Doodling

When does what you drive become more important than what drives you?

When does your accent become more important than what you are saying?

When does the need to turn a blind eye become more important than the need to see? 

When does the need to laugh with others become more important than what you are laughing at?

When does how many boxes you have to live in become more important than whether you are actually living?

When does your celebration of life become more important than another’s struggle for it?

When does what you have become more important than what you give?

When does what you can conveniently follow become more important than what you believe in?

When do others’ standards become more important than your own?

When does the cover become more important than the book?

First published in the IndianReview of World Literature in English, July 2010. Subsequently published in Labyrinth, September 2010.