The Grammarian (by Christian Ward)

The logo on his bag says
Nantucket Historical Society, 2002
but his face shows no passing
of time; as if he just left a mould
and sits carrying out left-behind
instructions; circling the commas
scheduled for execution, sparing
a dash here, a parentheses there,
cleaning up the page like the way
he has organised his life. His glasses,
suit and umbrella follow subject, object,
verb. There are no adjectives
caught in his reflection. The world
is not a mosaic of memories, colour
and experiences but subjects, objects
and verbs, watching life only to correct it.


(Christian Ward is a London-based poet whose poetry can be seen in journals such as Fire, Other Poetry, Softblow and Mastodon Dentist. When not working towards a degree in English Literature and Creative Writing, he enjoys writing, films and reading)

Taken from the chapbook of Ward's poems brought out by Lily Press

Internally Displaced People

http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?264738-0

The article is about Dantewada and the fight between Government of India and tribals for the control of the forest. Dandakranya , the heart of India with huge mineral wealth is a battleground between a Govt. and the people it governs. Arundhati Roy's interesting journey across this mineral belt.

There have been similar situations in the US, Australia and other colonial settlements where the indigenous people were wiped off the face of earth. They were less aware of their rights or they didn't have enough know-how of countering the gun powder. What's happening in Dandakaranya is a fight for the rights. The debate should throw open important questions as to the rights of adivasis and in general land reforms. We are heading towards the Zamindari system where a Sharad Pawar, YSR, CBN, Devegowda, own quite a piece of the Indian land mass.

An interesting article.