This could be today

or any day in the past.

I am not sure anymore….

cutting through the traffic jam

and then turning right to hit the highway

Leaving the sun always to the left

near my home.

A scavenged mind under a glistening helmet

and at a certain point the shoulders ache

with the weight of

numerous memories,

and a back pack.

It could be me

or anybody else…

walking down Park Street

or Esplanade

strangers brushing past me

like rough wind in the sea of humanity.

Friends have turned the corner

to enter into bylanes of memories

for tea in earthen cups

or endless arguments

or hearse

It could be me

or anybody else

as I turn left, while coming back home.

Today

or any day in the past

The insides of my mind are all messed up

With cross roads and lanes and by lanes

And highways

Fading footfalls of childhood

And childhood friends

Nameless hawkers selling

Nameless musical instruments

Or

Godforsaken pastries in steel trunks

On their heads,

On foot on black, sunburnt streets

Or a dirty old man with a tree of flutes

Floating lazy tunes through the haze of memory

Before long smoke filled the streets

Smoke from car exhausts and tear gas shells

People with eyes narrowed to points of arrows

And tongues like sharp swords fought with passion

For unknown causes

Headlights from passing cars tore open the guts of Kolkata

Footfalls of children were replaced with

Footfalls of escaping convicts

Men in black, with colorful ties and smart looks

Descended on the streets

With sniper guns neatly folded in briefcases

I don’t remember

Where exactly I lost my innocence

In which road

Whether it was morning or noon

Bullets whizzed past me like in a battle field

Thought I was clever and safe

Till blood from my wounds filled my hands

Dripped from the corner of my mouth

People were either sleeping on the pavements

Or were dead

It didn’t really matter

My long term memory is slipping

Temporal lobes or sleep deprivation

Only my mother still calls me for dinner sometimes

The fragrance of her sari around her

The symbol of peace.