Abhimanyu Majhi
Engine fumes, stinking ambience
Cauldron of polluted smog – you are
You need a gas mask, Dear
On your over crowded side walk
Goddam it, I can´t even walk
Where are your road ringed
Suburbs with butterflies and birds
Country-wide space
Clean air and resting place
Once so easy to access
Where is your healing touch
Orchids, clouds on hill top
Snow-capped wonders
Summer sunshine and winter snow
That majestic autumn rainbow
Unemployed, homeless and disadvantaged
Hoarse cry of desperation
Now rent the air
Panting in such polluted milieu
What they have made you?
You abandoned foster child
You were a queen once
Give yourself a rebellious shake
Look at you dishevelled hair
That bleeding heart and bosom bare
Witnessing your systematic ruination
That Kanchanjunga is smiling behind
Be it with a sickle, pen or gun
I still believe you can turn around
And then you´ll be once again crown´d.
-Kurseong, Darjeeling
