Shail Raghuvanshi talks in her weekly News in Verse column about wit violated, about Erode mannequins and South Korean babies. Do have a read.
Freedom of thought violated. Again
From vidushkas, time immemorial,
court jesters representing kingdoms,
spokespersons of the rulers’ conscience
to a more developed time
of tech-savvy citizens
garnering violence for expressing wit.
What a development!
When leaders’ value in society
is so brittle that they break at the drop
of a word, a sarcasm, a provocation
from people unknown to them,
we have really come a long way.
What a development!
When a nation’s inner moral strength
is presumed so weak that it gets offended
by a mere humorist’s symphony;
When a country’s genuine problems
of poverty, disparity, corruption, do not
topple off justice but, a joke piercing
the ego balloon of a leader does,
then, oh my!
What a developmental snag for humanity!
Is peaceful expression of free thought
shameful
or, is gross display of violent mentality
shameless?
You decide.
The ball is in your court.
Biodegradable Mannequin
Has the tumultuous waste
in town and city irked you
but you couldn’t do anything
for want of intention and action?
S.P. Mani from a hamlet in Erode
beat you to it.
Originally a paper paper maker
from textile waste, he has begun
making mannequins from them.
What makes the whole purpose
appreciable is that they are entirely
biodegradable.
From textile they come and back to earth
they go
without harming the environment
or humans.
40kg textile waste all that is needed
to make a mannequin that displays
precious jewelry and fashionable
garments.
So, the next time you see a mannequin
sporting Marks and Spencer
or a Tanishq jewelry
know that it could have Mani’s blueprint
on it!
World’s largest baby exporter draws flak
All things Korean is upmarket
be it K dramas, K pop bands,
even Korean children
with their porcelain skin,
their luscious perfect to a dime
doll like looks.
So, it was no wonder to hear
that South Korea is the world’s
largest baby exporter in the world.
Sadly, not all children were sent
for adoption the legal way.
Many had their records fabricated
for lack of parental consent,
World War repercussions and
the Korean war
leaving innumerable children,
many grown-ups now trying hard
to trace their roots forged
by government agencies
bent on shoving children
out of the country.
So, the next time you see a K drama
remember the children
who were forced to leave their
homeland.
References:
Shail Raghuvanshi is a poet, freelance journalist, copyeditor, voice actor, and artist with 30 years of experience in various media. She has worked as the Cultural Correspondent for India’s first integrated media company, PLUS Channel, and has written course material for Madurai Kamaraj University’s Post Graduate Programme in Advertising and Public Relations. She has also been a coach of Communicative English. She has published poems, short stories, and articles in leading magazines and anthologies.
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