untitled 27

on aashad ekadashi
crowds shuffle in lines,
under rains,
at the Vithala temple.
Vithala, Rakkumai, Tuka stand still;
have been for ages non-commital.
Lord, Lady, Saint, unsighted by devotees,
Chintamani, the old man on the kerb ---
bowed head,
bare feet,
folded palms,
shut eyes ----
stands aside,
tang of Rama, Krishna, Hari on tongue;
refracts to a tiled home in Vengurla;
rain drops, slipping down tiles,
tipping over the edges,
sews the earth in straight lines;
the embroidery remains well after
the rains.

untitled 26

his is the alley.
no bark, no bite, no bile.
rains do not wet him;
afraid of cats.
walks chiyu to the school bus
stand,
awaits her in the evening.
in an order of affection
didi follows chiyu.
married early.
didi expected a pinch of dislike
to go with parts of love
as scissors and stitches on fresh
cloth at the tailor's.
didi became an attender at the clinic
to appease her man;
she is there, he has gone.
a coat of light brown and white,
a white namam on the forehead
suggests Rik was a brahmin in
a previous birth;
or be born a brahmin, next birth.
men with instant judgements,
undo earnings of  working women;
a mother and two kids were ticked off
after her man, rode into a truck, drunk.
before the alley became home
Rik  was different.

was