61 Years of Independence

We are thrilled, that India has
A constellation of billionaires
We are thrilled our companies have
Their sights on global wares

We exult that despite
The West's economic meltdown
Our middle class buys apartments
At prices their parents frown

And march on into the malls
To buy exotic creams
And fly around with gay abandon
Beyond their parents' dreams

This is one India showcased
In glittering sheen and growth
But another lurks in its shadow
Where life's of little worth

Debt ridden farmers kill
Themselves in utter despair
And poverty forces thousands
To beg everywhere

The future where is pegged to
Maybe a good monsoon
But where the spiraling prices
Eat into their earnings soon

Hungry children drop out of school
And suffer everyday
Die of diseases that can be cured
Where misery holds its sway

Which is the real India?
My fellow men tell me now
61 years of Independence
Oh India celebrates how?

...................(c) Ravinder Malhotra