Workshop # 17

I

It’s not a town, but a farm,
Where mainly animal men live;
Of them, pigs, buffaloes, bandicoots,
Foxes and dogs are the common folks!
Previously a slumbering town praised for
Spirituality is an animal farm now;
Polluted, congested and dirty, it is
Somehow pulls on the days sans progress! 

Once a beautiful town has become ugly now;
Health, sanitation and cleanliness are out
Due to the lethargic govt. machinery there;
Socialism has developed corruption as a
Way of life in all walks of life there;
So, for the sake of money and comforts many
Are ready to forego morality, honesty and respect! 

Here pigs and buffaloes gossip like
The cows basking after a sumptuous meal;
Their labyrinthine talks sans knowledge and logic
Go on endlessly like a drunkard’s talk process;
Caste, politics, religion, money and power
Are what they are much interested in life!
So, in circle meetings they attend regularly
Without fail to attend for the attendance call! 

Getting freedom was the only aim
Of the people before independence;
After the independence, nation building
Activities should be the aim of all;
But after getting independence would it be
Fine to live like bovine creatures?
People don’t want to think about that
But just pull on the days sans developments! 

Each one lives in his own circle unable to change;
And helplessly life also goes on in ignorance;
Life started with a wrong step can’t be changed later;
Is it fate or ignorance that drives them to live so? 

Either one should fight to the last or
Succumb to the system though unsuitable;
But the best course of action nobody can know
Unless one is creative or inventive in pursuit
Of one’s noble ambition in the world
Unmindful of anything in life with respect to
One’s present or future course of action! 

The pretentious way of living cannot
Change ever falsity into truth;
How can contradictions in thoughts, words and deeds
Turn a hypocrite into an up right one?
Only as long as people believe the propaganda
That falsifies the truth can the
Impostors, frauds and black marketers
Survive in this corrupt world today!
 
 
 II

Hundred and fifty years old type of systems still in
Education, administration and judiciary pull on;
Also, equality and socialism make easy for
The rascals and rowdies to mingle with
The sincere and serious ones in the society
And escape from the watchful eyes of
The security personnel ever easily playing
The hide and seek games endlessly on
Both in the public and private here! 

Rogues, rascals and rowdies amidst
Sincere, sensitive and serious ones
Create havoc in the society today!
Also, the calves living among the pigs
Eat excretion like pigs among pigs!
The parasites that eat vitals of crops
Cannot be separated from them;
So, the option left is to eliminate the viruses
In the society by tactical methods only.

The developments made by the sincere and honest
Are deteriorated by the innocent idiots,
Who become later the rascals, rowdies, fundamentalists
And extremists because of the farms they belong!
After becoming so, how cleverly they spoil,
Betray and destroy the good, who help them!
They not knowing who the friend and foe
Do good to the bad and bad to the good! 

Without knowing the difficulties of others,
The pigs and bandicoots reel that they are
The suffering lot in the society and
Stagnate the progress of the society,
Creating depression, disease, deterioration and
Destruction to the innocents in any organization,
Where they all work together, started with
The objective of building the nation! 

Without self development nobody will have
Respect or honor in the world society,
Which is possible only by good education,
Honest toil and simple way of living;
Without education, decency, liberty and
Justice, socialism cannot be successful;
Hence, socialism has failed to achieve anything
Worthwhile everywhere in the world! 

Democracy that has given liberty and rights has
Spoiled the society because of socialism now;
In all the socialistic societies corruption is
Rampant and has spoiled morality of men;
Hence, to save human values, socialism is being
Dropped everywhere adopting democracy to be the best
That gives special status to human culture due to its
Love and frankness against cruelty and falsity!
 
III

Creative or inventive minded men’s scope is hampered
By men of bovine nature fostered by socialism;
Maintaining quantity at the cost of quality of life
Does not improve the status of the society;
Socialism at the expense of individualism
Spoils the system of life in the society;
This should be realized by all seeing today
The failures of socialism in other world nations! 

Politics reigns supreme in all walks of life making
People approach all problems with political perspective;
Quarrels or cordialities among men depends
Upon the political view each one has;
Even physical make up, dress and color are
Viewed and decided with respect to politics now;
Even for walking in the street one should keep oneself
Abreast of the day’s politics to avoid consequences! 

Religion adds fuel to the fire of politics,
Whose wild power can’t be tamed by any means
Except in election by the people’s power that has
Harnessed it for its benefit for sometime or other;
Until then the lootings of the spoil of the public wealth are
Enjoyed by the wolves and foxes amidst the deer and cows
In such a way that the foxes and jackals crave for elections
And propagandas for political parties all round the year! 

Cinema and TV are the modern tools used for political
Propaganda that influences and affects the people much;
So, the matinee idols become the political leaders due to
Their speeches and actions that brain-wash the people;
Champions of both the fields easily become wealthy
That attracts all to become so somehow quickly!
And the show of hands of them to fans and workers
Make them do anything bothering little their lives! 

Political parties of various castes have also come
Into vogue in various States of the country now;
Animal farm has witnessed violent incidences of
Casteistic party buffaloes’ processions often!
They believe violence is the best bet to win in elections
And come to power in the country that got
Freedom from foreigners by Non-Violence!
And the office buffaloes play enthusiastically in works
By getting shots in their arms through such incidences! 

Not reason but passion and madness are let loose by
The political parties of many castes and colors here;
After coming to power what good can such parties do other than
Swindling the wealth of the nation by themselves for themselves?
Not the intellectuals, talented and hard working individuals
But the jackals, pigs and buffaloes would be benefited so;
So, unable to bear the unjustified acts of the animals
Sincere individuals go abroad to work and live better there! 

“Treat public property as one’s own, ” said some
Uneducated genius or so called great intellectual!
But more than eighty percent official and nonofficial animals
Twisting it to their own favor misappropriate everything
Starting from the pavement, roads to rented buildings
In the name of public service to the people;
And now the sleazy activities of the jackals and bandicoots
Have alarmingly gone beyond recovery in the nation! 

IV

Education is for whom - for the learners or for the teachers?
150 years old course curriculum is being followed even today
For whose convenience – for the students or for the teachers?
In spite of that not the students but the teachers go on strike
On the time of exams, correction and announcement of results!
Are the teachers, supposed to be another God here
Really think about the development of the students
That is, the future of the nation that praises them much? 

To continue the routine teachers want high salary
In convenient places of schools or colleges of their choice!
In this highly populous country students want
Good education, job and salary of their choice!
Officials want to continue their routine without
The interruption of the principal or the public!
Politicians want the support of the students to win
In the election for continuing in power forever! 

So, the teachers, to pull on the days so
Willingly live as mice in their holes;
The students, to get through the exams well,
Pull on the days as under dogs in the institutions;
The officials, to pull on the days, live
As rats and bandicoots in their departments;
The politicians, to pull on their days in power
Live as buffaloes caring none here! 

The wolves in charge of funds take law in their hands
And harass men not obeying to their authority;
As if they are above law and others below law,
Treat common men as criminals to be punished;
If they are caught anywhere, they ask others not to be
Angry as what they do is part of their job there!
So, in a democratic govt. both should be watchful
Of each other to maintain order of the nation.

V

Unless the wolves are pleased, no business is
Allowed to go on smoothly in the society;
The wolves in nexus with the political buffaloes and police dogs
Hunt humble animals in the society for their convenience;
This nexus threatens the judicial animals too to their advantage
If anyone goes to law for justice on any ground;
If such is the state of the dominating animals,
How can nation stand high and lead the world? 

Delivering justice based on truth is the duty
Of the judge in any Court in the world;
But since judge is also a human being and not
A God, justice also varies from Court to Court;
Judge’s brain should be razor sharp to know
The right and wrong and save the good from bad
Like the critic, who writes critique seeing the text
And not the Author to be impartial and correct! 

If the judiciary is also like any other department,
Who will go to Court having faith in the Court?
Education, Judiciary, Hospital and Temples are not
The same as other places for money making business;
They are there for safeguarding human body, mind
And soul against diseases, ignorance and evil;
If crime and punishment are not properly matched
What is the use of having Courts in a civilized country? 

Democracy is Governmen of the people by the people and for the people
But never a bureaucratic govt. with bandicoots controlling the affairs
As they wish supported by oil mongering bulls in circular motion!
If so, it would be only a farm even though it’s a cosmopolitan town
Or a metro with various kinds of animals working for its survival!
So, animal farm is a great achievement of modern civilization
By the blunders of bureaucracy unconsciously let loose by all!