Reading Tamas and its aftereffects

Listening to BB King and staring at my palm tree and talking to Mother..its nice...:)

I have been reading Tamas. It has been affecting me quite strangely. I have read newspaper reports and the like about communal riots, felt pain and distress but not like this. The book is about ordinary people, not about politicians making merry while the cities burn. I pass this road which goes past the Hiranandini Hospital and there are slums on one side of the road. I look at the kids, the people from different communities and I wonder would they fight against their neighbours.

There is this incident in Tamas - the part where I am at. This Sikh couple living for 25 years in one village, surrounded by Muslims and how the same people who would drink tea at their shop, destroyed it. They have to leave the house they have known for such a long time and move away because of communalism.

Communalism is a dirty word - has become a dirty word rather. Politicians use it, NGO's use it, upwardly mobile professionals use it. What does it mean? I was thinking I have never been a part of a riot and in my lifetime I never ever want to be. Its human being against human being because his religion comes in between. Religion is an ugly word too - bandied around too often and misused too often as well.

Work is calling now..more on this later