29-5-1990 by Naira Mushtaq. Image courtesy of the artist.
“Moon Light English Coaching Center; O Lebal to Standard Lebalâ€
~ Sign on Kedar Ghat, August 2009
Lebal One
There shall be
no collisions
as long as every cow sports
five heads
twelve legs
eight wheels
ten bicycle bells
and one moo.
Lebal Two
This pundit with the Cheddar cheese voice
has scratched his tummy
as long as that dog has dreamt
of transmigration.
Lebal Three
No board exams here.
The living are coached on dying,
the dead on rebirthing,
the priests on parody.
Manikarnika blazes
in an endless semi-final.
Lebal Four
Pizza Hut
is just one thousand years old.
Lebal Five
~ Arundhathi Subramaniam
Arundhathi Subramaniam is the author of ten books of poetry and prose, and has been widely anthologised and translated. Her recent poetry collection, ‘When God is a Traveller‘ (2014), won the inaugural Khushwant Singh Poetry Prize and was shortlisted for the TS Eliot Prize. She has worked as critic, poetry editor and curator for several years.
Editor’s note: ‘Benares’ first appeared in ‘When God is a Traveller’, (HarperCollins India, 2014), and is republished here with kind permission from the poet.
