Soliloquy

For Abhishek Pandya

There he sits on top of the mare, fully redeemed
As if he were a veritable Rana Pratap himself
Wishing the worst for his un-Mughal invaders, relieved
From the duties that lesser mortals would have
Been subject to in times of such gaiety. His friends
Dance around the animal who has to endure his
Regal bearings with the objectivity of someone
Whose passions outline their deepest thoughts.

He thinks of the black river that he had once
Become, awash in the sins that had flown past
His ideas of the fleeting ash-coloured tears; his bride,
Ornate in a red that her mother is proud of, shall
Wait at the threshold where he will arrive in pomp
And be held hostage till the next day. His mother-in-law,
Unaware of social custom, welcomes him
As if his arrival will turn the tides of her fortune.

His sisters-in-law wreak havoc with his good
Nature, resolving to seek opinions – would
they ask him to part with some of his largesse in
Envelopes or cast sly glances at his friends,
Some of whom escaped the realms of longitudinal
Acceptance in society? His words, hoarse by now,
Would lose all meaning beyond anything
That Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai could convey.

For all his meditations, the nuptials would only
Be a part of the obligations he shall be subject to
Once he parts ways with his friends. Busier still
In glimpsing the faces of those who have not
Yet been shadowed by auras of darkness, he would
Wish to walk past the doors of decorum in a jovial
Despondency that he shall never regret.
All he looked forward to now was sleep.

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