Not very long ago,
You were the mother of all Telugus;
Now, you are just the mother of Andhraites;
Wait, you also have a new title,
awarded by our feudal lord,
“Telugu ghost”
True, you are a ghost!
Why not?
You are the ghost
who claimed the life of Amarajeevi
by making him starve for
nearly eight weeks
You are the ghost
who promised us bright future
and prompted us to
migrate to a rocky desert
with an uncertain existence
You are the ghost
who asked us to give up
Idli and Sambar and
offered us sumptuous biryani,
but could not provide
even a cup of Irani chai
You are the ghost
who shamelessly wiped out
from your face
the spit of Nehru
who called you
a “natkhati groom”
You are the ghost
who remained indifferent
when “gentlemen” ruled
that your children are
not entitled for jobs in
the new capital
You are the ghost
who preferred to keep mum
when your own image
Rudramma was projected
as your step-mother
You are the ghost
who transformed all other
great personalities like
Thyagayya and Tikkanna
into ghosts and made them
prostrate before the “new mother”
You are the ghost
who is still clinging to the roof,
unable to step out
without any belongings,
after dumping all your
riches and smiles in the
“affluent city” (bhagyanagaram)
You are the ghost
who remained a mere statue
with no claim on anything --
these hitech structures,
dazzling roads and sparkling lights
which are heckling you
You are the ghost
who is helplessly chanting
the name of Srikrishna
like Draupadi,
though they are
stripping you everyday
and threatening to pull off
the clothes of your children
You are the ghost
but, after all,
you are also our mother
that is why we are forced
to garland you, albeit
secretly and stealthily
like thieves and run away
in the cover of darkness
before we are caught
in the day light and before
the “lord” wakes up
so as to save
our shameless lives and
disturbed souls, which
have nothing but to fear
the “bhago” threats
in this “foreign land!”
