kriticulture

  Badri Raina Coutesy: MAINSTREAM, VOL LI, NO 12, MARCH 9, 2013 You looked the bully in the eye, And called his bluff, Till millions rose around you To say enough is enough. You spoke to them of the things That were all their own; Till they said, lead us, brother Chavez, And we will not relent till we are done. You sat in the middle of the hoi polloi And made your best decisions there; You recounted the truth of oppressions, Till every labouring one was clear How the eagle had to be stopped From marauding at will, And how a million sparrows had to rise To deny its wanton fill. More than the oil and the miracles Of well being you wrought with it, It was what you taught a continent About the ravages of a complicit History that made the trampled Sheaves of human grain stand, Forging that undefeatable clarity of mind, Which alone makes a revolutionary band. You went far too early, brother Chavez, Although your work shall leave us basking I...

 By Ashutosh Mohan Away, away Deep down south He succumbs to nature The masses forlorn. Who’ll call a devil The Devil Use wealth to comfort The evil. Let not silences mourn thee O friend unto the last A thousand hidden flowers By mossy stones In a volley of protest Pour into the Valley of unrest. Then let the truth Rise’n bloom In a collective Serenade. For, the fight live on Eternally They thought we’ve Laid you To rest.

By Navtej Bharati To millions in Venezuela their sun set earlier today. Never to rise tomorrow or the day after. I stand here with them saying final farewell. Wipe your eyes my friends. If stretched long goodbyes become painful. We have to fire up the hearth and bake bread for dinner.