Where are the inebriated rats
who nine lac litres of liquor drank
Outsmarting the Inquisitor's guarded cellar
in rollicking Epicurean prank?
Has anyone seen these pagan legions?
Are they in stupor sound
in shaded bunkers of Patliputra,
unsighted by the official hound?
Or are they dancing in the air,
invisible to the human eye?
will they fall in one fell swoop
and the tormentor's throne occupy?
Who are these that shake a leg
dressed in khaki apparel?
Are these men that were the rats—
what a miracle to tell.
What sort of vintage must it be
that changes rats to uniformed fauj?
How may the Inquisitor arrest the rats
after such a clever nationalist dodge?
Badri Raina