On the street
under the flamboyant Gulmohar
two women share the space
A prostitute and an old beggar.
One gaudily painted
Like a cheap bazaar toy
And the other
a wrinkled yellowing autumn leaf.
Half clad
One to reveal
the other to conceal
their feminine frames
Day and night they play the roles
assigned to them by fate
She lures lewd passengers
By her fake smiles
while anguish gnaws at her heavy heart
She leans against an old lamp-post
blowing smoke in the sultry summer air
waiting to be an one-night bride
Her womanhood laid bare
for hungry men to devour
The old beggar woman watching her
with wise eyes and deep contemplation
Like an Autumn leaf her frail body
wrinkled by time, limply hangs
within the tattered clothes she wears
Unkempt hair cling to her hollow face
like wild vines on crumbling walls
A dented bowl lies empty
on the torn blanket she sits on
Sometimes a carelessly drifting flower
falls from the tree
to fill the emptiness
She folds her hands in Namaskar
and keeps it aside
That little piece of land
is their stage
Where they perform relentlessly
One, by faking a smile or two
and baring her body
to lure the flesh hungry scavengers
The other , by baring her soul
A mere display of her worthlessness
to the world she lives in
Wrapped in herself
her hands outstretched
in dignified calm
Like the other
she too had hardened herself to
weather the life’s storms
Many a times she would lie
curled to one side
retreating into her private cave
as the other sold her body and soul
Humiliated , neglected
Love crucified in sex/poverty
Her life a swivel-door
One goes , another cames in
Nameless, faceless, crowd
Her youth tossed like coins
Vulnerable,
My mind becomes
an open playground for thoughts
From where I sit
on a wooden stool by the window
beside a table laden with
sinful delights and a bed
made ready for one more night
dressed to please
the one man in my life
I feel my soul merge with hers
And then
I look at the other
a mere form under the dark tree
and try to hide
the burden on my soul
Under tattered rags of leftover pride
I fold my thoughts
and look around the cell
which is my home
and wonder
Am I really better off
than them ?
