Poems by
Debasish Bhattacharyya

The Irony of Our Times

a poem by Debasish Bhattacharyya

Is that we have bigger communities, but scarcer progressiveness
Wider revolutions, but lesser evolutions
We connect with people more, but rarely selflessly.

We have elite technology GAFA- Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon
But little success in reducing poverty and inequity
More vulnerable to cyber-bullying, but less awareness
We are desirous of more modern gadget
But less sense of transitioning from affection to addiction
More time spending on screens, but less social abilities
More hard/software upgradations, but more feature-bloated new versions
More antivirus protection, but less security.

We have widened democratic norms, but squeezed together its spirit
We indulge in rhetoric, promise the moon, and then tend to forget soon
We are well versed in what it takes to outlast our rivals, but hardly fairly
We are good at clinging to power, but not powering people
We take pride in being the world’s largest democracy and trumpet
But slip in Global Democracy Index
We preach democracy to others, but soak up poor political culture
We claim to have just electoral system, but reluctant to electoral reform
We believe in more hyperbole, but less human betterment and uplift
We talk of just society but believe in political expediency
We take credits but turned democracy into a fig leaf to cover failures

These are the times of fraudsters, and crooks;
More money and only money.
These are the times of plastic smiles and laughter clubs
More songs, but less soulful; more luxury, but less contentment

These are days of Crèches and old age homes, but more heartlessness;
Of trafficking and child labor, but pseudo compassion
It is a time of religious abuse and medical abuse, and little fear

A time when life’s priorities are often at odds with each other

And a time when many are likely to ignore this, you decide

Either to ponder over it… or go back to living a mundane life.