The security guard
Squat, solid
Fresh from Assam,
Doing a 12-hour security job
For the big insurance company,
Takes a quick breakfast
By dipping bread loaves
In tap water collected in a chipped glass.
Noticed by the peon,
Cross-eyed, thin and bald,
He is sent to the company’s large canteen
Where the young guard
In baggy trousers and loose shirt,
Looking like a toy,
In a colourful static shop,
Is given tea and hot samosas By a young and caring waiter from Andhra Pradesh,
When the lolling owner,
A big fat man,
Shouts at
This act of generosity,
The silent waiter says
Charge this to my meager accounts,
As I cannot see a fellow-being
Go semi-starved
And eat his bread with tap water.
The old owner smiles,
Sitting on a leather chair
Under the
Oversized painting
Of his favourite deity,
Incenses,
Flowers,
And all,
And declares blandly:
As you wish,
You won't ever change,
Nor will understand,
The city mores,
You great rustic fool!
