FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS

The city is in a festive mood

all cities across the land

are in a festive ambience.

Like a celebrity and his family

getting ready for celebrating

Festival of Lights

the city too is

decked up for the celebrations

two or three months in advance.

With the daylight clearing way

for the approach of Sunset

city transforms

into a dazzling beauty.

Like caparisoned elephants

lined up with coloured bulbs

on both sides of the streets

twinkling, twinkling and twinkling

the sky-scrapers

look like a magic world.

Citizens enter the city

from different places 

walking or in their vehicles

park their vehicles

close to the foot paths

some get into

 textile shops, hotels, bakeries

all full to the brim

still the flow of

citizens never stops.

Vehicles ply along to and fro

hooting horns

the noises of the citizens

get drowned amidst the cacophony.

The streetlights open their eyes

take bath in the frothing milky lights

the signals red and green

shine intermittently

give silent commands to the vehicles

either to stop or move ahead

the city turns into a

charming beauty with cool breeze

flowing from somewhere to embrace the city

to enchant them.

Children buy crackers

parents purchase

colourful clothes for them

and for children.

They enter the city hotels

order the hotel-waiters

to bring them this and that

and engage in talking to each other.

They reluctantly, yes reluctantly

drove down the streets

to reach their ‘nests’.

But city is a city

none has any friends

none likes to keep friendships.

The sense of alienation

one feels in the city

is but unbearable

yet they continue

remain aliens

that is what is

a city in its true colour.