Let Us India Make

A cruel taxi driver in Mumbai Forced a Muslim woman Out of his vehicle For she was in labour Providence had it that She meandered into a Hindu temple Of Lord Ganesh Gave birth to a yelling Full-throated Indian babe Assisted by female devotees Who had thronged the place News says the child was named Ganesh Another news items blares Badly needed space was granted At a Hindu temple in Mumbai For Muslims to pray On the day of Eid Al-Adha Both incidents are in order That is the way the world should be No matter what brainless crooks say Yet why is it that so much is said About what every man should do To his fellow human And why does it become big news When someone repairs a broken sparrow Or pauses to sit beside A dying cat to pray Or rescues a stray dog from a well All unnoticed, unreported Man has it in him A God that expresses often In an elating empathy May such men Hold their hands together And do an India make Others will sure join For elation is everyone’s like In sheer tears of joy Let them sing Vande Maataram* Children born to a mother Spanning miles and miles Of beautiful earth Enriched by the Ganges Her eyes fixed on the sky Of stars and galaxies Listening for eons and eons To the songs of universal love Make India, make India You sons of India We are born at a Ganesha mosque Or is it a church or a Jain temple A gurudwara, it is all the same Providence has it so Lucky we remain Singing Vande Maataram In unison As the dumbfounded stars listen ________________ *salute the mother