Curfewed Night by Basharat Peer: A Review

Curfewed Night by Basharat Peer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A heart-wrenching saga of a people trapped between layers upon layers of bureaucracy, politics, systems, processes and the like, in the name of, for the sake of independence, religion, justice. A saga that leaves one chilled to the very bones, yet warmed to their immense faith and hope, in the face of all adversities and sheer atrocities they breathe every breath through, in the name of 'life', in the hope of 'life'.

They are all trapped--the locals, the militants, the soldiers, the paramilitaries--in processes, in being parts of processes...all of them dead, either in bodies or in souls, having to bury and cremate the individuals they had once been, as the author puts it.

Leaves me compelled to reach out to the people so like us, yet rendered so different at the hands of the strife!

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On a journey...

On a journey  to far away,
nothing to hold on to, Ah! No crutch!

Somewhere out there to perch,
beyond all reach and of touch.

View what befalls the sight,
too far to see, or say much.

On a journey  to far away,
beyond all reach and of touch.

Embark, head on to,
no step to fall in with, no hand to clutch.

Somewhere out there to perch,
too far to be seen, or to touch.

On a journey  to far away,
nothing to hold on to, Ah! No crutch!

ये घटा नहीं बरस पाएगी...

आज फिर, लगता है, ये घटा नहीं बरस पाएगी...
आज फिर ये हवा साथ इसको ले जायेगी!
रोज़ ही, कुछ दिन से यूँ घटा छाती है,
रोज़ ही मगर, बिना बरसे चली जाती है.
रोज़ ही दिल में एक उम्मीद सी होते ही जवाँ,
मन मसोस, खड़ी देखती रह जाती है.
कि जो छाती है घटा उम्मीद के निशाँ लेकर,
वो कहीं और जाकर बरस जाती है!
 

aaj phir, lagta hai, ye ghata nahin baras paayegi...
aaj phir ye havaa saath isko lejaayegi!
roz hi, kuchh din se yuun ghataa chaatii hai,
roz hii magar, binaa barse chalii jaatii hai.
roz hii dil mein ek ummiid sii hote hii javaa.n,
mann masos, khadii dekhtii rah jaatii hai.
ki jo chaatii hai ghataa ummiid ke nishaa.n lekar,
vo kahii.n aur jaakar baras jaatii hai!