An Undecorated Piece - 67th Independence Day Poem by Bashyam Narayanan

Sixty seventh Independence Day
Celebrations in a sector community centre
Tricolor dominance all around
Stage with depictions of Indian freedom struggle
All on white cloth backdrop
Even the cushion chairs for audience had
A white cloth cover
Entire floor carpeted
The whole arena cordoned
With ten feet tall white cloth
I am new to this sector
Walked in with no one really there to greet me
Ladies and gentlemen in their good attires
Most of the children are in
Some special costumes
Indicative of their participation
In the programmes to be staged
Parents were busy coaching their children
For their performances
Some children giving final touches
To their makeup and facials
Looking over hand held mirrors
Some children still memorizing
Their scripts for the skits they were in
Only a part of the audience about three hundred
Was watching the happenings on the stage
But, all somehow managed to clap
At the end of the each event
A good number of people, like me,
Were standing at a comfortable distance
And witnessing the function
I saw that little boy of about two years
Unattended hair, less clean
Exhibiting the poverty he is in
Alone entering the premises
With apparent hesitation
Expecting someone to stop him
With no one directing him to move out
He stood in the middle of us
With his hands folded on the back
Looking up in all directions
As he could not have a glance of stage events
What was further special about him was
He was stark naked
He was in the middle of well dressed people
And in a cordoned arena
Where even chairs and floor had covers
Hoping for some sweet distribution at the end
Standing like an undecorated piece
In a well decorated function