I am always playing a role, I am never myself.
I am always this and that.
I am always here and there.
I am always shifting.
I am always in transit.
I am always expanding.
Expanding - vertically, horizontally, in terms of population, in terms of distances –
distances in between destinations, distances in between people, distances in between hearts.

I always playing a role, I am never myself.
I belong nowhere and to no one.
I am never ever never myself.
I am both, this and that.
I am both, here and there.
I am both, chaos and the calm.
I am both, alone and together.
I am both, truths and lies.
I am both, wild and the civilized.
I am both, east and the west.
I am both, traditional and the contemporary.
I am both, haven and hell.
I am both, barren and green.
I am both, poverty and progress.
I am both, priviledged and the oppressed.
I am both, oppressed and oppressor.
I am both, looked and looker.
And they look, and they look, and they look.

And, I can’t smell. Sometimes, I can be blind too.
I shut my eyes tight and poof….. it will all vanish.
Vanish like the scenes of a city long gone.
I always playing a role, I am never myself.
I am silently growing.
I am shifting and pushing and expanding.
And I am both, oppressed and oppressor.
I am both, looked and looker.
And they look and they look and look.

And, I can’t smell. Sometimes, I can be blind too.
I shut my eyes tight and hope it will all be over.
over…poof…vanish……
Vanish like the scenes of a city long gone.

I can look at my past through these windows,
look, and look, and look.
I am both, looker and looked.
look, and look, and look…..
at my past through these windows
my mother and my childhood and scenes of a city long gone.

The city with sound of sparrows and bulbuls.
The city where the sound of evening church bells tolled,
to stop the games and run back home for dinner.
For whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.

Arre, Bahu…. Allah ki awaaz aa gayi hai, diya jalla do.

The city with sound of sparrows and bulbuls.
This progress killed them most.
A bird without feet, they sleep in the wind.
Killed them most…
This shifting. This growing. This expanding.
The oppressed and the oppressor.
Expanding - vertically, horizontally, in terms of population, in terms of distances –
distances in between destinations, distances in between people, distances in between hearts.

And, I am both, darkness and the light.
I am both, chaos and calm.
alone and together.
truth and lies.
wild and the civilized.
east and the west.
traditional and contemporary.
haven and hell.
barren and green.
poverty and progress.
priviledged and the oppressed.
oppressed and oppressor.
looked and looker.
I am both, darkness and the light.

When this circular light watches over me and bathes me in its warmth,
I feel safe. I am home.