Dr. M. K. Bhan

An ode to Dr Bhan by Amlanjyoti Goswami.

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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.

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