a quiet, kind word
from a neighbour or father—
and if you allow yourself
to examine these memories
you will see why
it’s such a heinous crime
to jail innocent people
for political gain.
As confidant, this poeturges us to travel into our individual and social psyches to figure out the shadow world of just how justice crosses over to injustice, power becomes discriminatory, authoritarian, oppressive and truth—manipulative and obscure. A gentle voice, authentic and courageous explodes into our consciousness like the image depicted on the cover: human presence and the voice of the collective bursting like a blue, blue sunflower.
I first encountered Hamraaz in Jeet Thayil’s anthology, The Penguin Book ofIndian Poets and I’ve been wondering since how Hamraaz manages to keep their identity a secret in a country where according to Statistics Times on Google, as of 24 Jan. 2024, there are 485 people per sq. km.