Many more namastes

Illustration/Uday Mohite

Namaste.

I'm the Maharaja,

Turbaned and moustachioed,

I was royalty in the '60s and '70s,

I ruled the land, the seas, the air.

I was the air, I was India.

I was a king, I was a raja

I was Akbar, I was Tipu Sutan,

I was Prithviraj Chauhan,

I was royalty,

I served the people,

I travelled the world… I was a globetrotter,

I was India. I am India.

I am the various aspects of India -

complex yet simple,

traditional yet contemporary,

orthodox yet unorthodox,

I am India. I am Bharat.

I am the Mahabaratha, I am Ramayana,

I am Aryabhatta, I am Alia Bhatt.

I am Vallabhai. I am VP. I am Vajpayee.

I am the Tricolour, I am a riot of colours.

I am dynasty, I am diaspora,

I am NRI, I am new India,

I am the Chakra, I am a charkha.

Old is gold… or is it?

I went on a sabbatical, an exile of sorts,

for many years,

A king without a throne,

A king without a palace,

A king with no purpose,

I was replaced,

I was removed,

I was resurrected,

I was reincarnated,

I was re-thought.

I now stand at the crossroads of change, of new challenges,

I can be anything you want me to be,

But I won't be redundant.

I will not be present continuous,

I will not be a past participle,

I am not a full stop, a semi colon, a comma,

I was a prologue,

I will never be an epilogue.

That's no way to treat a king.

I will not be sidelined,

I will not be ornamental,

I will not be metaphorical.

I am a feeling, I am an emotion.

But my future is uncertain -

I am ready to serve,

but where do I stand in today's India?

I am an emotion, I am a feeling.

They're gonna change my garb

They say they're forward looking,

In the world of memes… and millennials

What chance do I have?

In a world of limitless possibilities, have I reached a limit?

How progressive is progressive?

Where do I stand in the revolving door of reform?

I am to be revamped…

New clothes?

A new turban?

A crown? A golden crown?

They're changing my look?

Can you revamp royalty?

Can you modernise a Maharaja?

I was a feeling… I was an emotion…

Can I be replaced by a golden window?

More importantly, who will open it?

I am AI.

Not Artificial Intelligence!

I am Air India.

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