Pasha

Pasha the autodriver
Moonlighting for a few rupees more
Toils through light and dark
To keep hunger at bay
For him and his parivaar
Who came with him in fright
From the masjid at Babri
Where they witnessed the fight
That took the life of his father
Who was trying to make peace
Between his brother and a Hindu
As they came to blows
His intention was misunderstood
The fray enveloped him
And cast him aside
Pasha, then a lad
Ran, crying to his side
But his abba had a bleeding head
And death close by
Those days are hard forgotten
Pasha still motors
At night in the auto
Lifting sacks as the day blazes on
I'm told the story
With a pithy little end
Pasha says, 'All men are men first
And humans in the end'.