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Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Delhi - A Revisitation


It’s akin to visiting my foster mother, today,

That I am returning to you, mother city, after twenty years,

I look at your broad, bereft streets, mater,

Through which emperors, prime ministers cavalcaded,

In victory and defeat, through gates and triumphal arches,

That murmur of the pains of your rape and impregnation.


The sudden shock of your poverty upsets me,

It is evident in the desperation of the cycle-rickshaw puller,

His eyes intent on the ground, standing on his pedals,

He pulls his woes, as if there is no halcyon tomorrows.

Your grimy streets are dusty, high walled, impenetrable,

As if you wish to guard the gory secrets within.



Is this where histories, dynasties were made, and fallen?

A dynasty now rules by proxy the city of the great Akbar,

And a fratricide of a potentate now fills you with awe,

When you are the city of kingly fratricides and parricides.

Remember how Dara Shukoh was marched and beheaded, by his kin

In your own street of Chandni Chowk, of not long ago?



The secrets of the present and past mingle,

Where now stand glitzy malls, I know, blood had flowed,

In your dark corners soldiers, spies, princes plotted to kill,

You witnessed stoically the dethroning of emperor Shah Jehan,

And the ascendance of his wily progeny, Aurangazeb,

As you watched, your face covered in the folds of your veil.



Yet, now, mother city, your tears are dry, your sobs silent,

Slowly you die, spent and ravaged by your many lovers.

Though it is kitsch melodies that you hum today, you were once,

Serenaded by Tansen, and Amir Khushro Dehlavi,

In your parlor once, poets and artists did conclave,

Over the “daughter of grapes” and the smell of tobacco!


J

2 comments:

  1. Exactly my feelings, John.
    I have been visiting Dilli as dilliwallas call it, since 1966, at intervals of a few years. I get the same panoramic history-gobbling mind-broadening thoughts as you have penned... there's some magic in the air there.
    Lovely post. Enjoyed it hugely.
    Read what I have to say abt Chennai!
    cheerz!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi max,

    I love your Chennai account. It is so full of humor and that Max Touch (oops!).

    :)

    J

    ReplyDelete

Hi, thanks for your sweetness and consideration to comment on my post. However, I have disabled anonymous comment for obvious reasons. Leave a honest comment and we can discuss it, toss it back and forth like a ball across a tennis court!