Price

Bought a couplet from a little boy
selling shayari;
“Didi, listen, this will make you
very happy”, he said.
I listened greedily as the beautiful
lines washed over me.

When he held out a
grubby palm for his payment,
I clutched it tightly
crushing
the note within.
How much for a forever supply?
I mouthed inwardly.

His smile slipped, his
eyes fell silent;
don’t you know,
he seemed to say,
as he wriggled out of my
grasp, there is
no such thing
as
forever?




Travelette 1 - Sheik Salim Chisti’s Dargah, Fatehpur Sikri. November 2005.