Everything seems familiar to me – the hot weather, the vegetarian diet, the way Indian people treat Chinese – in this second trip to India. There is not much change, except the inflation rate. Delhi still has barely walkable roads, polluted air and noisy as well as nosy crowds. We fled the capital for Kashmir which is known for natural beauty that can never be diminished by its dangerous threats imposed on tourists. Sonamarg surprised us! We were taken in by the extremely peaceful environment there. Riding a horse through the mountains and trees was wonderful. The houseboat we lived on was also spectacular! We had enjoyed ourselves so much that we could not imagine ourselves again in the empty city.

A moment after we left the place, a shocking news was broken to us: a grenade attack was found in Gulmarg, killing two people including one Indian tourist! OMG! We were almost there! We changed our plan and went to Sonamarg upon our guide’s recommendation. We could be the victims! Anyway, you can have my word for sure: Kashmir is a place you shouldn’t miss!

Having visited a few touristic spots, we headed to our friend Marat’s NGO office in Chandigarh. This city is famous for its green and modern planning which consequently leads to higher living standard. Despite the luxurious style of the house we stationed ourselves in, the fieldsite that requires our concern is the slum denied by both Chandigarh and Punjab. The slum (we call it bustee) is somehow filthy for living because of the poor drainage system. You can find loads of rubbish and pools of dirty water easily in the slum area. However, it is not as bad as I expected.

The programme we are in is called Developing Indigenous Resources – India (www.dir-help.org) which started with health promotion campaigns three years ago. Now they have expanded to cover educational field. Marat is now like a supervisor here, overseeing both sides. Our role here is communication trainers. We have designed a three-day workshop for the Health Promoters who need to improve their presentation and communication skills so that they can get the health message across more effectively. This is not an easy job. We hope we can do well. The workshop is starting today and we look forward to it though my partners have fallen ill in this hot weather.

作詞：吳青峰　作曲：吳青峰　編曲：蘇打綠

這是一首簡單的小情歌
唱著人們心腸的曲折
我想我很快樂　當有你的溫熱
腳邊的空氣轉了

這是一首簡單的小情歌
唱著我們心頭的白鴿
我想我很適合　當一個歌頌者
青春在風中飄著

你知道　就算大雨讓整座城市顛倒
我會給你懷抱
受不了　看見你背影來到
寫下我　度秒如年難挨的離騷

就算整個世界被寂寞綁票
我也不會奔跑
逃不了　最後誰也都蒼老
寫下我　時間和琴聲交錯的城堡

關於雨，關於寫，關於離騷，關於寂寞，關於奔跑，關於蒼老。

我的手好像癱瘓了，失去掌握文字的力量。於是我把功夫交給青峰，讓他唱出來。

連日來，跟亮妹妹見面，感覺美好。時時刻刻記得她動人的眼神，瀰漫滿室的香氣，還有超甜的笑容。有天清早起床，她問我她的手香不香。我記起老土的愛情電影橋段：I want to wake up everyday having you with me. Will you marry me? 我不是沒有想像過，新生活。這一切種種，這麼近又那麼遠。我在做什麼時你又在想什麼？

無力的時候，「我該怎麼辦」這五個字，隨著電影《情書》還有歌曲《是我的海》刻進我的心坎。

香港警察真好戲

今年七一遊行，我選擇了當民間人權陣線的義工，邊遊行邊推著車義賣產品。行至接近政府總部，一位葉太因著我掛起的民陣旗幟來找我求助。她苦著臉說：我在灣仔走失了兒子，你可否替我問問你們的工作人員有沒有見過他？我奇怪，她為什麼不向警方求助，她便說：一失走就馬上要求警方幫忙，我一路不停尋找兒子，前後已跟六位警員說了，但一個小時過了仍完全沒消息；有警察甚至說：是你帶兒子來遊行的，活該。

           我行上終點，要求司令台宣佈此消息。宣佈後不出一分鐘，葉小朋友便現身台前。原來他早就行到終點來，乾等媽媽。我馬上致電葉太，通知她這好消息。誰知她一來接兒子，兩位警察便拖著一班救護人員峰湧而至，亦當然地惹來了幾位記者。葉太對於警方的假惺惺起反感，大聲說：根本沒人受傷，只是走失了小朋友；是民陣的義工助我尋回的。

           遊行就如投票一樣，是我們擁有的權利，如果在往投票的路上，一位媽媽走失了兒子，是不是有權要求警方協助呢？退一萬步想，假如遊行只是假日的行街活動，那麼我們逛街時走失了兒子，是不是理應得到協助呢？一芥草民如我，尚能以有限的資源去尋回一個人，堂堂一個香港警察集團，為什麼做不到？他們又其實怎樣理解「公民權利」這個概念的？

（本篇章已投稿明報）