Even as the paper, bound in a rubber band
slaps against your window, smelling of Delhi
with its smear of diesel and char that has
an outlandish tinge of stubble fires from Haryana,
you add a steel plate to your spine, braving events
that swish past your life like a gale. Then you take a look:
a chinkara death in the zoo after delivering a dead baby,
Suu Kyi stripped of her Amnesty award
Chatth Puja ghats increase from 72 in 2014
to 1055 in sorry 2018; Khashoggi and acid drums,
Congress ushers cow urine and cow shit
into an electoral manifesto,
something on raag Bhairav, now where did that come from(?)
Pakistan frees a blasphemy accused, hells bells!
are they getting more liberal than my favourite BJP(?)
you zone in on what has been preying on your mind.

How did three surreptitious arms of the inviolate state,
IB, RAW and the Asthana half of the CBI—
Let’s ignore the equally hostile CVC–
combine against one solitary figure
the Director, Alok Verma?
IB sent three sleuths to spy on him.
RAW went to the Prime Minister, if
Coomi Kapur is to be believed, (and why not,
she belongs to a staunch BJP family)
complaining that his dhao operations
from Dubai were being throttled.
Is all this just because he took on an officer
once posted in Gujarat?

Keki N. Daruwalla is a poet, short story writer and former IPS officer.

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