Come September and the cool breeze

Ushers in the festivity of the season

It begins with the ‘Ganesh Utsav’*

When delightful deities of the Lord Ganesh

Are battling to come alive

And decorate the roads with ‘pandals’* and lights

To adorn the deities

The ‘moral conscience’ of man triggers his thirst

To pray and dance to the happy idols sitting mute

Admiring the offerings of ‘modaks’*

That later will be distributed as ‘prasad’*

 To the waiting devotees

The blaring of the loudspeakers pronounce

How devoted and pious they are who display their sanctity

During the ‘holy’ weeks

After which the glorious ornamental idols

Are loaded in trucks with bands marching in procession

And

The dancing crowd dragging itself

Blocking the way for passers by

All is soon, blissfully forgotten

When the destination to immerse them is reached

The hurry to relieve themselves of their ‘burden’

Now goads them to dump these worshipped idols

Un- ceremoniously into ‘ditches’ or throw them

Un- graciously to die their own death in them

The twelve tedious days of worship

Come to a disastrous end

As the indisciplined processions out beat

The other to rush from the spot of immersed devotion

After the lapse of more than a fortnight

The fervor for ‘Ma Durga’ hails attention

The cities are dressed up in adoration with

Fancy lights illuminating them with gusto

As the beautifully draped gracious idols

Embellish the stage of honor for ten days

While the ten-headed Ravana lies in wait…

For the good to rise over the evil

The hungry worshippers… all pure in heart throng the city

For a glimpse of their revered ‘devi ma’

Who flourishes their aching hearts with bliss?

And

Satisfies their thirst of piety for ten days

 While the blaring loudspeakers

From six in the morn until the deep dead of night

Yell and scream of their devotion

Un- concerned for the sick, the aged, and the newborns

Students preparing for exams

The blast of the nerve racking raucous noise

Smashes up their hopes and dreams to pass their exams

No one can interfere with ‘their’ celebrated drumming

And

 So- called devotional dedication to the ghastly loudspeakers

The law protectors … infirm towards their duty

Influenced by the ‘heavy weight’ of the sponsors

Shrewdly ignore the law- breakers

Jai Mata Di

And now Diwali fever

Burst of crackers past midnight

                                                               ~Shobha Diwakar

                                                             Jabalpur, India