Anhad ka Baaja

When I meet An old friend After many many years Is it not myself At eleven, seventeen, Twenty-three or thirty-seven That I am catching up with? Each of us Has changed Oh, so much But the meeting

In 1984 The Ministry of Truth Peddled lies and half-truths In 2020 In Kashmir Half-truths and lies Are rampant everywhere Even in The heart of Srinagar We must call out Each lie Each half-truth As

On our first day at A new school I met Berzee, Munaf, Nandan Venkatesh, Chitcharan, Jude During recess After What’s your name? We circled warily around Each other Finding out Where someone lived Did

I am used to A certain lifestyle They live Like that anyway They always manage Still… I salve my conscience By donating A few thousand rupees To a worthy cause The money that I saved By not having