I hear the sound. I look around. Whatsapp Alerts. My mind diverts.
The sun is setting. And I’m betting. That those that hunt are on the prowl.
And it’ll be a while, Till I can get back to a plate of Nalli Nihari
And my baby’s smile.
Her bright eyes and toes that curl.
While her father goes about, conducting the most dangerous work in the world.
I sit here in the driver’s seat. Wondering what the next turn brings.
Wondering if this is the night, when the fat lady sings.
And there it was. A barricade. Sanctioned by the state.
Saffron scarves and angry haters
And mute spectators.
This brutal reality. This mob mentality.
The paperwork dismissed as a mere formality.
I’ve become prey, because of the way I pray.
They’ll break my feet, because of what I eat.
The Hunger Games. Lynch and Maim. Votes to Gain.
Insane.
With power. The petals of a lotus flower. While the skull caps cower.
In fear. In the face of those taunting jeers. Quoting scriptures from long gone seers.
It’s clear.
Mobile videos will circulate. Another lynching.
With evidence that clinching.
Without mincing. Spewing hate on TV screens without flinching.
Wrong place. Wrong time. His only crime? Trying to make a dime.
The nation wants to know. Are you tuning in for this spectacular show.
The cows came home. All alone.
Homecoming. While you’re gunning.
For the one who was holding the steering.
Fearing. For his life. For his child and his doting wife.
A pawn in political strife.
The load I carried. A Mother. To another. Kind.
With faith that’s blind. A boiling rage inside.
I hoped against hope that she wouldn’t cry.
Ye faithful bovine!
I wish you’d stayed silent tonight. Protect me and mine.
From those who waited.
Sit and anticipated.
Staggered by the weight. Of history. And geography.
And identity. With hockey sticks and cricket bats
And tridents in their armory.
Acknowledge the reality. This insidious brutality.
Your culpability. Of watching and sharing MMS clips of this barbarity.
This Hindu Caliphate, their blood-thirst swirls
As they go about, conducting the easiest job in the world.