13 August,2023 08:36 AM IST | Mumbai | Rahul da Cunha
Illustration/Uday Mohite
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 revampedâ¦
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 emotionâ¦
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