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Composer:
Ed Hooke

Date of
Composition:
December 2012 - February 2013

Date of
Recording:
  2013

If thug rapists do not kill
police and politicians surely will.
Smug power games play out in Delhi's chill.

Bribes and brute complacency are the law
with problems flown out to Singapore.
Will Sita's daughters' cries be heard no more?

Smoke, garlands, wood bead necklace.
The flames flicker tickling your face.
Truth from untruth.  Darkness to a brighter place.

Shall fatalism greet your cruel fate?
Our feet turn towards India Gate.
The eyes of the outside world watch and wait.

Contempt for the bus stops'
vain offers of salvation.
Two ten rupees tickets
to torture and to hell.

Get off me,  you evil bastards!

Deviant departure,
despicable destination.

Drawn out cruelty.
What will you describe?
How will you explain
just what you did
to your sister and brother?
It makes grown men retch
and you went on & on & on
for more than an hour.
You scum!  I hate you!

Done, you dump them naked
and try to crush them where they fell.
 

"Tum nahin rahe, iska gam hai.
 Par fir bhi ladte jayenge"

Prior to sunrise rise.
Wash dress cook eat go.
Race the human race
- no-one that you know.
Need no navigation.
Routine routes on autopilot.
Who can see round corners
and see if life's about to change?
There's the film* tonight.
It should be a good show.

Six lads going out, you know,
just to have a little fun.
Let's take the bus and we shall
see what can be done.
Haha pick up a passenger
and haha rob him with ease.
Maybe if we look around
we can find an Eve to tease.

Making their way home
a young couple discuss
the film* they've seen;
trapped with wild animals,
shipped helpless
- glad it's not us!

Two different tales are told.
What does each one of these
stories mean?
Shaking their heads they smile
as they climb aboard the bus.

What sort of girl is out with a boy
when they're not  married yet?
It's our duty to teach her a lesson
that she will not forget.

Contempt for the bus stops' vain offers of salvation.

Two ten rupees tickets to torture and to hell.

Get off me, you evil bastards!

Deviant departure, despicable destination.

Drawn out cruelty. What will you describe?

How will you explain just what you did to your sister and brother?

It makes grown men retch and you went on and on and on

for more than an hour.

You scum!  I hate you!

Done, you dump them naked and try to crush them where they fell.

Commentary
"Towards India Gate" is dedicated, with respect, to the victims of the terrible events which took place in Delhi in December 2012, to the many victims of similar events in India over the years and moreover to all of those who are campaigning as part of the Black Dot protest, and beyond, for meaningful improvements in attitudes towards women and the treatment of women in India. 

FIVE YEARS ON…..(1)                                        * The film was "The Life of Pi"
FIVE YEARS ON…..(2)