Unreal City



( Delhi, Winter, 2010)

Foggy, unreal city,

Night at day.

The sunrays have bid goodbye,

The moist air strikes the skin

Like a cold sabre.

Dark, shrouded characters

Seen through the haze;

Scurrying crowds,

Hurrying in the mist.

The spark of a welder

At a construction site;

Fire meets water.

Dimmed lights glow

Inside cavernous buildings.

Fog lights of passing vehicles

Cut through the haze;

Dust rises from the wheels,

Mixes with the fog

And forms a cumulus.

The white, moist cloud

Flies around buildings,

Nuzzles across window panes;

And thus having made its journey,

Quietly hangs fluttering

Like a bat from the trees.

Mist rises from the water,

And hangs above the frothy canal;

The cold wind blows

From the snowy, distant north.

Huddled by the roadside,

Freezing limbs are warmed by

Blazing fires.

Foggy, unreal city,

Night at day;

Life goes on.

Comments

  1. csatbloggerNovember 13, 2011 at 5:19 PM

    beautiful! there couldnt be a better expression of the winter at delhi..dreamy and airy...something that needs to be caught while you are making the cloud appear..with your lines..bcoz it will be lost again.. I constantly look at the watch and negotiate a few more minutes out of my schedule to read these lines....!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AbhiNovember 14, 2011 at 7:23 AM

    Yes, winter in Delhi is an experience in itself. Maddening, frightening yet exhilarating at the same time. You have to be there to experience it. This was written 2 years back, during one of the harshest winters Delhi had ever had.

    ReplyDelete

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