Oh! Delhi,
You are the mother of cities
In your adolescence
You were Indraprastha
In the youth
You became Shajahanabad
And later you became Delhi
You are the Panchali
Who, for decades,
Is being stripped
By the political lords
You live on the banks of Yamuna
Still, no flutist
Is coming to your rescue
You are the Sita
Who braves the fire
To prove your innocence
Rama sends you
To the concrete jungle
Again and again
Not an inch of earth
Is available here
For you to split
And perish yourself
Oh! Delhi,
Ghalib wanders
In your alleys
Singing his Ghazals
Even today
Now, the river Yamuna
Flows Through your chest
Like a flimsy wound
Where are your children?
Don’t they have a place
Even in this concrete jungle?
By Ismail Meladi
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