THE PHARAOH & THE PHANTOM

Armed knights around the castle stand
Allegiance pledged to the mighty hand.

Peasants beseeching the strength of the armour
Dangerously veiled ambitions of a modest farmer.

A revolution that threatens to dethrone the reign
Though mighty be the orb, the rebel is not in vain.

The kingdom gripped with anarchy that refuses to drown
Uncertain lies the fate of the face beneath the Crown.

The sceptre and soldier, both wearing a mask
One pacing the palace, one toiling at the task.

When the deed is done & the story retold
History is not obliged to favour the bold.

He who rules the Day, needs not the Lantern
He who Conquers the Night, is but a Phantom .....

WE, THE PEOPLE

The land of Colonial rule and carnage
The land of Mughal loot and pilferage.

Tales of tyranny with horrors of the past
And revolutions fought in the century last.

Plagued for decades with poverty & paucity
Peppered with scams of deceitful audacity.

Grappling with sati and female infanticide
Struggling with scars of rape and homicide.

Ridden with endless terrors and blasts
Leaving the people stricken and aghast.

...........................................................................................

Then land of Ganges & the land of sages
Steeped in the wisdom and history of ages.

Celebrations of Rama & the festival of Lights
Literatures of the Sutra amid culinary delights.

An amalgam of religion, castes, and creeds
Kaleidoscope of mortals, deities and deeds.

7 Union territories with 29 diverse States
The citizens standing tall as steadfast mates.

Borders nestled between the Saffron & Green
United by a spoked wheel on the White serene.