THE OCCAMY is found in the Far East and India, informs J.K. Rowling. She describes it as a “plumed, two-legged winged creature with a serpentine body”. And, its eggs have shells “made of the purest, softest silver”. Magical, eh?
I was most interested in another ability of the fictional creature—it is choranaptyxic. I think Rowling made up that word. It describes the ability to shrink or grow to fill spaces. Deep down, I think people are choranaptyxic. Give them space, and they can quite often fill it and make it magical.
Life is an odyssey through varied spaces. You and I crave space, dominate space. And, there are multiple spaces—physical, emotional, mental, financial, spiritual.... As editor, most of my decisions are about spaces as well, generally editorial and advertorial.
As a journalist, however, I feel the loss of argumentative space. I cannot, today, voice an opinion without being labelled. It seems one cannot like something partially any longer. Everything has to be in black or white. And, the road leads to a monochrome world. How dull!
While running this cover story, that has been a recurring thought in my mind. Do Maoists have a space in this this country? What is the nature of that space? Who gave them the space in the first place? Why did they have to create their free zones? There are no straight and simple answers, I know. And, to be clear, I can never agree to the concept of bearing arms against the state.
But, I wish I could know the truth about what people on the ground think. The truth beyond what the state, journalists and the Maoists say. I wish I could be a fly on a Dandakaranya wall and listen to what people say when the guns are not talking. At meal times. At dusk, when the day's work is done. In private chats between friends. That would be the truth, unfiltered. But, to do that is fanciful thinking. So, we bring you what Principal Correspondent Rabi Banerjee and Chief Photographer Salil Bera gathered during their risky journey into Naxal country. We have not added filters.
The reportage is theirs. The conclusions should be yours.
The second major package this week also has to do with violence. It is about Indians who have survived terror attacks. The strength of a man is measured not in his ability to not fall, but in his ability to rise after a fall. I hope it will be as uplifting a read for you, as it was for me.
And, while we are at the subject of space, let me draw your attention to a simple story about what Kerala Governor P. Sathasivam has done with the space around the Raj Bhavan.
A farmer by birth and at heart, the former chief justice of India has turned the space into an organic farm. Like I said, trust the right man to do the right thing with the right space.
