( to all the folks of my hometown ~ bhopal )
' in cold blood '
i hear my voice speak to myself, is that being alive
an ordinary question that segues into the dark
i think of the cows mooing sorrowfully, a bird crying
the dogs wailing and running like mad into a blind street
it was the dead of night and the eyes of the people burnt
the wind , a farrago of rumors , shrieks split the silence
one old man wanted to run , was shackled by arthritis
an ailing wife could not stop coughing , till her lungs burst
two wheel-chairs, a daughter on one , a son on the other
their scared mom and dad , helpless , could not run , could do nothing
the MIC , methyl isocyanate,was in the air
a factory's gas chamber of death was knocking the door *
like hiroshima memories , a tree sprouts yellow leaves
unborn children , still , pay with birth-disorders , their pulse drops
carbide , with a new name , rationalizes a drop in profits
and the victims they die slowly , if that's being alive ..
/original/ z.g.
[ union carbide usa , maker of eveready cells , in the december of 1984 dropped a shroud of death on the unsuspecting citizens of bhopal - infamous as - the bhopal gas tragedy ..
web ref :
methyl isocyanate (MIC)
On December 3rd, 1984, thousands of people in Bhopal , India , were gassed to death
Remedial measures were then taken at Union Carbide's identical MIC plant in West Virginia, USA, but not in Bhopal. December 2-3, 1984: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/toxics/toxic-hotspots/bhopal-timeline- 63k -
u can click here - to reach the said page
the plant released 42 tonnes of toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas, exposing more than 500000 people to toxic gases. ./ the ecology has been hit - the disaster carries forward into f2 , f3 / the company takes a new 'avatar ' ]
[ ED - ' a factory had opened its gas chamber of death ' * / sprouts replaces grows ]
I soon realised this was about Bhopal. A terrible - no, criminal! - disaster. It is good that we remember.
ReplyDeleteMy ex-father-in-law worked for that company. He was quick to know what it wasn't the company's fault and anyway they didn't mean it. He found it so easy to dismiss the horror for which he shared responsibility.
ReplyDeleteI remember taking a college course on public relations. The PR guy for Carbide lectured. He bragged about how the company shmoozed its way back from the disaster. I asked him how he felt about lying to people on such a scale. He told me I didn't understand. Of course, it was his job to say that.
It will remain every Indian's memory.
ReplyDeletechanging orbits
Thanks for the sobering education, I didn't know about this.
ReplyDeleteSuch a difficult subject manner. I remember when this happened and being so concerned about what an American company was doing to India and how easily it was "forgiven".
ReplyDeleteThis rekindled memories. I still remember those images. Dont know why fate was so cruel to those innocent people of Bhopal
ReplyDeletetruly powerful reminder of a terrible legacy.
ReplyDeleteThis is indeed a powerful and tragic reminder of this terrible event.
ReplyDeletei didnt know about this event too and thanks for sharing this
ReplyDeleteI, too, remember this horrific event. An excellent poem.
ReplyDelete.. many thanks everyone ..
ReplyDeleteWow! What an amazing poem. I really appreciate your expanations as I did not know anything about it. Thanks for keeping the memory alive and for the awesome prompt.
ReplyDelete[patti/info]
ReplyDeleteprompt idea - ' dropped ' /prompt 65 .osi
_gautami tripathi of ' rooted ':-
http://firmlyrooted.blogspot.com/2009/05/changing-orbits.html
"it was the dead of night and the eyes of the people burnt the wind."
ReplyDeletea powerful poem. and the unborn children still pay for someone's blind greed.
Today a bloody massacre rages in Congo for coltran/cell phones. when will it ever end?
Zoya,
ReplyDeleteThank you for coming by to my blog to comment on the book review. This has brought me to yours.
These days I live in Bhopal and as life goes by, few remember the horrors of the past, the lives lost and the dirty games UC played along with the Indian Govt being on their side. It is so important therefore to keep the memory of the angst and pain alive....thank you!
Julia