Air Raid

---By Yoshihara Sachiko

When people were being killed
how could the sky have been so beautiful?

I had never seen such a gorgeous sunset.
Even the clouds were going up in flames.

When I crawled out of the shelter
a fragment of the night sky hissed obliquely by my ears.
Overwhelming light flared in eight glass windows,
one color fighting against another,
all reflected sumptuously as on a screen-

the red struggling to redeem
the blue of day from the black sky,
purple looming, green dashing, orange flowing,
colors of all kinds mixing, shrieking -

was it the southern part of the city
that was bathing in golden rain
falling brightly, god knows from where?
Was it an alien world enclosed within the glass?
Was it silent, dark, heated air
that whirled about, encircling
the dumbfounded little Nero?

How could a war have been
so beautiful?

Translated by Edward Lueders and Naoshi Koriyama

The Mumbai Attacks

India has been badly hit by blasts this year।

Here is a brief list that I got from an internet site:

November 26: Mumbai terrorist attacks kill over 130, 250 + injured
October 30: Explosions kill at least 64 in north-eastern Assam
September 30: Blasts in western India kill at least seven
September 27: Bomb blasts kill one in Delhi
September 13: Five bomb blasts kill 18 in Delhi
July 26: At least 22 small bombs kill 49 in Ahmedabad
July 25: Seven bombs go off in Bangalore killing two people
May 13: Seven bomb hit markets and crowded streets in Jaipur killing 63 (ANI)

It’s about a week since the news about the attacks on Mumbai was flashed on television channels all over the world। There is so much experienced, felt, said and written about the attacks that it is almost regarded as India’s 9/11 by many।

An attack of this nature in any city is an attack on the entire country। We as citizens of India are too bogged down by the word “resilience” and “Politics”. It is high time we realize that we need a national consensus - the major national parties should at least come together on the act of terrorism. It’s the need of the hour and the citizens must demand it from the system.

For a long time now, after the Partition of India, laws have been followed from the point-of-view of Hindus and Muslims by certain groups in the country। We have not just lost many of our martyrs in the turmoil but the country has seen a lot of violence in the past one year at the cost of many, many lives. A terrorist exploits a violent society and today we feel helpless - our anger has to be taken into account. We have to express this message in a strong way.

Going forward, our security forces and intelligence require adequate equipment and training.
About ministers stepping down from their responsibilities and changes happening in the administration, this is something that was anticipated। Whether this is going to unite India, I don’t know.

Yet, it is a wake-up call for us and our leaders। We have to focus on de-politicizing terrorism।

Why should we be struck by the fear of death and insecurity in a country we call our home?
Only hope remains that we and our children will live to see a peaceful India.