Poem | Pardeep Balyan

Artwork : Bill Angus

Maggi

Leda comes in
To my Uncle's Store
And goes straight
To the noodle shelf.

Headphones on loud
So she doesn't
Hear the calls
Of 'Chinky'
As she passes
From office
To Metro
To IAS
Preparation classes.

She smiles
When I ask her
What she is
Listening to:

She knows
I have been
Waiting
All day
For this
2 minutes.



My Girlfriend

Got married,
Today, after a
Formulaic
Negotiation between
The two families.

The deals lovers
Make in Bharat
Are temporary
Card-table jobs,
Conducted in secret -
Bundled up and hidden
Behind shutters
When the cops
Raid the market.

Love is not worth
A new Audi,
A thick golden kara
Or the middling reputation
Of your father.

It's not
Even worth
A visa
To Lahore.

Love actually has
A negative value.

Like living next door
To a crematorium
Or having scratches
All over the bodywork
Amore
Will only decrease
Your chances
Of a good match
And inflate the size
Of the dowry
None of us stop
Paying.


To love
In India
Is
To hate
India.

It's time
For Balyan
To stop loving
You

And become
The Sanyasi

Waheguru

Has always
Wanted.