The foreign master left the tiger in its cage, and there it stays 65 years is young so the captivity

stays hmm, to go by a nation's age so there it stays Shackled by chains and chains that overlap and knots and knots of corruption, regionalism and communal minds Tethered to narrow incompetent minds the caged tiger suffers from muscular dystrophy Devoid of a lead no real leaders who can lead it to its own potential it circles and circles in it own cage and we clap and cheer its limited freedom too afraid to unleash the tiger too afraid to ride the tiger cos we are not it We are just nails, or a stripe may be a paw, an ear, an eye, hmm a tail maybe A Hindu, A Muslim , A Sikh, A Christian, A Buddhist A Punjabi, A Gujju, A Maharashtrian, A Vidharbha, A Jharkhand, A Telanaga, just limbs A Kashmiri stripe or is it the slanted North eastern eyes A Dravidian fur, A Bihari appetite, A Bengali mind No! We are not it. The tiger is India. We are not it! Was it Blake who spoke of tiger's fearful symmetry? Is this tiger a mockery? Hmm it does have teeth that bite into its own skin

must be the ticks that stick cos leeches fall off when fattened with blood. Where are its secular stripes that integrate symmetrically? Where is its unity in which its strength lies? Where is its appetite that can unleash it potential might? Let us not be tooth and nails or the black or orange stripe or skin or bones Let us be the tiger You & I Let us be us and be the tiger ride the tiger out of captivity Let us look beyond our muddied bloodied feet and limbs and paws and eyes and ears or the colour of our stripes let us shake off the ticks that makes us bleed Happy Birthday Tiger Look up, you must if only you would limber up the rusty shackles will fall off Look up, you must if only you would You will find out the cage is not made of brick and stones there is nothing concrete

except your determination find it, discover it, nourish it and break free! Shyam 15 August 2012