Sunday, May 30, 2010

The Drought

Droughts are a frequent occurrence

For the masses they bring sufferance

Only four species benefit from the drought

The Sarpanch, the Leather Tanner, the Dog and the Vulture.


One sunny day, I heard someone say

"Prosperous days are here to stay"

The Sarpanch nodded his approval

The Leather Tanner wore a smile so cruel.


I'm a Gemini curious by nature

I had to know the conversations' matter

I sighed heavily, sat down besides them

Seeing Sarpanch's hand, I said, "Those are beautiful gems"


"One from each drought I've earned" he said.

His face was alight with pride instead of dread

"Each year the village gets funds for drought relief

I keep major portions for myself, as I am the chief"


The Tanner boasted, "I too have earned a fortune!"

"From the dead cows leather?" I asked in tune.

He replied, "I've tanned 40 cows, you know;

With a sharp knife from head to toe."


In their eyes I saw a drought of emotions

I realized how wrong were my humanitarian notions.

Drought represents not only climatic condition

It also exhibits human nature's variation.


I walked ahead, instead of using my car,

I met a Dog and a Vulture not very far.

The Dog barked, "The prosperous days are here to stay."

Giving it company was the vulture—the bird of prey.


Suddenly, I dawned upon the similarity

Between the animal and human personality.

Dogs and Vultures follow animal culture

We humans are worse we exploit each other.


Droughts are a frequent occurrence

For the masses they bring sufferance

Only four species benefit from the drought

The Sarpanch, the Leather Tanner, the Dog and the Vulture.



Blast from the past: I wrote this one ten years ago in 2000.

5 comments:

vipin said...

"Dogs and Vultures follow animal culture, We humans are worse we exploit each other."

So true ....

nituscorner said...

beautiful!!!! and very true how we humans are even worse then animals.

yamini said...

Although, I felt sad after reading this, but this was one damn good blast from the past.
Keep it up...

fatoori said...

very nice!sounds like a complete jataka tale in itself!has so many of the jataka motifs and also has a message.gud one!u shud write more like these, kids are gonna love em!

Haddock said...

Thats a lovely post to drive down