but as the name suggests the symbol of hope, an eternal city of freedom. We rejoice to reach Amarapuram Its beauty is unsurpassed Is it heaven or its peak? Is it luck or its peak! I am not the one to narrate it all! For this and translations of other songs of Poykayil Appachan by Ajay Sekher, see Unknown Subjects: Songs of Poykayil Appachan , edited by V.V Swamy and E.V Anil (Kottayam: Institute of PRDS studies, 2008)

Poem by G. Sasi (1959-2002) Soumini, You said that black is beautiful Poets have sung it Then, How did the black people get humiliated? We are not the ones who suck blood and sweat We are melting… The blazing sun and the burning earth Are not tending us Mother, There is no space for the black people To hide in your wings We are being thrown out Oh mother Kali! Your neck has been ornamented By whose heads? When you quench your anger By sucking blood On whose headless body are you standing? Soumini, Don’t say for the sake of saying That black is beautiful… Don’t sing, Black is the seed of riot in the self Mountain of turbulence Shadow of suffering The color of love (Translated from Malayalam by Sreekala Sivasankaran) G. Sasi was born in 1959 in Madhuraveli, Kottayam district of Kerala . His parents Gopalan and Kuttippennu worked as coolies and they lived in the Ayamkudi slum colony. Sasi, after completing his school education went to college but could not continue the studies. His poems

between the mountains black tuberoses blooming between day and night distance or closeness?

Huzoo-e-shah mein When, in the king’s durbar, poets compete In the garden’s durbar, sweet songs compete To heavenly women poets compare their loves But it is for gallows and rope that we fight Look! She’s here! Don’t say: “I haven’t seen”-- A test for the assembly’s patience and restraint? Let the sweet heart-piercing shaft go deeper still Is the she-archer’s skill now being put to test? The sacred thread and the rosary are both worthless For brahmin and sheikh, it is a severe test Experiment with her lock of hair’s great strength Hold on! Why restlessness? O my slave-heart! She will come, Ghalib, It’s a promise. Don’t fret! Beneath the old sky, the torturer’s new experiment! (Translation by H S Shivaprakash)

Aloke Roy (1939-2004), a pioneer in the post-independence India to use mime as a medium for theatre campaigns. He founded the Jagran theatre for the slum dwellers in Delhi. (Portrait by Samkutty Pattomkary)

Have you ever faced with the problem of your writings/posts misrepresented in internet sites? Have there been instances of unknown people quoting your name and comments added to a particular article or blog, in their own blogs without your knowledge and with changes made by them to suit their purpose? I think this is one problem that I’ve been facing for sometime now in my blog experience. What solutions are available and what actions can be taken in such instances in web forums and blogs? Share your views and experiences.