Poems As Satire: Narrating Political Events Through The Lens Of Poetry

1. No Fake Narrative

Beware boss

No Fake Narrative

Against SEC Waghmare..

my Dalit brethren.. okay

We ‘jaibhim walas’

upholders of Constitution

by default ..

by birth..

Our integrity is indubitable forever you know..

Seeing 1800 trees..

being cut for our ‘The Great Saints’..

he decided not to cut more

for VVPAT paper

and you ask him question..

‘where’s your vote..?’

How dare you..

Beware boss..

No Fake Narrative Against SEC Waghmare..

my Dalit brethren.. okay

We ‘jaibhim walas’

upholders of Constitution

by default ..

by birth..

Our integrity is indubitable forever you know..

To grow local Marker Pen business for we Marathi people..

He daringly defied ECI Order 2015..

to use ’Brush and Paint’..

from Mysore Paints..

and instead of hailing him..

you question the delible disappearing ink..?

How dare you..

See,

you did the same in 2017

against him..

when with BJP Minister Badole daughter

sent his son to US

for further studies..

on SC scholarship

Now..

now you better stop..

that jealousy n shut..

your mouth

Coz..

My jaibhim wala brethren Waghmare..

under patronage of..

all powerful Deva Bhau

answerable to none..

is wielding power too ..

So better no more Fake Narrative..

Lest..

Get arrested you..

The recent BMC elections were full of shocks. Accustomed to seeing the VVPAT slip show the name of the candidate and party whose button is pressed on the EVM dropping in, the voters were shocked to see EVMs without VVPAT, absolutely not sure whether the button they pressed had cast the vote to the same candidate they wanted or not. The voters went home only to learn from television news that the ink marked on their left index finger by a pen comes out easily using a sanitiser. They tried, hoping it was not true, but it was. It was shocking—the ink marking, supposed to last at least for a month, vanished immediately upon applying sanitiser. The voter got the ultimate shock when questions raised by voters with the Election Commissioner were answered by the state ruling party, terming them as fake. It said that people spreading fake rumours must be booked. The next day, the state Election Commissioner, instead of cross-verifying voters’ claims, towing to the ruling party’s line, came out with a verdict that anyone spreading a fake narrative would be punished by law. All this was happening in the backdrop of vote chori allegations. The present state Election Commissioner is a controversial figure. In 2017, when he was the under-secretary to the Social Welfare Minister, he usurped the SC scholarship for his son. The poet uses satire to sum up the entire situation.

2. The Tiger and Marathi Manoos

Uthao lungi bajao pungi

Literally Lift the waistwrap and play the flute charming snake

Roared the tiger on paper

Threatening South Indians

for Marathi Manoos of Bombay..

Bombay the island city

built on sweat-blood-tears of

South Indian Kamathi labour.

Union for the ’Son of Soil'

Marathi Manoos..

Roared the tiger..well protected

from Congressi Vasantsena den

On paper again.

Demeaning the lal bawta..

Spewing congressi plus capitali venom..

queing his soldiers against

communists..

both labour..both Marathi..

Killed he..Krishna Desai

a Marathi Manoos

Straight in the heartland

of Marathi Girangaon...

Next the tiger..

servile to Congressi master..

Pounced on Dalits..

Akin RPI brokers, Panthers didn't side with Congress..hence

And

hunted second prey..

Bhagwat Jadhav ..

a Marathi Manoos again..

Starting a bloody feud with

Ambedkari Dalits forever...

Emboldened by two kills..

several local fights..

hailed by lumpen hundreds..

Tiger took all control..

throwing away Congressi masters

Cajoling non-Ambedkarite Dalits along

Raised Ambedkarite-dalit hatred to ultimate with

Riddles..

Marathwada University Renaming..

Statue desecrations..

etc ..

etc..

etc...

Slipping filthy tongue uttered he..

nonsense any on Dr Ambedkar..

the closest ’friend in arm' of his father - Prabodhankar..

Let loose his Thane counterpart to..

vilify character of Bhimai..

Dr Ambedkar's mother

and

The Buddha..

Dr Ambedkar's last refuge

And

Instigated he..

killings of many many Dalits..

burning hutments..

harrassing them..

unleashing atrocious hatred

on them state wide..

in the frenzy

Dalits...yes..of course all Marathi Manoos

Mills closed

Land cost soaring

Marathi Manoos quietly pushed out of Bombay..

Tiger Donned new mask of Hindutva..

on the fake Marathi saviour face

Clad in Safron..

self proclaiming Hinduhriday Samrat..

invented he new enemy Landyas for dirty politics of his..

Nurturing muslim hatred in

lumpen followers..

swarmed them against landyas..

Destroying the Babri..

inciting the gory Bombay riot..

killing many on sides both..

only to be infamous as..

'Veteran General' directing the riot in Justice Srikrishna Commision Report

In futile effort..

to save Marathi saviour fake image..

With his Remote Control on State..

renamed Bombay as Mumbai

Image soon exposed..

By his support to 'talk alike' nephew named in murder of Marathi Manoos..

Using all abusive explicitives on Marathis..

those objecting divisive and communal fangs of his

exposed more was he

Exposed more and more..

with his manly beast..

at filthiness worst..

dealing with women in particular..

women - all Marathi again..

Today on Birth Centenary..

.

n

.

n

With fragmented political party..

Fractured legacy of his..

Marathi Manoos_ and Hindutva

gimmicks both this..

taken away are

by 'State' in neighbour...

While..

Hapless Marathi Manoos..

No more Son of Soil..n..

No more Me Mumbaikar

Comforts self..

Seeing his Mumbai..

from distance past

Nostalgically..

The sixties witnessed regional linguistic uprisings throughout India. In Bombay city, a newly-formed part of Maharashtra, this baton was taken up by the Shiv Sena, a party supposedly formed for the betterment of Marathi Manoos. But under the aegis of Congress Chief Minister Vasantrao Naik, it was named as Vasant Sena. The poem provides a glance into the Shiv Sena’s ugly history of using Marathi Manoos against each other, may it be against Communists or against Ambedkarite Dalits or maybe against a simpleton like Ramesh Kini. They were all Marathi. The flip-flop of Shiv Sena—from being a Marathi saviour to Hindutva saviour and back again to Marathi saviour—is seen as a political gimmick at its best with inevitable result as seen today. The poem sees history through the glass of a hapless Mumbaikar and the Marathi Manoos who was thrown out of Mumbai.

3. Oh! My Beloved Tricolour!

My beloved tricolor..

Nation's pride

Safron.. White.. Green

n

Blue Asoka Chakra in

centre on White

Saffron for Hindus

Green for Muslims

n

White for left out others

All equal in length-n-width

Held firmly in place together

by Blue Asoka Chakra in the midst

Saffron - Green n White

Representing Society Secular

Interwoven fabric true in colours

My beloved Tricolour

To 'let slip' enmity of communal past..

Constitution Makers re-defined

Saffron as Renunciation

White as Truth and Peace

Green as life sustaining Green Earth..

n..

Blue Asoka Chakra for Wheel of Law..

Today..

Back to the square one

State re-re-defined overtly enough

Renunciation Saffron as Hindutva Masculine..

n

Green as historically fictionalised enemy Muslimine

In delirium of making Tricolour..

'Saffron All' in monocolour

Trampling upon the ’White’

destroying 'Truth and Peace'..

Vicious Fascist Hindutva,

engulfing in its fold

the mute ’Blue Chakra’

Is nearing Triumph inch by inch..

Alas..

my brethren representing

'Asoka Chakra Blue'..

the 'Wheel of Law'

Come to sense..

Assert free from Saffron fold..

push the Saffron back

in its place..

Widening narrowed 'White' the 'Truth and Peace'..

back to the equal width again.

Making Saffron-Green n White

Equal in length and equally wide..

n

Holding them firmly together

Bringing my beloved Tricolour back again in life ..

Alas..

My Blue brethren..

Dalit-Adivasi

Exploited..n..Oppressed Workmen..n..intellect..

Women..n..Men..

n..one..n..all

hailing the 'Asoka's Wheel of Law' ..

Awaken from slumber

and rise to the occasion...

Alas..my beloved Tricolour..!

In our Tricolour—the evolution of our national pride—the saffron colour was for Hindus, green for Muslims and white in between stood for peace. In the Constituent Assembly, this understanding was changed to do away with the Hindu-Muslim enmity of the past. However, we are seeing the resurgence of Hindu versus Muslim now. The author uses the saffron spill-out from its band on the Tricolour, covering most of the white and overshadowing the blue Ashoka Chakra, about to reach the green as a metaphor to show that the rising Hindutva fascism is undermining the secular fabric of the nation, killing truth and peace represented by the white band and the constitutional law represented by the blue Ashoka Chakra. The poem ends on an optimistic note—Dalits, Adivasis and the exploited and oppressed masses of the country will definitely rise to the need of the hour and stop the trampling march of the Hindutva fascist forces, bringing back the secular tricolour to life again.

Milind Bhawar is Ex- AGM, Air India/AI ESL, ex-consultant, engineering - Tech Services, Air India - TATA.

(Views expressed are personal)