The beginning of the end – Delhi Poetry Slam

The beginning of the end

By Rituparna Maji 

the city hosts a lifelong race of ‘IT’ rats,
alas, without building a big enough stadium,
cars move like tortoises instead of rabbits,
such is the weight of vehicle density

braveheart cyclists try to usher change,
balancing through garbage and poor air quality,
dedicated cycle lanes are too much to ask for
when walkers struggle to find pavements

branches of big trees stop kissing each other,
their fate sealed by a cheap licence to fell, 
green turns grey at an exponential rate,
the former reduced to mere dots on maps

summer breeze feels like a rolling ball of fire
as the city transforms into a free sauna,
with red alert for heatwave becoming a norm,
temples up the ante to appease rain gods
 
few millimetres of rain does enough damage 
for the city to frantically look for rescue boats,
all thanks to storm water drains disappearing,
overwhelmed by the greed of encroachment

in government offices, helpless citizens ask:
how much to pay? and to how many?
underhand dealings are so standardised,
it could even put the japanese to shame

mafias control shrinking ground water supply,
court decides share of water from a river,
with gush thinning to trickle in many parts,
an evacuation looms large on the horizon

yes, we are dying a slow death,
but no, we are not a failure yet,
dare not judge us to be a failure,
till … we join the dinosaurs!


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