Sunday, July 5, 2015

Optic Apologies......


friend,  (a woman),  went to see the King Kothi Women's College in Hyderabad. As she wandered around stunned by the history, architecture and the environs,  and took some keepsake photographs, she was accosted, accused of "loitering" without permission,  told that the college was no a "sight seeing"  exhibition place, but was a place of study.   And asked to leave.

In her own words, she was "thrown out".

While one could envision an alternative scenario, where a conversation with a higher degree of decency would have led to  some enlightening meetings and discussions between two academics,  it was not to be.

 Different eyes, different sights.  Some eyes see, but cannot see.  And the optic nerve apologizes. 



"How dare you climb
and litter
and poke

and click us
at the
University of Heights?"
said the mountain,
but no one stopped
or even asked permission.

"How dare you
step in without permission,
wave your hands about,
strew trash,
spout diesel,
deposit bodies,
dam me,
and click,
at the University of Flow?"
said the river,
but no one heard
or even asked permission.

"How dare you
trespass into my jungle
from behind glass windows
and jeep railings,
spying with binoculars
assortedly shooting,
sometimes with weapons,
interfere in my social set up
and family time
and click
at the University of Wildlife?"
said the Tiger,
but they RF-id-ed him
and no one listened
or even asked permission.


"How dare you
interfere with my privacy,
spy on me,
deface me,
defile me,
hurt me
molest me,
even kill me,
and shamelesly click me
at the University of Life?"
said the Woman
so they
mourned her birth,
ignored her death,
passed a law
and still no one read it.

And so she,
a mature woman
went
to a college,
respectful and quiet
admiring the
Structures of Knowledge,
History on every wall,
Geography in the gardens
and the lands,
Architecture
celebrating its parents,
and clicked,
The Kothi Women's College.

They rushed,
they ruled,
and said she loitered,
and asked her to go away.
Having sight was
not a sufficient reason to see.

Different rules
for man made edifices,
clearly.....

1 comment:

  1. So very evocative and lovely. Indeed, "having sight was not a sufficient reason to see." I remember King Lear when he said, "I stumbled when I saw."

    Glad to have read this via Bhavana.

    ReplyDelete