Somewhere in Shahpur Jat
Some people are heartbroken
Women are crying angrily
And cursing silently
That is all they can do
They fear the local goons
Who uprooted the Sai Baba idol
In their Purana Shiv Mandir
Could uproot them too
With the very same crowbar
Somewhere some pot-bellied men
Made a roster of gods
Sai Baba was annulled
For he was 'Chand Miyan'
He preached universal love
For he was a jihadi
As the goons struck the hammer
Five times
Into Baba
Ideas were murdered several times
The thumps fell
On rock-bed of syncretism
On folk forms of belief and faith
The thumps fell
On plurality of existence
Baba's rubble was thrown away
History was sanitised
In his stead
Ganesha was installed
Marking the most auspicious of beginnings
The temple bells now
Wait like udders.
- Chandni Girija
April 04, 2021
Day 04 of 30 | 30 Poems in 30 Days | National Poetry Writing Month #napowrimo #napowrimottt2021
*Shahpur Jat is a neighbourhood in South Delhi
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