Balkanisation

Sergei looked at us, amazed –

How could someone, so far away

In British Calcutta

Know so much of the Soviet republics –

‘My son knows less than this,

How?’ he asked

 

Mr. Chatterjee smiled,

‘Not history - It’s the lessons

We need to carry with us,’

He defended Calcutta –

The city of erudition

Talking Crimea, Kazakh and other stans

 

As if it were a neighbourhood here

In Bowbazar

Years later, I wonder

Did Sergei teach his son enough?

More importantly, did Mr. Chatterjee

Spark us enough

 

To realise that

In the balkanisation of life

Every day’s citadel

Will fragment many times a day

And yet, we must continue

Look back at most

 

At the nostalgia of a world within control

And then look forward

At the irony of uncontrolled perestroika

In every day’s life

In shambles, tatters,

But still moving on, and on, and on

 

I can still see him smile –

Wizened, aged,

With thick rimmed glasses

Clutching another book

And whispering softly even today:

‘It’s the lessons we need to carry with us…’

 

10^th June, 2026

 

(Inspired by real events)