Today, our roads and streets are in protest. It must be called a great sign of good fortune that real awareness has truly arisen among our nation! Rais Chhatan Khan and Rais Motan Khan—both the heavy-handed feudal lords of the village and the town—are leading a “Price Hike March” with immense enthusiasm. The granaries of both these lords remain overflowing, and to this day, power has been handed to them like a domestic housemaid. Yet, despite this, look at all the commotion and the crowds—and the public is participating as an equal partner in it too!
They say that in olden times, folktales and stories were told during nighttime village gatherings. A storyteller recounted the legendary tale of Umar Marvi all night long. As dawn broke, a man who had sat through the entire night shouted out, “Tell me, was Umar a woman or a man?” To this day, we haven’t been able to figure out what the purpose of all this struggle and fuss actually is. We remain under the delusion that rivers of milk and honey will soon flow, but who is going to make that happen? The young and old, the managers, the field clerks, and both the feudal lords are all dancing together. The clubs and sticks are also in their hands!
Now they gather their courage to direct this public—a public so oblivious that whether it is a funeral or a wedding, they cannot tell if joy is taking place or sorrow. Doso (the average guy) just needs to hear the beat of a drum to join in! What fine times have arrived! Janu Khan himself sets the dog upon someone, and then turns around to tell Khabhar Khan, “Stop the dog!” Now, who dares say “shoo” to the chief’s camel? If the big master eats a lot, they say, “The food was cooked so well, that’s why he’s eating.” But if a poor man eats a lot, they say, “Look at him, he’s dying of hunger.” Now, the poor man must endure either the abuses born of the rich man’s satiety or the kicks born of his own hunger.
Again, whether Khadim the fanatic gives fodder to the cattle or not, he gets beaten either way. A melon gets cut from both sides—whether the knife falls on the melon or the melon falls on the knife, it suffers the slice. If you step out at the call of the Senior Rais, you are trapped; if you disobey the Junior Rais, you are put in stocks. Now, let someone offer advice on what to do! To whom should we give credit—Greetings to the one who gathered all these “lovers” on the roads and streets today! Their faces and features are different, but we keep hearing the exact same slogans. How much loss and how much gain there is, no one knows. The only real concern is this: if we can just get a meal at mealtime, that would still be good enough.
Syed Ghulam Hyder Shah Qalandri
Kunri, SIndh, Pakistan
