Whose Gandhi?

John Samuel

Gandhi now has a price tag.
More in demand and less in supply.
Gandhi, killed...again..and again;
Dead Gandhi,
Mummified and modified ,
An experiment with untruths
A lie in the labyrinths of power.

A brand ambassador for toilets
A solace for even extinguished Marxists
Khadi uniform for the congress Wallahs
Currency for the Rich
Cocktail for the powerful
A toast for all parties
A photo for the poor.
A brand for the broom
A hat for the aam- aadmi.
A ritual on 2nd October

The spectacle of a samadhi for the visiting VVIPs.
Assassinated Gandhi ,acquired wholesale by the assassins
Reverent Gandhi , for the octogenarians Gandhians,
Resting in peace at Gandhi bhavans everywhere

A suffix for the high command
A prefix for the universities.
A text book for the kids
A statue for the crows.
A name for a road
A smile on the flex hoardings.
Gandhi bashing, a fashionable enterprise.
A quote for every speech by every Indian.
Gandhi, available in all colours and shapes
From Maddison square to mahatma markets

Gandhi , manufactured, manipulated
And modified.
Gandhi in the stock exchange
Gandhi , bought or sold.
Gandhi, imagined and invented
Gandhi , hated
Gandhi, loved

Poor Gandhi.
Rich Gandhi.
Ritualised Gandhi.
Rubberised Gandhi.
Market Gandhi .
Myth Gandhi
And of course,
Mahatma Gandhi!!!