PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

Summertime it was in the small block town

Far far away from the bustling cities

Inhabited by paddy field owners and peasants

A few humdrum shops selling daily necessities

The milkman "Kishori" announced one fine morn

The marriage of his son to a teenaged girl

From a nearby village Kishori came to sell milk

He was scrawny clad in a vest and "dhoti"

Kishori loved to smoke "beedis" and drink tea

Was poor,yes poor indeed but with a golden heart

Please do come Saheb to my village next Sunday

Someone will come to pick you up in the evening

Gingerly I accepted his kind,loving invitation 

No invitation card! no fanfare! Just an ardent plea 

I bought a colourful saree for the new bride

Somehow I didn't have the will to dress up well

I donned my usual office dress and was on my way

There was no electricity in Kishoris house

The sun had set,kerosene lamps were lit by the dozen

The mud house was decorated with coloured paper wreaths

As I arrived I was served sugar-lemon syrup with ice

The smile and  grin on Kishori's face was angelic !

An hour later about a dozen "baratis" marched away

to the brides home a couple of miles down

On arrival our feet were washed with cool water

Pretty plump buxom ladies in sarees waited on us

We were served sweets and cold "sherbet" in tumblers

It was a humble inexpensive marriage but hearty

Love oozed through the house's mud walls-then dinner

Tasty fare of "Pulao",fried egg-plant,"dal" and chicken

Followed by sour watery "dahi" and "motichur laddoo"

As I lay down post-dinner on the mud floor on a "shatranchi"

I wondered how happy these people are with so little!

Memory of that marriage is etched in my mind forever

©bishu