Tuesday, March 21, 2023

Houses of Bengaluru, a photo project

Last month, our project, Houses of Bengaluru on Instagram, was featured in an interesting article on Scroll by Kamayani Sharma. 

The article can be read here.


Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Call me Corona


In a thatch-roofed house
hidden in a faraway forest
amidst wild birds and animals
I do not live.

My home is a lot like yours
– four pillars that hold up a roof,
a family to call my own,
a bed to rest my tired head.

On my dinner plate, slow-cooked
broths of meat from animals
that belong in the wild
are not served.

My meals are similar to yours
– simmered with care,
powdered with local spices,
laid piping hot.

So when you call me Corona
Chinky, Momo, or Cheen,
Hearing these names
won’t harden my heart.

When you spit fears,
your brewing thoughts of hate,
standing upright in front of you
won’t weaken my knees.

Because I walk into nights of the waning
moon not afraid of those like you;
when rain washes cities clean,
my heart grows, my spirit renews,
and the hope for a kinder world
hums louder within me.

Note: This poem is based on the racial discrimination faced by people of Northeast India and the spike in cases of discrimination during the corona virus pandemic.

*First published in The Little Journal of Northeast India's Summer 2020 issue.

Saturday, June 20, 2020

Long After

Long after the roar of tanks cleared the air,
there was a furor in my mind of cries
that woke sleeping dogs on the pavement.
Long after the gunfire ceased,
there was the sound of women’s shuffling feet
searching for children amidst clouds of smoke.
As images flickered in my mind, I watch
my little girl play amidst wildflowers
on patches of green grass I once played on.
So I walk out in the sun and kneel by her side.
In her eyes – deep wells of hope,
I find promise in a future I was once weary of.
In the warmth of her palms, I find tenderness
and peace, and realize, I am home.

*First published in the poetry anthology, Songs of Peace, by The League of Poets.

Friday, June 15, 2018

When Owls Cry

The night Jona lost her mind,
a red moon hung above her window
and voices from the forest behind
called out to her, singing songs
of the dead.

It all started when she had gone
to Urmee’s house next door,
only to find her blood paint
her kitchen floor a whimsical red,
and Urmee lying on the ground
with a cold winter stare.

The men with the badges
had several versions of stories —
the one where Urmee waited for her
lover’s car to pull up the driveway
under starless grey skies;
or when she strolled with him
on the other side of town —
along sullied cafes and bars,
that were open for the night.
His hand wrapped around her waist
and head buried in a trilby hat.

The night Jona lost her mind,
she woke up to the sound
of a Vedette drive by,
and her husband’s side of the bed
cold and hollow, like a sleeping ghost.

Down the wooden staircase, she tiptoed
and found him sitting still by the fire,
his hand holding a Polaroid of Urmee —
her dark curls framing her moon-shaped face;
his fingers slowly moved across it
like she was really there and her eyes gazed,
deep pools of sea, watching,
never looking away.

*Recipient of the Orange Flower Award, Jury Choice, 2018

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

About Writing and Other Things - My Conversation with Bill Berry, Jr, the Founder of Aaduna

Bill Berry, Jr.:
Ms. Banikya, finally we get the opportunity to chat even if it will be brief.  I appreciate your willingness to share your thoughts with me and the readership.  So, you pursued and graduated with a major in Sociology and attained a certificate in poetry.  We will get to those achievements later.  Now, you grew up in the valleys of Assam.  I know that Brahmaputra and Barak are significant part of that area, but I have no idea of the way of life in those valleys.  What was your childhood like and how did the day to day living regime impact you as you grew up and before going off to college?

Prarthana Banikya (PB):
Thank you very much for taking time out to talk to me. I feel very privileged to be able to share my thoughts with you and Aaduna’s readers! I grew up in Guwahati, a quiet town in Assam in which most neighborhoods are scattered over hills and winding roads or in the plains, in the banks of the Brahmaputra. One of the first things that will strike you about the town is the Brahmaputra - it has a dominant presence. 

Growing up, I associated the river primarily with ferry rides that we took to visit relatives living in the north banks of the river. However, during monsoons, I remember weariness setting in because many neighborhoods used to be impacted by floods and people would use boats to commute.

Most of the families I knew had independent livelihoods that did not depend on the river. During the 1990s, Guwahati was a small town and most families knew one another or knew of someone who did. I grew up in a joint family of nine people and two dogs, cats, and a cow. 

Growing up, we had a set schedule like an hour’s nap time in the afternoons, playtime for an hour until dusk, and study hour until movie night. We had a movie night every weekday evening where the entire family watched a movie together before dinner was served. Weekends, my uncle often took my cousins and me to one of our favorite parks and sometimes, to a nearby flyover from where we used to watch and listen to trains go by. I think this kind of a specific day-to-day regime made us disciplined to do things at a certain time and in a certain way and to appreciate the little things.

BB:
Movie night!  Sounds like an American tradition.  So, what are some of the movies and how did those early childhood film impressions affect you as you grew older?  And can you share who the nine people were…are we talking about a number of siblings or an extended family? And where are you living now, and if not in the Assam, do you plan to return to that earlier way of life?  I know, too many questions.

PB:
The movies? They were mostly Bollywood movies. I must tell you that the 1990s were a time when the most clichéd lot of Bollywood movies were made. But we didn’t know that back then. Haha! And even if my family knew, they were such movie buffs that they didn’t care. The movies were mostly musicals, and typically had a similar storyline where boy meets girl and their families oppose their relationship, but the couple holds their ground and they end up happily ever after. Even though I don’t remember any specific movies, I remember the soundtracks were catchy and once they got into your head, it was difficult not to hum them. 

The nine people in my family consisted of my maternal grandparents, my uncle and aunt and their two children (who were practically like my siblings), our household help, Jonali, and my mother and I. My parents separated when I was about three years old and as a child as well as a teenager, my idea of a family was often what I’ve mentioned above.

Currently, I live in Bangalore which is known as the IT (information technology) hub of India and though I like the city and have called it home for the past ten years, life here is very different from the one I had growing up. I’ve thought a lot about going back to the older way of life, but I also know it wouldn’t be an easy choice considering living in a city has made me accustomed to its ways. It’s like I have my mind in two places! Besides, there are very few places today that resemble the way of life I had growing up. Even Guwahati is nothing like what it used to be. Where once stood our home and orchard, now stands an apartment complex with a large parking lot.

BB:
It seems that your background…family, residences as a child and then as an adult, and even family night at the movies (in America, Hollywood and not Bollywood) bear an interesting resemblance to many Americans. Have you found a profound or significant American influence on Banglore or India in general? If not, is there a prevailing foreign influence or is India and your city rooted in its own cultural mores and thinking.  Is there an Indian national sensibility, and how is that defined?

PB:
I cannot say for certain if life in the 1990s in India had a strong foreign influence. From where I came, 1990s was a time when we were fairly disconnected from foreign influence. Once I moved to a boarding school, that changed and American music and movies had a strong impact on my growing up years. Our headmaster was an agreeable British man who emphasized the significance of sports, music, and art. For us, the students, this translated into long hours of Baseball games, dramatics class, and outdoor literature lessons.

India in itself is so diverse and the differences are so deep-rooted and layered that speaking of similarities across regions and states is often very difficult. Although I do think that the limited influence of gadgets and technology during the time brought about several similarities in the way we led our lives across towns and cities of the world.

BB:
In terms of the distinctiveness of regions and states, I was wondering how polarized the political landscape is throughout your country. In the US, we have the concept of red and blue states that denotes the split between Republicans and Democrats, and as you may know, the federal government is in disarray and finding political consensus is extraordinary difficult.  How does politics play out in India and are people in your age range political in terms of activism or supporting one group over another?

PB:
India has a plethora of regional parties and a handful of national parties among which the Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress are two of the dominant parties. The political landscape in the country is extremely polarized and segmented. I’d read recently that the average age of a Member of the Parliament is typically over 50. So it’s no surprise that political ruling is usually limited to the Baby Boomers group. In the last few years, there have been several young leaders in regional positions of power, however, these are limited in number and in most of the cases, it’s primarily because of their political legacy. For most 30-year-olds in the country, interest in politics is limited to vehement conversations over dinner and that very rarely converts to political activism. 

BB:
And eventually those folks who rather discuss politics will be of age were more direct involvement in the intricacies of “politics” becomes a significant aspect of daily life.  Well, we have chatted about a good range of issues, and I appreciate that you found the time to chat with me.  Thank you for sharing your thoughts.  As our conversation comes to closure, I wondered what you would impress upon school aged children to give them a relevant sense of the world, and what skills they will need to successfully maneuver a suitable path to reach their goal (s?) 

PB:
Absolutely. I think that day isn't very far off. I think it's essential for school going children to find where their passion lies and to build foundational skills early in their life. I think that being passionate about things we love (such as art, music drama, dance, or a sport) helps give purpose and motivation to life, especially during trying times. It helps connect with ourselves and establishes our sense of identity.

As for skills, I think in the next decade(s), human skills are going to be of growing significance and in a world that's filled with people who are self-absorbed and self-obsessed, skills such as compassion, empathy, and sensitivity to those around us are what will set people apart from the crowd. And that's what the world truly needs.

*The conversation is now available for reading on Aaduna's blog.

Life in the 1990s

They say it wasn’t an easy time. From vehicles to seasons, from postal mail to relationships — everything moved much slower than they do today. Things took its time and rolled in when the time was right. I remember the 1990s as the golden years that I try to reinvent today. Even two decades later, its charm still lingers in its blue inland letters and the old radio that’s now tucked away in a corner storage room. 

The house I grew up in was located in an old part of town in northeastern India. It was a white-walled house with a slanting green tin roof, a courtyard lined with flower beds and a gate over which dangled a Bougainville tree. The main door of the house opened up to a veranda that overlooked the residential street in front. One of the morning rituals that my grandparents had was to sit in the veranda with their cup of late morning tea and read the newspaper, talk, or simply watch the world go by. During the time, roads were void of the hustle bustle that we witness today. But if one sat at the veranda for a while, they’d soon know a little more about the families in the neighborhood and be prepared to receive a wave or shout out every now and then. 

Most households in town consisted of extended families. This meant that we never came home from school or work to an empty house like we do today. For growing children, there’s something about the love and warmth of grandparents that cannot be explained in words. Their quiet presence and indulgence is something I still long for. On Sunday mornings, my grandmother often walked into my room in-between her chores and called out to me for breakfast as she drew out thick curtains. Afternoons were meant for her narrations of local folk stories until her words trailed off and we, the grandchildren, had faces carved into pillows in an hour-long siesta.

Even 20 years later, early mornings from that time are still etched in my mind. Faint voices of my mother and grandmother in the kitchen reassured me of a familiar place when I was still faraway in-between dreams. At the time, eating together was an important family ritual. We ate together like we didn’t know any other way existed. Meals were usually elaborate — nothing like the express meals we have today. And most fruits and vegetables were grown at home. In our backyard, guava, banana, jujube, and mango trees grew next to vegetable patches of potatoes, tomatoes, and carrots. For us children, the backyard at night turned into a world where green-eyed monsters and witches appeared mysteriously. On friendly dares, in pitch darkness, we’d walk in a huddle towards the vegetable patches and then dash back to the open kitchen door bursting into peals of laughter.

Our green-roofed home was more often than not teeming with people and pets. It had housed cows, dogs of all sizes, and cats of all temperaments. There were cats napping on muras, dogs at dusk chasing crows away, and cows grazing in the backyard chewing grass around the cowshed. Frogs, crickets, and long-legged spiders roamed freely in the backyard. 

Guests often arrived in hoards during the weekend. Short visits turned into extended hours of conversation and feasting for adults and numerous games of catch and chase for children. Come what may, guests never left without having a cup of tea and freshly made local delicacies. Festivals and special occasions carried an irreplaceable charm. There was a mounting anticipation and eagerness for these occasions as they drew to a close. Food menus were carefully set, shopping for groceries and other knick-knacks were done days in advance, sleeping arrangements for all guests was meticulously planned, and all corners and spaces of the house were dusted, cleaned, and reorganized. When the day arrived, the house reverberated with fevered activities, music, and mirth. 



***
These days, with the way our lifestyles have shaped up, we don’t get many visitors. The trees in the backyard have now made way for a parking lot. Where the green tin-roofed house once stood now stands a four-storied apartment building. The flower garden has been replaced by concrete floors where children from the apartment building play cricket in the evening. However, if you glance towards the main gate, a tree still stands. With its branches tangled in knots, it hunches over the gate like an old woman standing in wait like any moment now a visitor will walk in. 


 ***

First published in The Gravel Magazine in December 2017.