Diligent Candy

On completing two years with this PhD!

Faith bobs in disco lights,
delicious Turkish drivers in Uber rides

Veiled morning on the Rajpath bride,
but what of fat-bikers’ prides

By Amstel’s banks I park my shamiana outside,
Days spent garam masala-ing PowerPoint slides

Arre Wah! See Rembrandt’s light draping Shergill’s side
What of the partition, and the bloody language divide

I dreamt at night of Red Fort in sight
Blue swirls shrouded in a starry starry night

Lodhi’s Tomb and Aurangzeb’s road, Jahangir, too, was a delight
But what of Khan Chacha, he was seen dancing with Palace and Parbat at twilight

You made a stamppot of my dreams allright!
Kale will fuck potatoes, chives, and sausages tonight

Das, your ghazals are broken, Ali would be appalled
Arre, damn it all, I will do exactly what I feel is right.

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