Let the colours
avenge
the fate of the woman
who dreads leaving
her bed today.
Let the cleansing
powers
of squirt guns and water
balloons cover the
spectrum of her pain.
Let eggshells
break
nylon skin, its shrapnel tear
toxic vocabulary and
unpardonable faith.
Let the wild ripping
of shirts,
blinding gulaal, hands stifling
cries evoke empathy
however momentary.
Let the beats of the
bandwagon
beat the deafening roar of
dated notions of hold
and authority.
Let bonfire flames
overpower
plagues of cockiness, cheek and
flaccid retaliation fueled by
Bollywood impotency.
Let a billion litres of
bhaang
litter streets, bodies purged
of excess for a real Swachh
Bharat Abhiyan.
Let elusive humanity
flesh
the illusion of hope, uplift voices
of reason and announce that
winter truly is gone.
* * *
