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GANDHI'S MONKEYS
Don't blame Gandhi, Mahatmaji,
for adoring the three monkeys.
They gave him company
day and night.
Part of his penurious paraphernalia,
his sandals, his glasses,
the three monkeys
had a pride of place.
Hearing no evil,
seeing no evil
and speaking no evil,
the monkeys sat still.
They are monkeys
of oriental origin,
two thousand years old,
from Chinese region.
How I wish
we could be those monkeys !
Hearing no harangues from politicians,
seeing no bloodshed
from bomb blasts,
and saying nothing about
our corruption-ridden governance !
But honestly
do we need to hide
societal evils under red carpets,
or wrap them inside
gift boxes
tied with lovely ribands ?
Let us be no impassive spectators
in the manner
of the three monkeys,
but get together,
gird up our loins,
go all the way
to rid of the menace
of growing evils
all around us.
The bitter truth is
the ones that hear no evil,
see no evil
and speak no evil
amongst us
only belong to those sad abodes
that shelter
the deaf, the blind and the dumb,
living in the worst
of all worlds.
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