The Eunuchs

When I was a child, I used to see the eunuchs coming Dressed in an awkward way To make the baby dance, Beating the small tin drum, Singing and dancing they used to come Searching, asking the house to make it dance, Looking like women but are not, Sometimes appearing to be men, this too not, Neither men nor women, but with deformities, Applying lipstick on lips, giggling and whistling They used to come to rock and swing the baby Holding in the lap, the paan-chewing eunuchs, Asking for a lump sum of money, Ready to abuse and curse if not compromised with The eunuchs demanding, singing in a harsh voice And going with the blessing invoked from Siva Who is but Ardhanarishwara, the God of all.