The portraits of the
former Vice-Chancellors
are looking aghast
as the young scholars
are sitting on the chairs
with their eyes at the entrance,
while in their minds
some girls wearing churidars
are causing eruptions
with their cyclonic glances.

Shakespeare and Kamban,
the Koran and the Bible,
the Kural and the Vedhas
are dusty being unmoved from the racks
as the boys browse at the smiling faces.
Students don’t secrete points from books
but steal the books themselves
or injure the nose or ear of the critics
using a blade to tear off some pages.

Seeing this, the priests will shed tears
for the Bible treated as untouchable.
The clerics swearing ‘jehadi’
will fire at these unscrupulous young
who dare to ignore the Koran.
The saints will fly into a rage
for the Vedhas put to sleep.
If some monks see this scene,
they will walk from Gaya to Peking
as their Scriptures remain unsought.

The sanctum of the hungry scholars
is changed into a park for hollow heads.
The teachers are proud to say
they are tax assessees
and their students are happy to say
they are close to some politicians.