BADRI RAINA | Caravan Daily

 

This year’s Deepavali was chequered,

Except you know where —

Along the banks of a sacred river.

 

Whether the god descended or not

Must be a matter of debate.

Gods may be gods, but they have noses too;

He may have found the pollution 

Too rich for his pulmonary flow.

And gods do not like as much noise

As their sponsoring humans do.

 

However muffled the crackers

This November, it is to be doubted

That the world here will end

With a whimper rather than a bang.

Eliot’s melancholy had a muted grace,

Our zest has an conquering tang.