HAPPY DIWALI

She, a girl of five,

In tattered clothes,
And shattered hopes,

Tugged at her mother’s torn sari nervously.

Diwali; it was their big day..

For begging along Marine Drive.

Rich people who came here

To burst crackers, huge bombs and rockets

That burst and filled the sky

With myriad colours

Were always in good mood

To let the beggars have

A miniscule part of the money

That went up in flames and sounds.

Each bomb, rocket, cracker, flower-pot

Cost several times Montek’s Thirty Two Rupees,

That separated them from becoming rich.

Pic Courtesy: reuters

They had already collected

Seventy three rupees and fifty paise

And three empty whisky bottles

And two un-burst bombs

And two empty boxes of sweets

Empty for the rich but..

With remnants of sweets still sticking on edges
Enough for the girl and mother

To have a Happy Diwali feast.

Tonight was the night when

They could collect enough

For the next few days

Even after paying half to the beat-cop on duty.

In the din of crackers

And daze of sparklers

The little child and mother

Couldn’t help thanking

Lord Ram for having returned to Ayodhaya

Several centuries ago

And given them reason

To rejoice;

And sleep, after days

With stomachs nearly full

“Shubh Deepawali, maa” the child whispered.

“Shubh Deepawali, Lakshmi”, the mother responded,

“Let’s await Christmas, to have more….fun ”.