three years of poetry

the Muslim chewed quickly on his beef

worrying the doorbell might bring him grief

street children, they starved once again

as their money was spent on a bullet train

ex-servicemen pondered another hunger strike

over long fake vows over a pension hike

porn blinked out from internet browsers

and khadi chaddis grew fast into trousers

doctored videos became the rage

and history textbooks tweaked many a page

the ‘terrorist’ Afzal Guru was called a martyr

when there were found some MPs to barter

students were beaten up in open court

while the saffron flag fluttered in happy sport

the cost of pulses stayed above the roof

and the horse, Shaktiman, lost more than a hoof

of black money, there wasn’t seen a single buck

the Swiss ATMs, perhaps they all were stuck?

farmers continued to struggle for hope

and often found it at the end of a rope

the Pakis were allowed inside our airbase

they looked here, there and showed us our place

the cry of “anti-national” came to be heard

for development is a much longer word

but yes, all wasn’t grim, one must agree

there was quite a laugh over a degree

and Indians rediscovered pride from shame

on a suit that chanted one single name

and as Adani triumphed over Birla and Tata

none was happier – than Bharat Mata

thus two years came to a close

with the lotus not smelling like a rose

and then hurray, more ‘Achche Din’ came

days that made the yesteryears look tame

now, majority mob justice became the law

while convicts pleaded; their skin stripped raw

proud vigilante-murderers did it for the cow

as lynching became a milked mass love

now, school girls stepped out in the valley

clutching stones from nook, lane and alley

but the boldest, most daring achievement

was to ensure white money couldn’t be spent

big currency was demonized overnight

without a care for the common man’s plight

“it will stop corruption!”, they shouted

“and can such a masterstroke ever be doubted?”

soon irony drowned in its own shallow spit

as political funding became anonymous, without limit

meanwhile on the grand global stage

our future turned a dim new page

our best buddy, Russia grew less of a friend

while Pakistan luckily didn’t have to pretend

China just changed names in Arunachal

and in Parliament, there wasn’t a moment dull

for Article 370, there wasn’t found political will

while Aadhar was snuck inside the Money Bill

and over 70000 people were said to lose their jobs

yet Mann ki Baat never once heard their sobs

the Panama Papers, they never were read

because patriotism kept the masses well-fed

but lest I be labelled as incorrigibly left wing

the good to your notice, I must also bring

yes, there was cause for fulsome praise

as the GDP rose in unaccounted ways

but the real blessing, the undeniable true gain

Is that hopefully – only two more years remain.

ram cobain

(Pic courtesy Google)