Delhi Belly
When you can't stomach your own country
The worst way to betray your country
is through your stomach.
The tragic end of patriotism
hanging on the last bite of a plate
full of chaat or channa.
Don’t even ask about the road side
nimbu pani. How dare you cramp and belch,
and succumb to nausea on your pilgrimage
through Dilli’s streets?
The “egg in a bun”, the 2 am haunts
under deserted flyovers, the rummali roti
with a day-old mutton kebab, washed down
with a beer from a cooler in the trunk
of your car. These were your summer
nights, so many nights ago.
Standing under sleepy trees shedding
more dhool than leaves, eating under
darkened Delhi skies, car radio on.
Don’t you remember?
Fast drives through empty roads,
dhabba paranthas, mounds of Amul
melting gold against the warmth?
You’re a fucking NRI now,
living your squeaky-clean, ridiculously
sanitized expatriate life in Bauhinia land.
Can’t deal with the heat, or the monsoons,
or the piping hot jalebis from the Halwai,
leaking through brown paper packets,
diabetically sweet and perfectly twisted
in their orangeness.
Chaat – Street food
Channa – White chickpeas
Nimbu Pani – Lemonade
Dilli - Delhi
Rummali Roti – Flat bread
Dhool – Dust
Dhabba - Road side eatery
Paranthas – Stuffed flat breads
Amul - Butter
Jalebi – Spiral sweet dessert
Halwai - Sweet makers and confectioners
Bauhinia flower – Official emblem of Hong Kong
Shikha S. Lamba is a jewelry designer and poet living in Hong Kong. She is also the co-editor of an online magazine, Coffee and Conversations. Shikha has contributed poetry for publications in Hong Kong, the US, the UK, Bangladesh, Indonesia and India including The Madras Courier, IMPRINT Hong Kong Women in Publishing Anthology, Ambidextrous Bloodhound Press, The Bamboo Hut Journal and Yearbook of Indian Poetry in English 2022 Anthology. Her work was nominated for Best of the Net in 2023, and she is a 2023 Pushcart Nominee. Her poems often touch on themes of feminism and social injustice.
Instagram - www.instagram.com/shikhaslambapoetry
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ShikhaSawhneyLamba
Twitter - https://twitter.com/shikhaslamba
Linkedln - https://www.linkedin.com/in/shikha-sawhney-lamba-8486261a6/
Substack - https://substack.com/@shikhaslamba
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