Little boy with a young mother in burqa,
Please look at me, I want to talk to you.
You see, I’d be older
than your grandpa—
Long ago, my eyes too had
wonder
Just like yours, but
That’s not what I
wanted to tell you.
Old men often lose
their way,
You’ll soon find out.
I wanted to tell you that
when I saw you,
A vague, overpowering
fear gripped me
As I tried to see you ten
years into the future.
Will you be in a school
that teaches you
To love every human
And hate nothing, except
Selfishness, violence,
and blind faith?
Will you be in a school
That teaches you to
question
What everyone believes
is true?
A school where you’ll
learn
That humans, whales,
and butterflies
Are all made of atoms,
In fact, particles
even tinier
That might have been
parts
Of stars and galaxies
once?
That you and I are no
different from
Moondust or the fiery
sun?
That is a brief
summary of human knowledge,
But please don’t take
my words for it.
Read, think, and find
out.
Fifteen years into the
future,
Will you be in a
college
Where fools won’t try
to teach you
About borders, barbed
wires,
And why you must build
walls?
Fifteen years down the
road,
Will you have lots of
friends,
And maybe, a
girlfriend too,
Whose religions or
kinships won’t matter
In the relationships
you make?
Will you grow up to
live
In a middleclass
mohalla where
Narayanans, Kalams,
Mukherjees, and Murmus
Live side by side? And
no college
Bars entry to your
sister
Because of what she
chooses to wear
On her head? Or maybe,
she will
Choose not to cover
her head?
Little boy with a
young mother in hijab,
A vague, overpowering
fear gripped me
When I looked into the
future
And tried to find you.
In your journey through
the years
Will you rediscover the
land
Where your grandpa and
I lived
Long, long ago?
It was
A highly flawed place
even then,
But those days, hatred
wasn’t state policy,
And nobody had to wear
An invisible yellow
badge on their chest.
Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu
15 September 2022
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