Author Information
North City
Daily newspaper I bought for three Rupees
An advertisement,coloured,picturesque,bright
So beautiful it caught my appreciating sight
For only fifty lacs a flat in a thirty storey apartment
I gazed at the picture.... began to think in contentment
Brightly lit ,huge living room,indoor plants,comfy sofa
Plasma calendar TV beaming proudly at my guests
Andaman scenery painting on the purple plastic painted wall
Highlighted by bright spotlights ......... A laughing Buddha
Wind chime tinkling in the cool AC breeze
Groomed Golden Retriever with a silver collar
Bout from Singapore cheap for one dollar
A Merdedes gleaming in the G Floor garage
Ten lacs or so can make the toilet and bathtub
Shaving gel,perfumed aroma soap gel,the soft cleanser
Silver plated bath fittings, silver framed shaving mirror
Blue ceramic bathtub -huge- with two telephone showers
One icy cold, another piping hot,forget-me-nots in a Chinese vase
Garden on the terrace , roses and evergreens
Samsung smartphone worth only twenty grand
In my silk dressing gown pocket with a Dunhill packet
Fragrance in the air..... fragrance in my mind
I never looked back at the drab house I left behind
"It's way past eight .Is it a time to daydream ?
Go ! have your bath before which you must shave"
I looked at my cheap watch, jumped up from my wooden seat
Dreams fizzled out, I donned my trousers and tee shirt
Put on my sandals, boiled rice and fish in my tummy
I clung to the bus rod thought of the twenty note in my pocket
I smirked at myself ,cursed myself,but I had no envy
No envy for the North Citizens ... I entered the city's medley
© Bishwanath Mukherjee
