Kolkata-Culture
artwork by amina
A concert at Rabindra Sadan, Amjad Hossain's playing at Nandan,A play at Shishir Mancha, something at the Academy too.
Stand at Kolkata's hot-shot culture spot and sip a hot-shot cup of tea.
Look around, search for known faces, nod when you see one
Say Hi, what news of you.
Stand just so beneath the stairs or the tree so that everybody notices you,
That you're a culture spot regular, they see,
That even after the ten-to-five you're here for culture, they note,
That despite domestic troubles culture you are close to, they realize,
So that they see your cotton punjabi, bag slung on shoulder, appreciate the sari So they see your sing-song, your pretty-poem face
See your theatrical curls, your filmi air
That you're the damn Big Daddy of all culture, they do see! Walk-flaunt so that your audience comes to know
That yes, you too own an Ambassador or a Maruti.
Laugh-fling so they know no grief's ever lodged in your heart,
So they understand, you reside in a posh area
That you don't live in one of those execrable slums
Where huddle the city's ten lakh souls.
Glide forward one more step, lean close to somebody, imagine kisses on you
Kisses that raise goosebumps which means that you are not one of those sorry ten lakh. Rashid Hasan works at an NGO.
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