Hand

Taking her hand

in mine, I thought,

the world should be 

warm and beautiful like a hand.

Shoes

The meeting over, all remained

a pair of shoes.

Two baffled melancholic in an empty hall,

without an owner,

a pair of dusty shoes.

A watchman entered

and noticed the shoes.

He stood before the melancholic shoes

for a long time with mouths open

and mulled,

how odd, the speakers have left and

all that remained at the end of all arguments,

was a pair of shoes.

In that empty hall

where there was nothing left to say,

quite a bit, said quite a bit,

a pair of shoes.

The Rebels 

As I entered my house today,

an unusual thing happened.

Listen, my mattress said, 

this is my resignation letter.

I want to return to cotton again.

The chair and the table

had formed a united front.

Both argued aggrievedly,

Sir, enough is enough.

We have tolerated you much,

but we unconditionally miss

our trees

and within them

life’s elixir

murdered by

you.

In the cupboards,

the books were screaming,

open up, free us.

We want to go back to our

bamboo forests

and want to embrace the

sting of scorpions and

the kiss of serpents.

Most upset was

the shawl

purchased from Kullu a few days ago.

She said, sir,

you turned up to be a big shot,

since eons my woolly layer

summons me and

you have wrapped me

around you

like a prison.

Over there, the TV and the phone

were in a bad state.

They were babbling loudly,

but I could not comprehend

their language.

Just then,

the drip-drip from a tap —

This is too much, Saheb!

Listen if you can,

please

to the sound of our drops;

all of us

who are all of your

prisoners

in a man’s jail,

we want to be free.

Where do you think you are going?

My door crackled

as I tried to get out.

Grass

These are gypsies plucked from 

all the cities of the world,

who seek their lost identities

amidst the dust of your city.

In people’s democracy,  

there should be a long, unabated debate

on the question of grass.

Until that happens,

as a start, I declare

that in the next election

I shall vote

for grass

whether others do or not.

A banner of a blade of grass shall flutter

in that maidan always.

It’s a determination,

to grow

whenever, wherever.