What to Do Before and After the Next Rape

I hung around a fetus's neck the most primitive address of this world.
Why such fury in your masculine, fierce pen?
Honorable poet, I don't accept this civilization, I don't accept this culture.
Let your pen run on safe paths—I won't go down those false roads, not even by mistake!
Ah... stop, brother! Why are you angry? Come, sit! Have some special lassi! We are who we are, after all!


Listen carefully! These things simply cannot be the work of gentle, god-fearing citizens like us in our pious country!
These are inhuman, barbaric, medieval! Aliens must have come and done this, or made others do it. The country, damn it... the universe itself is surely going to hell now!
All those innocent, pure people like flowers have been utterly trapped. Just look at this mess!
That's why all sensible people have united and taken to the streets to save the homeland. Why wouldn't they, tell me?


What you do, brother! Without understanding anything, you needlessly create trouble...
Hey mister, wait, wait! Why are you getting so worked up? Listen, listen! Take this matter and... what do they call it... otherworldly, or something? Right, right! Otherworldly it is! Yes, elevate this matter to otherworldly dimensions! You tell me, do such things happen in such a beautiful world? And that too in this heavenly sacred land!
Go ahead, just see then... how the game picks up!


The game really picked up. Facebook in uproar. Slogans echoing everywhere. We want execution, it must be given. In one post alone, thousands and thousands... I mean, likes! For one crime alone, the poor rapist hanged a thousand times—on Facebook! At this peak moment of excitement, everyone's happy!
After that... another issue. The previous issue becomes used tissue! Everyone busy with the new one.


Don't write anything. No point—none of them will read it anyway!
At the sight of a book's pages, they flee a hundred thousand leagues away!
Can't stand it? Burning with rage? Give yourself a good slap on the cheek! If nothing else happens, at least the mosquito will die! How much more can the corporation kill, tell me! Aren't you a dutiful, beautiful citizen of the country? Help out a little!
Break mirrors, tear out diary pages and throw them away. If you get nothing else, you'll get the peanut vendor's prayers. Maybe even a free afternoon romance! Who can say! Like a lungi, fortune opens up suddenly!
Drive nails into your chest and pull out your liver onto the dining table plate. Fresh liver wrapped in blood—it actually looks quite good!
Cut off all the fingers of your right hand and stuff them in your pocket! Each finger runs recklessly like gunpowder! Does this make any sense, tell me? They've gotten too big for their britches! Don't let them grow any bigger!
Now call everyone with a fearless heart, celebrate! Shout out, "So many years of independence have passed... come, let's celebrate. Here, eat cake... happy birthday to..."


I'm telling you, don't write anything! What's the point of writing?
If your hands are really restless, then handcuff them and keep your eyes on the television. See how beautiful this world is! You're going to die anyway—won't you open your eyes and look at it before then?
See all the dazzling ads for skin-whitening creams in the world! Women are getting confident by applying cream! Hour by hour, women's liberation is happening, and you won't even look once? How are you living so outdated?


Still have to write? Oh I see! That's right! So... what will writing accomplish? They don't know how to read! Those who do know don't want to read. Now?
Those who read a little might read it without understanding. Then what? Either they'll sit there bewildered, or they'll fight among themselves.
Let some more time pass. Then you'll see some of them crawling like dirty cockroaches toward the ballot box...
Just as lower creatures easily multiply, so feminist followers easily increase. Who doesn't know this! Therefore, being a feminist is best, logical, timely. If followers increase, a first-class ticket to heaven is confirmed!
Brothers, implementing feminism is our national duty! Come, let's all raise our voices, practice slogans...


It hurts, words get stuck, I feel helpless...
Not because the girls are under ten, there are other reasons.
In this society, if you protest, you're a bastard, unruly, rude... grab him, beat him, hang him!
Day by day we've learned to look like humans, but haven't become human.
We've become modern carrying that same dense, fierce darkness of the medieval age.
No light—we're all stumbling around like blind people, walking somewhere!
Will the law break now? Or will it twist? Or is the law itself getting worn down from being raped these days!


Still sitting here? Don't you have any sense of responsibility? Is your conscience under your shoe soles today?
Go to memorial meetings for those tender dead girls, shout your throat raw, take selfies, upload them! Brilliant! There'll be likes, likes!
You boys! Why are you quiet? Don't you eat rice? Scream, you sons of pigs! The country isn't progressing!
Don't get drowsy, this movement must be pushed forward—if needed, perk yourself up with some raw mango juice! Put ice chips in the juice, you'll feel better!
...Brother, would you check if my hair is in the right place! Though my camera face isn't that good, still... could you move the video camera a bit, please? Just one minute!... By the way, what time will this be broadcast on your channel?... Oh, it's live? Shit!


After this? Six of one, half dozen of another! Topsy-turvy! Turn it around and change it, brother, however you like! It's going on, let it go on! Meetings, marches, protest rallies! Storm on Facebook!
Another one died? One minute! One minute! What was the name? Nadira? Or Nadira? Short i-sound? Or long i-sound? Say it correctly, brother! You guys stop for a moment! Your sister has been raped, and you're shouting without understanding! You're all a bunch of hypocrites!
Yes, tell me!... Short? Okay done! Open the event, send cordial invitations to everyone! Write: Today's post-rape great campaign extends a noble call to all of you...
March! Vomit out every curse word you've learned since leaving your mother's womb, one by one. Dig up that criminal's entire family tree on Facebook!
"Leave all this! Now do something useful!" "Something useful? What do you mean? Oh I understand, I understand! Should we form an investigation committee? A high-powered one?"
Such is the path to solutions in this country! What could be better than this?


We've gradually learned to live far from the house of consciousness...
All anguish comes only
when we ourselves feel pain.
Sympathy or compassion—all just acting!
We march with soft candlelight,
in that arrangement, let other people cry as much as they want—what do we care?
Really no one's fault, in the irony of circumstances this is life!
The rule of living in this disrupted society—dwell in fantasy land, stay happy twelve months!


Whatever emotions we have, we quickly hide in the pocket stuck to our buttocks
avoiding people's eyes—lest they burst out laughing if they see!
To hide the truth—sometimes even from ourselves,
we put on masks of happiness; seeing everything no one sees, understanding everything no one understands,
we throw away mirrors and run—in case our eyes accidentally meet our own!


Come, let's all tie handkerchiefs over our eyes, stuff cotton in our ears and sit with the television on.
The potatoes have grown well this year! What's there to worry about? The potato farmers are happy, we're happy too!
The country is progressing, so why wouldn't it feel good to think this? What's your problem?