An ode to Dr Bhan by Amlanjyoti Goswami.
Midnight’s Child
They made a perfect circle
These babies and their mothers
As the good doctor went round
With his drops of gold.
And they went home tall and happy
Now moms and dads themselves
With kids of their own, scruffy as
Chicks in a nest
Heads sticking out, for another drop
Now rota, then polio.
But this time the doctor is gone
Looking for the wind
On foot.
He forgot where he parked his car
And it is still missing.
He is exploring a new question.
A man of science, he needs answers
That measure in stone
That can work for all seasons
For this batch, the next one.
At home, the kids too have grown
And there are many stories to hear
And so little time.
The whole world is a friend
And yet it comes knocking,
Just when he was at the study
Looking at the night
Pondering over that broken gene
And wondering, if it was time
To turn out the lights.
9th November,1947 – January 26th, 2020