Shail explores diverse aspects of the Indian experience: the challenges of immigration, the triumphs of artistic achievement, and the dangers of unchecked online health advice, exclusively for Different Truths.
Dunki brings disdain
So, finally, a set of ‘bloody’ immigrants are
where they belong
even though it is a foreign nation
they pin their future on.
More than 100 immigrants, in shackles
and chains,
loaded like lost luggage, in misery and pain.
Not a normal passenger flight this.
A bullying message hard to miss.
From Haryana, Maharashtra, Chandigarh,
Punjab, Uttar Pradesh even from
the Prime Minister’s native Gujarat garh.
Poor, impoverished, dying-to-live cluster
willing to stake their all, wiped out
like chalk marks on a blackboard by duster.
Yes, there were some who made it big (legally)
and were able to bring colour to their sacrifice twig.
So, while the Dunki route challenges dreams
chances of succeeding in the US turn into
horrifying memes.
Guess Modi’s US bro just sent a warning
wrapped in a military package, swarming
while Grammy winner Shakira dedicates
her award to US immigrant delegates.
Triveni chants music as it flows
Grammy winner, Chandrika Tandon,
Indian origin, Tamil by birth, melody won
this Indian American blending Vedic chants
with world music, Triveni, a beautiful plant
that spread its notes of unison
strengthening spiritual-humane position.
A philanthropist’s act of uniting humanity
pinning classical music to the top
of all musical humanitarian sanity.
Sister of Indra Nooyi, another stalwart
in her field
both sisters, fine examples of what good
values can yield.
India is proud once again of its daughter
like mother with child, like the sound
of gurgling water.
Global leader, pioneering musician.
Let’s applaud this fine woman
on her melodious mission.
Blind as a bat to online health chat
Carom seeds, cumin and fennel-
who knew they would prove to be
the death knell?
Used almost every day in Indian households
Who thought it would cause
an active life to fold?
But it did, and how! Following advertisements
online
a young gentleman consumed the concoction
to keep his weight in line
never pausing for a second to consult,
to ask of the aftereffects in an adult.
Weight he did lose, a victory sure,
but, at the cost of his life-making
him obscure.
Unlimited consumption damaged his kidneys.
Blindly following net advice destroyed his basic needs.
Even then, he did not heed caution
and dismissed the doctor’s advice, denying precaution.
And the forty-year-old gentleman died
in a town in Uttar Pradesh, his family cried.
Who knew what else was blended
in the powdered mixture of seeds,
maybe weed?
Nothing wrong in bringing life, aka weight, in order
But not through the short route
of bringing life to a still, spreading disorder.
Eat in moderation. Drink enough water.
From stout to slim you will go without any disaster.
References
Picture design by Anumita Roy
Shail Raghuvanshi is a poet, freelance journalist, copyeditor, voice actor, and artist with 30 years of experience in various media. She has worked as the Cultural Correspondent for India’s first integrated media company, PLUS Channel, and has written course material for Madurai Kamaraj University’s Post Graduate Programme in Advertising and Public Relations. She has also been a coach of Communicative English. She has published poems, short stories, and articles in leading magazines and anthologies.
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Illegal immigrants have retreaded after suffering a lot in US! ! What a pity!
T A Ramesh
Thank you Ramesh for sharing your thoughts. Yes indeed. The immigrants have suffered for their mistake.