baba

baba, in my daydreams, we are still together

sitting on our takhat, fighting over the remote

and then eventually laying back down happily and watching the show chosen by the victor

baba, in my daydreams, you still wake up at 5 and play bhajans on the radio

with blurry eyes i wake up to you puttering around the kitchen making chai for yourself

baba, in my daydreams, you still read panchatantra to me and tickle my feet

you sit down on the chatai with a tub full of diced mangoes to make your aachar and sirka

baba, in my daydreams, i see you through our jaali wala darwaza sitting outside on the porch at 7 in the morning reading the newspaper and hear you turn the pages muttering softly about how you cant believe that petrol costs have risen to 65 rupees a litre

sometimes i see you walking down the street with your hands behind your back

sometimes i see you gazing at our lemon tree with such pride

baba, in my daydreams, you still call me babuji

baba, in my daydreams, you know that i sometimes unconsciously imitate how you used to sit and stand and walk and you find it endearing

baba, in my daydreams, we are together

baba, in my daydreams, you know that i love you

baba, in my daydreams, we are together

however, right now, rooted in reality, baba, i only want you to be free, at peace, happy

right now, rooted in reality, baba, i just hope that maybe one day in the course of our existence, we will cross paths again