Turnaround Poem by Prabhakar Subramaniam

There were fewer farmer suicides
Last year than in the previous year
The crime records bureau report said
Only 1980 took their lives in 2014
As against 2,000 in 2013
Which experts hailed
As a remarkable turnaround
In a country where agrarian distress
Has been around for quite some time
And refused to go away
'Like some recalcitrant ghost'
To quote the go-to authority in the field;
According to a government official
Who spoke on condition of anonymity
The compensation lobby was behind
The reporting of all suicides on farmland
As related to a crushing debt burden
Whereas they could be attributed to
Such mundane causes as insomnia
Acute gastro enteritis
Or even possession
Sometimes leading to fatal exorcism;
When contacted the government oracle
Said the declining trend
Was a good augury;
The planets were moving
Into favourable positions
And happy days were coming
Sooner than later