H.Kishie Singh is based in Chandigarh and has been a motoring correspondent for newspapers like The Statesman, New Delhi and The Tribune.His column ‘Good Motoring’, for The Tribune ran for over 27 years. He has been also been the contributing editor for magazines like Car & Bike, Auto Motor & Sport and Auto India. His latest book Good Motoring was published recently and has co-authored a book with The Dalai Lama, Ruskin Bond, Khuswant Singh and others, called The Whispering Deodars.


Saturday 12 December 2020

Tillin’ in the Field

 


   BLOWIN' IN THE WIND

How many Dharna’s must the Farmer sit in
Before you listen to this Man
How many tractors does it take
To create a Chakka Jam
The answer my friend is written in the fields

Yes ‘n’ how many times must water cannons fire
Before they are banned
How much barbed wire is required
Before they can stop the Free Man
The answer my friend is written on the roads

How many times must a Farmer look up
Before he can see some hope
How many years can a Farmer exist
Before he sells his Land
Yes ‘n’ how many years can Man exist
If there are no Farmers tillin’ the land
The answer my friend is written in the wind

How many ears must the Netas have
Before they can hear the Farmers cry
The answer from the Farmer is
Abhi nahi toh Kabhi nahi
Abhi nahi toh kabhi nahi

The above has been inspired by Bob Dylan’s song ‘Blowin’ in the wind’. The song was voted as the Best Song of All Times by the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.

It became the Anthem of the Black Movement in America. ‘Blowin in the wind’ is a refrence to the American flag, a symbol of Freedom.

In an interview Dylan was asked, how come he wrote his song in just ten minutes.

His answer, “I don’t know! It just came”!

Bob Dylan knew more about protests and civil disobedience than anyone else. All his songs were protest oriented in favour of the poor and the oppressed.

It was not possible for a protest to be held and Dylan’s songs not be sung.

He did get the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016.

Bob would be happy to know that his song reverberates at the largest protest gathering ever in the world, the Kisans in India.   

A Wise Old Man has said that most people need a Doctor, a Policeman, maybe a Lawyer sometimes in a lifetime. A Pandit or Granthi just once in a lifetime, hopefully, to get married.

A Farmer you need three times a day everyday of your life!