(072) Cultural Double-Deal Poem by premji premji

A.K.G*:
The man who loved all,
loved by all and
one who was always
with the have-nots!
Indian coffee house is
an ultimate proof of that.
You can spend a day
right in front of
a cup of coffee!
A safe haven for
lovers and intelligentsia!

One day in hot march,
I was sitting inside
before a cup of cold coffee.
Just behind my table,
a play was going on!
Two ‘Bujees*’ were sitting
in the furls of smoke
discussing….
‘What is our real problem? ’
‘Slavery.’
‘What kind of? ’
‘Mental slavery’
‘To whom? ’
‘Old white skin! ’
‘Who can remove that? ’
‘Our cultural leaders.’
‘Whether it is possible? ’
‘Yes, my dear friend
behold, this mental slavery and
cultural slavery,
all are dead snakes,
still around our necks! '
'But our intelligentsia,
the cultural minority,
what do they do? ’
‘They are lifting the dead snake
through speeches, writings etc...’
‘And then? ’
‘And simply they leave it
there only! They put it back’.
‘Why? Survival instinct? ’
‘Yes, they should also survive,
so the society won’t change! ’
They left laughing and
My cold coffee started boiling!


*Intelligentsia
A.K.G: AK.Gopalan: former Parliament opposition leader from Kerala.

15.8.06