Independence and After

O man, what have you harvested,

Of fifty years of hard earned independence?

Can you see the horrifying sight

Of starving eyes and parched bellies?

And do you see the magnates with ‘pot bellies’?

Can you hear the heart-rending cries

Of young, destroyed women seeking refuge?

And do you hear the weird laughter of politicians?

Can you realize the corruption?

That has crept the ladder of politics,

From the bottom to the top rung?

Trace back, O man,

And see the tough struggle of great men.

How each laid his life,

To break your shackles and set you free.

And look now, O man,

The bloodshed and murder,

Female infanticide, bonded labour, sati and dowry,

Killing of man by man.

Did you ever taste the fruit, O’ man

Of our hard earned freedom?

Fifty years of independence

And yet look O’ man,

Man and beast live alike

Can you see the drooping eyes of the infant?

Bending under his heavy load,

Off to work in the mill.

O’man, cease your mad pursuit,

Realize you are missing

The happiness in an infant’s smile.

(Published in the anthology “In Celebration”) Played on AIR as part of a radio program for independence day.

ANUSHA.U.R.

15 yrs