No bargaining please

At Dilli Haat
I know it’s no use bargaining at the Kashmir stall;
They have their prices fixed.
What a thing it is to feel so sure
About what you deserve,
About what you want,
And what you surely don’t—
What an inconvenience
For others.

First published in Indian Cultural Forum, July 2016.

Cartographers

Such a pretty map we have
Some want to change that
Irritants.
But it’s ok, it’s all under control now
We have foiled the attempts at redrawing
Some collateral happened.
They get really dark lead from somewhere, bonded too
2B or not, who knows?
The pencil marks have to be rubbed off hard
Here and there, the paper tore a bit.
But it’s ok, it’s all under control now.

First published in Indian Cultural Forum, July 2016.

The Way of Some Flesh

Some kinds of meat are quickly consumed, more easily

digested.

Others, not to everyone's taste, are more rubbery,

Chewed on by the eater 

Till all of the juices 

Nourish every drop of blood in his body, 

Till he bleeds every piece white.

In response to the constant raking up of the beef ban controversy as part of political opportunism, specifically in the context of Dadri and UP elections.

First published in Muse India, July 2016.