26/11, 9/11, 7//7 – these are the dates that have changed the way see ourselves and those around us. Dates that have changed the world, and not for the better. It’s about time we had an honest conversation about religion, race, caste and the mindset that divides us.
In this collection writers from India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan – Gulzar, Elmo, Jayawardena, Manjula Padmanabh, Poile Sengupta, Kamail Aijazuddin, Bulbul Sharna and others – write about various kinds of conflicts that plague are world today.
In exclusive partnership with Flipkart, we present you to quotes from A Clear Blue Sky.
“‘…There will be moments when we feel unsettled by someone who is different from us. We just need to remember that being different is not a bad thing. It’s not something that should frighten us.’”
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“‘They are killing each other. Just yesterday we were all friends. Why this sudden madness?’”
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“His world had split into two – into ‘them’ and ‘us’. ‘They’ were anyone who believed in the teachings of Mohammed. ‘Us’ was the rest of the world.”
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“‘We cannot always know the wisdom of the Quran. It tells of jinns, of the Day of Judgement and also how to be a true Muslim. Allah will reveal all to those He wants…’”
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“‘Once he is the deity in a temple only the high-caste priests, royalty and noblemen are allowed inside. Not a low caste like me.’”
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“She taught me that I have a right to reject
What deep down in my heart I cannot accept
But first I must learn to practice the above
And to be heard by the world, I must say it with love.”
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“Kartikeyan is forgotten and like him, very soon I will be forgotten too.”
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“When he carves a goddess he can make the stone smile and when he creates the image of Nataraja, the dancing image of Lord Shiva, it is as if the stone begins to dance.”
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“‘They are ready to kill,’ the sergeant shouted at them.
‘But we are willing to die if the need be.’”
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“Life would have been different perhaps had I given him the answer he wanted. Instead I asked for time. I had wanted only a few days, to calm the seething emotions. But the gods granted me a lifetime.”
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