Had he been the first premier,
The picture would have been otherwise,
The alchemy different,
The Partition could have been averted,
...
Sallem Sinai would have played the shehnoi
On the night of midnight freedom
With the midnight children
During the tryst with destiny,
...
Did we ever invite in
Saleem Sinai
While celebrating
The fifty years
...
Once upon a time
They used to handshake
So warmly,
now shake they not
...
Some like to work silently
And some like to make a name,
The difference is this much.
...
Corona, the virus beauty
From Wuhan
To Spain and Italy
To the rest of the world
...
If they are not of society,
Whose are they,
If they are not of the nation,
Who are they?
...
The mystic drum is sounding
And he singing the song of Nigeria, Africa,
The song of his society,
The drum beat casting a spell
...
A fanatic will remain a fanatic,
You cannot mend their ways,
The same fanatic lying fanatical over
The years, the passage of time,
...
Saleem Sinai playing
The shehnoi music
On the eve of midnight freedom
With the likewise midnight children
...