Pratishtha Pandya

Author

P. Sainath

Editor

Labani Jangi

Illustration

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When the first tender-green leaf appeared on the mossy wall of her one-room home adjoining the mosque, Ameena had smiled. She did not have the heart to pluck it out. For a while now, she had stopped going out, spending most of her days in the single room, all alone. She was recovering from a miscarriage arising from something much worse that had left her shattered. Living in the shadow of the horrors, she had nowhere to go. The tiny, fresh-green, heart-shaped leaf was the only tender thing around her in those days.That it grew in the direction of qiblah – was that an insignificant fact, or a more profound sign? She was unable to decide.Within a month she had noticed the crack in the wall widening, spreading across, and the stem growing bigger – about a foot long, with a few more leaves hanging delicately from its slender branches.&nbsp;Nothing about it bothered her still. She had started feeling at peace again. The riots had stopped. And an old rhythm had returned to the streets. She had started doing paid embroidery work from home. Often, she would talk to herself while working around the house, as if someone was finally listening, bearing witness to her trials and trauma.Little did she know about the massive spread of the peepal on the other side of the wall that faced the street belonging to other people. Others with whom they had little, if any, exchange these days. She’d had no idea of when someone had placed a few sacred stones behind the wall, when the miracles took place, when people solicited &nbsp;opinions and funds to build an alternative structure around the tree. It seemed like the peepal was conspiring behind her back. There was no question of uprooting the divine manifestation. In fact, there were stories around it; why this particular tree in this particular place whose roots were the abode of lord Vishnu. Or was it Brahma? She pondered over her own ignorance as she tried to read the notice…

Glossary:Qiblah: Originally from Arabic, the word is used in Islam to indicate the direction of Mecca, or the Holy Kaaba in Masjid al-Haram, towards which Muslims turn during daily prayers. A prayer must be offered in the right direction to be valid.

Dig, dig deep, deeper still

کھودو…کھودو، اور گہرا کھودو

खोदा... खोल खोल खोदत रहा 

ஆழமாய் தோண்டுங்கள்

ਪੁੱਟੋ, ਹੋਰ ਪੁੱਟੋ, ਪੁੱਟੀ ਜਾਓ ਜਦੋਂ ਤੱਕ ਕਿ...

खोदो…मुल्क की जड़ें खोदो

ଉଖାର, ଅଧିକ ଉଖାର, ଅଧିକ ଉଖାରି ଚାଲ 

കുഴിക്ക്, കുഴിക്ക്, ഇനിയും താഴേക്ക് കുഴിക്ക്

ಅಗೆಯಿರಿ, ಆಳಕ್ಕೆ ಅಗೆಯಿರಿ, ಇನ್ನಷ್ಟು ಆಳಕ್ಕೆ

खोद… जम्हूरियत के जड़ खोद 

খোঁড় দেখি বাপ!

খান্দা খান্দা, শিপাবোৰ খান্দি পেলোৱা  

ખોદો, હજુય ઊંડે ખોદો

 Bengaluru

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Dig, dig deep, deeper still

A poet digs into questions about the roots of our humanity in the wake of a new storm gathering around the sanctity and status of our places of worship

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