You won’t believe us
but no one’s talking about our problems
now, again, it’s the tenth or eleventh generation scions
of those who lost glories
who are speaking for all of us.
Is this what they call the loot of experience?!
In reality, Nawab, Muslim, Saaheb, Turk-
whoever’s called by those names belongs to those classes-
those who lost power, jagirs, nawabi and patel splendours
they have retained, at least, traces of those honours
while our lives have always been caged between our limbs and our bellies.
We never had anything to save.
What would we have to recount….?
We who called our mothers ‘amma’
never knew she was to be called ‘Ammijaan’. Continue reading
