Haikus and nursery rhymes

Illustration/Uday Mohite

And so of late, events, both international and national have inspired me to write poetry. Included in this are sonnets, haikus and nursery rhymes and musical lyrics. The events that have interested me include the royal couple and Ms Winfrey, the two vaccines, young Adarsh Gourav and the BAFTAS, the Bengal elections, Bumrah getting married and the call for ban on Bombay Begums. Each of these events has been immortalised by me in verse. Here are some. Enjoy, dear reader, enjoy.

First, I present my poem about the Oprah Winfrey tell-all interview:
Meghan and Harry (to the beat of Jack and Jill)

Meghan and Harry
Went on Oprah
To tell a tale of woe.
They spoke and bitched
On this bare-all show.
Harry lost his crown,
And Netflix came
running after.
Or seen from another angle, and if Piers Morgan has to be believed, the story takes a slightly different angle.
Meghan had a little lamb

Meghan had a little lamb,
A little lamb, a little lamb,
Meghan had a little lamb
His skin was white as snow
And everywhere that Meghan went,
The lamb was sure to go.
It followed her out of the palace one day,
palace one day, palace one day
It followed her out of the palace one day,
Which was against the rules,
The Royal rules.
Meghan had a little lamb
His skin was white as snow.

Closer home, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee had a fall/was pushed while electioneering in Nandigram. The jury is out on what exactly happened.
First, we look at her perspective, she believes she was pushed by her opponents. I have expressed this via a Haiku, cum nursery rhyme: Baa baa black sheep

Baa baa black sheep,
What's to happen to Trinamool?
Yes sir, yes sir, to push Mamata
Just isn't cool.
Of course, her opponents believe this was a ruse to get sympathy. Seen from another perspective. Hey Didi Didi (sung to the tune of Hey Diddle Diddle)

Hey Didi Didi,
Was this push just a fiddle?
As elections draw near, is there a tiny fear,
That the lotus may run away with the poll?

And then came a moment of celebration. Young actor Adarsh Gourav's performance in Arvind Adiga's White Tiger garnered him a BAFTA Best Actor nomination. The competition is what makes this particularly pleasing. Anthony Hopkins for the Father, Riz Ahmad for the Sound of Metal, Mads Mikklesen, the late Chadwick Boesman. So, here's my poem for young Gourav titled, White Tiger White Tiger.

White Tiger, White Tiger
Burning bright
For the BAFTAs…on the night
Will Adarsh Gourav win the fight
There's Mads Mikkelsen and Tony Hopkins
Hannibal and Hannibal Lecter
And the late Chadwick Boseman
And Riz Ahmad
What lies ahead...
A glittering trophy
Go get it…tiger
On another note, voila the vaccine is now available. Which one do you go for is the question. Here's my song.
I am COVID-19 going on COVID-20 (sung to the tune of ‘I am sixteen').

You are COVID-19 going on
COVID-20
People you need to think
Which of the vaccines
Covaxin or Covishield
Do you want injected
in your arm?
You are COVID-19 going on COVID-20
You'll have to wait in line
If it's Covishield you choose
Be ready to swing from a tree
'Coz you could be a chimpanzee

On that note, I'll take my leave. Jasprit Bumrah is set to get married. He has indeed bowled a maiden over.

Rahul daCunha is an adman, theatre director/playwright, photographer and traveller. Reach him at rahul.dacunha@mid-day.com