Forty Winks

K. Radhakumar *

The good news is
Rain is forecast for tomorrow.
What a relief!
The ten o'clock news says
Many places in the country have had
Temperatures in the 40s.
It is history
Steam rose from the boiling kettle
With James Watt by the stove
And we had its introduction in the 18th century
For the benefit of mankind.
The place is hit by soaring temperatures
And what if it keeps on increasing
What if humans and animals are
Bubbling and boiling away like water.
Life will not end in fire nor in ice.
No, life will never end -
It is all in my imagination.
I am running a temperature
And have been in bed with a temperature of 40p .
Yes, I have spent the last few days in bed,
Delirious
And have been reading
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves,
Still a favourite book though I am in my forties.

Here at Imphal
It always looks like rain
But it never falls.
Last week the forecast said
There would be heavy rainfall
By the middle of the week
But the heavens did not open
And cultivation was not possible
In the villages surrounding this small town.

Here in our villages
The irrigations canals
The implements used
The methods of cultivation
All are primitive by modern standards.
Hence, no rain means no cultivation
No cultivation means no rice
No rice means malnutrition and starvation.
Add to this
Last year our field produce was low, very low
Because of flood during the harvesting season.
No rain worries us;
Too much rain worries us.
We do not pray to the god of rain or any god
For the predicament we are in.
The relevance of god dwindles.