Woven with devotion and burdened by life’s harsh realities, Prof Ram’s repetitive prayers fade against a backdrop of stray dogs and encroaching darkness, exclusively for Different Truths.
So many times I chanted the prayer
from childhood to now that I forget
what I pray for or want to repeat
mantras while walking at dusk or seeing
images on the lingam that stir
the flame Shiva harnesses deep within
my numbed feet before growling dogs
trained to ignore strangers whose lips don’t utter
their names or who aren’t free on leash like them
I fail to filter the chasing darkness
from roadside temple to Sarna Enclave
Picture design Anumita Roy
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