Direction Poem by Prathibha Nandakumar

`` The Hanuman temple street is one way now
come from the old pond side, its right opposite
the big Banyan tree''

Chandru wanted his mother to close down the old house
and move with him to America,
she wanted to give me
a pair of traditional brass lamps,
a heirloom piece, so come and take it

It was not the old familiar place any more
In less than two kilometer I had lost my way
four times. Asking for directions is
a woman's preoccupation they say

The auto driver was quick
`oh its right next to the next road hump,
just slow down and you will hit it'

I missed it.

The traffic police was more helpful
`just go back and its at the first signals'

It was the same one I had passed

The doctor in a fancy car was more specific
`Take a right Its right next to the superspeciality
diagnostic centre, you cant miss it'

His right was my left.

Surely they were on a weekend picnic
the SUV was full of sweat shirts and foot ball
`its behind the gym auntie, just drive on'

What gym?

The post man, I thought would lead
`I am going on the other beat, this is the old number,
now all that has changed,88 comes after 97, ask any one'

The priest, aha, he will definitely know the Banyan tree,
there must be a temple and the old pond near the tree
`what pond? there is no pond here, all water has dried up,
I take my holy dip under a tap, it doesn't even wet me whole,
this is the house next to the xerox shop, the old lady rent out a
portion of the garage for my son, he will show, tell him
his father is going to the market, will come later'

I just stood there wondering which way to turn

Someone was frantically waving out from a window.
It was grand mother. I looked around.
The azbestos sheet roof superspeciality diagnostic centre,
next to a corner called gym, behind number 97,
opposite to the signal with out lights turning right to the hump,
a small tree sort of a trunk cut into half, an old temple
hiding behind a gaint bill board calling out freshness,
my old ancestral home that was going to be pulled down
to make way for a mall