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Tinted windows

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I picked my way gingerly, dodging the still cool evidence of the monsoon showers
Hitching my skirt up, no glance to spare for the faces I had come looking for.
A naked toddler stumbled, carried by the inertia of his steps,
Curious, towards a pair of pigeons pecking intently
At the leftover of the street kids who live on crumbs.
My mind caught in the ‘simplicity’ of the moment,
Perhaps should capture it for my ‘experimental travelogue’.

Eyes traveled down the curves towards that most endearing part of the human body
And, arrested there, at his now not so endearing bottom
An immediate sidestep, I danced a tango with the still warm evidence of his effluence
Eyes snapped back to the ground
Jumped over the pools and rushed towards the parking lot
All but fell into the airconditioned interior
As if sucked in by the vacuum created by the difference in temperature
Sitting back and rolling my tinted windows up
I sighed and looked out affectionately at the poetic beauty that had beckoned me here.

The conversation turned to the daily grind of urban life
And the solutions devised by technology to break the monotony of city
I smiled condescendingly.

Comments

Anonymous said…
True, I see the world through my tinted windows. I am consumed with selfish thoughts. Inadvertently, I happen to see the plight of people living in misery. I spare a few fleeting moments to think about THEM.But not until I am safely back into my cocoon, behind my tinted windows. Then, I feel like an angel for sparing those fleeting moments. Then, I forget about it. Until another accidental encounter with the reality.But this window between me and the reality is not outside me. The external barrier can be easily rolled down. The one inside, I don't know how to deal with it yet. I haven't bothered to deal with it. The shameful truth is - I don't really care.
August 17, 2007 at 6:25 PM
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