episode 1:
a regiment of old people,
more bones than flesh,
are thrown into an army truck.
to be unloaded in the woods
near some godforsaken border.
but, a fierce debate breaks out
whether they should be blinded or not.
orders are awaited from the capital city.
episode 2:
a burst of pellets perforate
a sieve on a snow girl’s face.
she is blindly seeking the way to her house
when a newsman captures her image.
next day, she appears on media
as a “stone pelter who strayed into
rolls of concertina wire.”
the pebbles in her school bag
are being counted.
episode 3.
the level of the river is raised to 142.
42 more villages get submerged.
42000 tribals and as many trees drown.
a tourist guide invites tourists to the dam
to watch the spectacle of the rising water.
“visit the world’s tallest statue
called freedom statue nearby”,
cry out the tourism pamphlets and louts.
episode 4
a man made object hurls into space
aiming to tickle the moon’s shiny skin.
entire nation waits with bated breath
as the lander begins its descent.
the country loses contact with
the lander, the land and the landless.
Ra Sh is a poet from Kerala
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