The Changing Scenes Poem by Indira Renganathan

It was those days of my childhood
That every house had a cattleshed
For cows and calves
A milkman had his daily visit
With his milk vessel which he held tight
With his legs while milking

Later
It was those days when I was in teens
Gone were the cattleshed from the houses
But the milkmen however had it
The milkman used to bring his cow and its calf
To the house he visited that then and there itself
He would readily milk the cow fresh

Later
It was those days when I was in college at Madras
Gone were the real calves.But to my awe..alas..!
A dummy hay-stuffed calf accompanied
Cheated was the cow, hurt was my heart to the fullest
'How the cow could stay composed? ' I got upset to the deepest
'With its paining heart all through milking? '

Later
It was those days when I was newly married and settled
World had already turned too mechanized which nettled
That I could get no fresh milk at all
Cow became a symbol of a brand on milk packets which
With no God's guarantee was consumed by all so much
I had no other way than to follow suit

Today
Which brand to choose is the choice of many
Out of many brands of what one likes if any
Quality is lost against quantity
In my future vision I see no milk packets
But per milk-measure in bottles milk tablets
Or milk tablets in blister packs for calcium intake