01-11-2020 The Asian Independent

8 01-11-2020 to 15-11-2020 ASIA
www.theasianindependent.co.uk
Give A Dalit Man A Pair Of Scissors, And
He’ll Show You What FREEDOM Is
In the 13 years that we’ve lived in our house, our neighbours have remained just neighbours,
nothing more, nothing less. For companionship, my Appa has his pigeons, hawks and crows.
When we first moved to
Basavanagudi in Bengaluru, a relative
told Appa he should chop the top half
of the Tabebuia tree growing in front
of our house. He said that a tree growing
taller than your house was bad
luck, that it would stunt your prosperity.
Of course, that same person also
told Appa not to let daughters sleep
under vaulted ceilings because it made
them ambitious and they would never
get married.
Appa studied the ceiling and the
tree with caution. Amma made a fuss,
not on behalf of my ambitions but
because she had put her life on hold to
build this house. The vaulted ceiling
was her final touch. I have now spent
13 years under it and for 13 years no
matter where I was in life and how
many ambitions I had and how often
they cut me, the Tabebuia tree dropped
pink flowers every February.
During the pandemic, I took to
spending hours on the terrace under
the shade of the Tabebuia tree, reading,
watering plants, and listening to
short stories by women. Over Jamaica
Kincaid’s words (Figures in the
Distance) in Chimamanda Ngozi
Adichie’s voice one evening, I discovered
rows of sugary dust left behind by
ants on a pear leaf. I scraped some out,
surprised when they made my fingers
sticky. Kincaid’s narrator was saying
that as a child, she was convinced that
only people she didn’t know died.
I think back to the time my grandfather
died; how his body had grown
smaller in death and was being bathed
under the Tabebuia tree even as
Brahmin neighbours retreated into
their homes, repulsed by the sight of
bare-chested, thread-less Dalit men
walking around. I think back more
recently to the time my oldest uncle
died, looking just as his father had, his
small body cradled by the man bathing
him.
I was brought back to the story
when Adichie whispered “We were
afraid of the dead because we never
could tell when they might show up
again,” her dipping voice both covering
and revealing the child narrator’s
goosebumps. I tightened my grip on
the water pipe to manage the urge
to highlight that line, as if I was
reading it off a Kindle or a
mobile screen, copying those
lines to later paste and post
on Twitter, an invitation for
others to read, for me to
remember weeks or months
later while senselessly
scrolling down to see if
there’s anything I’ve said in
excess, anything that must
be uncurated.
To Fall In Love (With
Yourself), You Need A Plunger,
Not Plumber
There are 60 potted plants on the
terrace, although Appa says 58
because two are succulents and he
doesn’t think of them as real plants. I
stopped arguing with him after he
began using them as weights for a
plate of bird grain. Two weeks into the
lockdown, Appa began coming up to
the terrace only to feed the birds. For a
while, he used to stop at the plants,
considering them, cursing them when
they weren’t growing, and then ignoring
them entirely when he discovered
birds because they showed him that
they remembered him.
At home, there were varying opinions
about how often plants must be
watered. Appa said weekly, my sister
said once in three days. I saw logic in
both but selfishly continued watering
them every day because in the 30 minutes
that it took to water the plants, I
could listen to stories without interruption;
even I couldn’t interrupt
myself. And what is a short story if not
an interruption, a sudden,
smalli
s h
hole to
free-fall
into? My hands were tied, so were my
ears. All I could do was shut up, water
the plants, and listen to the story.
Two weeks into the lockdown,
Appa began coming up to the terrace
only to feed the birds.
One morning, Appa played a
YouTube tutorial video for the confused
koel sitting on the Tabebuia tree.
He was teaching it how to sing, not
croak. “Listen to how the birds do it
here, you are not doing it properly,” he
was instructing it. We told him not to
birdsplain but neither the koel nor he
was interested in our opinion. Amma
left him alone and took to watching
the parrots that came in clouds, sat a
while, and then fluttered away, early in
the mornings. “I saw 50 parrots
today,” she told anyone who called her
on the phone.
Every year during Hiriyar Habba,
we remember our dead elders. There’s
mutton, egg, and chicken on a plantain
leaf, a bundle of beedis sticking out of
a small glass, and bottles of cheap
whiskey, all arranged neatly in front of
stern, black and white pictures of Ajja
and Doddappa. The meat on the plantain
leaf is then eaten by the oldest
members of the family. This year
though, instead of eating them, Appa
stood on the terrace holding mutton
pieces, waving them at the hawks
that swooped down and grabbed
what they could. One of the hawks
lost its grip on a piece and it fell right
into our neighbours’ compound.
Appa’s eyes widened with delight,
although a familiar, muted fear crept
in between his eyebrows.
Later that day, there was outrage in
the neighbour’s house, and curses that
fell on our caste while Appa snorted
lazily and Amma glared at no one.
Three months ago, the neighbours
were flying kites and one morning I
saw blue threads hanging uselessly
from the Tabebuia tree. Some days
later, Appa rescued a pigeon struggling
to free itself from one of those
threads. Streaked with blood, it was
caught in the pigeon’s wings and
lodged deep inside the skin, making
several cuts every time it tried to get
away. Appa held the bird in his left
hand in a way that might look rudely
firm to an untrained eye, but was gentle.
I kept wondering if he’d hurt the
pigeon more in the process or if the
pigeon would turn around and bite him
but Appa was deft with the scissors,
making one quick cut after another.
When the last loop had been cut, he
freed the bird and it flew away with a
flutter, making Appa laugh.
Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd And The
Loneliness Of A Bahujan Academic
Our house and its Tabebuia tree are
flanked by houses that wear threads of
a different kind. In the 13 years that
we’ve lived here, our neighbours have
only remained neighbours, never
becoming anything more, anything
less. During the lockdown, I often see
Appa standing by the window, watching
the neighbours every time they
gather near the katte in the morning to
read newspapers, laugh, and talk. I
wonder if he ever desired that kind of
companionship but then I see him with
his pigeons and his hawks and his
crows and I have an answer.
“Our house and its Tabebuia tree
are flanked by houses that wear
threads of a different kind.”
I think back to the time when our
neighbour stopped stealing our milk
packet after she discovered its
Dalitness, and how since then, Appa
stands defiantly by the door, publicly
eavesdropping on every loud, private
quarrel between her and her son. I
think of the privacy he gives birds
when they eat. How he stands behind
the door discreetly, and watches them,
smiling like a man who has just learnt
how to fly. I am glad that the trees and
birds here are more ours than
Basavanagudi and its people. Give a
Dalit man a pair of scissors, and he’ll
show you what freedom is like no one
else can, regardless of what colour the
thread is or how long.
By Vijeta Kumar
Foods to ignore if you are suffering from arthritis
New Delhi : Arthritis is an autoimmune
disease that affects joint and
bone pain. It could be a problem or a
matter of concern, If not taken care of
at the right time. Hence it is important
to follow these few tips such as proper
sunlight exposure every day, having
food products that provide calcium
and Vitamin B12 with all micro nutritions
for e.g. olive oil, green tea, blueberries
etc and also taking all the medications
recommended by doctors.
Eating food habits should be defendant,
right from a young age when
you're a teenager in your early 20s,
advises Dr. Ashwani Maichand �
Orthopedic Surgeon , Apollo spectra
Delhi.
He says: "Arthritis is no more an
age-related disorder and does not
affect only those above 45 years.This
is basically more relevant to the
teenage generations who are not particular
about their timings of the food,
their content of the food. Osteoporosis
means a lack of calcium in bones even
in young patients. So young patients
form to get early arthritis."
He lists down a few food items
that can worsen your condition:
Refined Sugars: Sugary food can be a
risk factor for arthritis.
Chocolates,ice-cream, aerated
drinks, all sweets to be avoided
Red meat: Red meat can worsen your
problem. It is a source of inflammation
in arthritis.
Excessive salt intake: Avoid canned
soups and foods that have excessive
use of salt.
Deep-fried foods: Fried foods can be
inflammatory and excessively
worsen arthritis because it is made
of high Omega fatty acids.
Foods to be taken on the regular
basis:
• Fruits: Dried plums, pomegranate,
grapes, peaches, apples, blueberries,
seasonal fruits are always
good for the health. Everyone need
to eat fruits on regular basis this
helps to improve the overall health
• Oils: Olive oil, Fish oil are good for
bones
• Herbs: Sallaki , Aswagandha are
beneficial
• Whole grains and cereals: Wheat,
Oats, Corn, Rice, Barley
• Spices: Ginger and garlic
Calcium is basically available in milk
products, Most of them love dairy
products so one should include
milk curd on regular basis
A vegetarian can have vitamin B12
Products, some fresh fruits, and
some green vegetables for your
good muscle strength.
These foods are lower oxidative stress.
It also helps in reducing joint stiffness
and pain . The expert shares a
few tips that can help keep arthritis
at bay
• Exercise: It not only takes the stress
of the excess weight of your joint
but also strengthens muscle around
your joint. So, for strengthening
your muscles regular exercise is
important along with intake of protein.
• Add fish in your diet: Certain fish
are rich in omega-3 fatty acid.
Omega-3 has a number of health
benefits and can reduce inflammation
in your body. For e.g. �
Salmon, trout, and sardines.
• Control your weight: Your knees
should take the support of your
body. Being overweight can take a
quick toll on them. Diet and exercise
can help you bring weight into
a healthier range.