Governance in the Gloam
Are we still groping in the dark?
Our goal is far away from sight
We the subjects want to live, tranquil
Some sham people shower on us flowery
Promises, on in-crowd premises in dire straits!
Dry up their presence like the fall through the ether!
Their end is served and gone with the wind;
They are oratorical ornament; fond of dream
Woo the populace in a tantalizing way,
The social hot potato on the upper echelon
Rule us for a stint; quinquennial in nature
Clear void in substance; they become potbellied
Single hand, multilayered strata, lie in ambush!
Camouflage in masquerades; fleece the hoi polloi
Junta they create, stealthily for social pillage
Stripped of self-esteem; shameless makebelieve!
Sudden avalanches tear them apart;
Estuary clogged in the end!
Crippled for ever; no human efforts inspire
Hibernate in the bush of masses, for good!
©Basudev Paul
Basudev Paul’s poem entitled, “Gloaming Glum of Governance” is a political satire which presents the follies and shortcomings of political leaders. It is full of irony and humour. The poem begins with the question ‘are we still groping in the dark?’ that exhibits the inability of the common people to know the motives of political leaders. The common masses have been victimized by the false promises of vaunted leaders. They are bewildered to choose the right leadership. They fail to identify the right leader.
Further, the poet points out that the common man is very quiet in today’s morbid politics. Political leaders give false promises and flatter common people for their voting purposes wonderfully. They beg for voting cramps after the election. They went away from the attachment of voters once and all.
They immediately vanish with the wind unknowingly. The poet metaphorically calls them ‘oratorical ornament. They are experts in their tirade. They skilfully coax to illiterate society and get votes from the masses and started to tantalize them after the election. People accepted their leadership for a particular period.
Politicians, with the help of burning social issues, targeted common mass for a limited period. The poet verbally attacks for reformative purposes on the subject of politics and political leaders.
The poet makes humour on physical calling them ‘potbellied’ they are just pretending in their life. They approach people for the vote and disappear afterward. They establish ‘Junta’ political institutions to snap vote from people and exploit them by their duplicate nature. They are morally degrading men who spoil the common man’s life. They are shameless people according to the poet who does not follow their promises.
But after some time, people show their real faces and bring them down. And disconnect them from their life here no more for them. Common men teach politicians a lesson in another election period. Voters close their doors for such people again. They are crippled; they do not do inspirational work for the other. They become inactive for good things. Paul’s poem holds basic moral ethics in this poem. The poet is on pins and needles over the issues of politics. Paul succeeded in scrutinizing the game of politics seriously.
Reviewed by
Prof AR Ingle
Department of English
Adarsh College of Arts Nijampur Jaitane Tal: Sakri DT: Dhule: MH: 424305
MA M Phil NET
