“This year too in the plains”

This year too in the plains

There are no mountains.

For centuries the mountains have stayed in one place;

It’s time they moved.

The Vindhyas, for instance, should come closer

To the bus stand and law courts,

And the Satpura go behind

The village school or farm.

The Himalayas seem unfair

To a place that doesn’t have the Himalayas;

This maidan seems unfair

To a place that doesn’t have a maidan;

Tatanagar seems unfair

To a place that is not Tatanagar.

This year let this level ground be displaced

Not to the terai but the Himalayas,

The ground’s highest point rising like a Himalayan peak.

Let’s have Bhopal this year

Near Bakal and Pariyajob,

Varanasi on the banks of the Mahanadi,

Gariaband near the Ganga,

Chandigarh near Sanchi,

Nandgaon near Faridkot,

And Madras next to Moradabad.

All places should be displaced

And brought near all other places,

So that every place is near every other place

And not a single person is displaced

Because of drought, terrorism, or war

From the village this year.