But when were we not, hain? Tell us, when were we not? About Us and about Them. Never mind who was Us and who was Them. Depends. Has always depended. Hunter and hunted. Has always depended on this equation. Who are Us? Who are Them? The hunters? Or the hunted? Which one is which? Think. It changes.

Imagine camps. Camps were how a lot of these Us and Them things were plotted and planned and put into practice. One camp against another. Us versus Them. Them versus Us. That sort of thing, get it?

But imagine no camps. How would it be? No camps? What? So what about us? Which way are we to go? What address are we to give of ourselves? What are we to say of where we belong? Which camp? No camp is a no-no situation, no? Bolo!

Who are we if we don’t belong? Who are we if we all belong? To one camp? To the same camp? So who is in the other camp? How do we know we are we? If there is no Them, how are we to be Us? What a problem. Jaayen toh jaayen kahan?!

This is a deep identity issue. Who are They? Who is Us? There must be both categories because without one the other cannot be, and if the other is not, the other too is not. Am I making sense, hain? Or am I making nonsense? There. You see. I could be doing one thing. Or I could be doing another. This camp thing. That camp thing. Them thing. This thing. That is how it has to be. Or there will be nothing.

If everything becomes the same thing, there will be nothing left. I do hope you understand.

I am not taking sides. I am talking about two sides. I am advocating two sides. I am not saying this side is better and the other side is worse. Or the other way round. I am merely saying there are — or need to be — a minimum of two sides. So that sides can size themselves up. If there is no other side what will the other-other side measure itself up against. I want sides, I am frightened of getting lost, getting drowned, in the monotony of just the one side. That one side is no side to be on, it’s a non-side. It betrays the very meaning of side. A side assumes another side, kyon?

So if you agree, we can now look at this side and that side and begin to make judgement calls on why this one and why not that one. Hai na? Two sides, if not more, divided camps.

Now let’s see.

We can, of course, see you

And tell that you aren’t few

But we, you know, we are us And about us they make fair fuss.