A black man sat in the Tagore theatre balcony
and an old man with a flowing white beard sat next to him
while the Anthem was being played.the rest stood up.
these two remained seated.
the black man asked the bearded gentleman,
“who da fuck’re you, man?”
the saintly man said,
” I’m Tagore..and who art thou?”
the black man said,
” I’m Bob Marley and I stand up only for my rights.”
Written during IFFK 2016 when the Supreme Court ruling implemented National Anthem to be played in cinema halls and ordered everyone to stand up while the Anthem being played.
First published in Countercurrents.
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