Asil Maitra
Patchy Green
Fog-wrapped Calcutta City sleeps.
We tip-toe in our two-room flat and
Gather our bats, stumps,
Odd pairs of pads, gloves, the ball.
Misshapen, its seam is partly unstitched.
We reach our cricket pitch,
Fading green, clumps of soil
Creeping through its shambolic coat.
In the distance a factory chimney simmers
Exhaling the grey smoke of last night’s shift.
We begin our game like shadows in the haze.
The hard ball whizzes past slicing the air,
Bounces on rough patchy grass and flies.
It avoids the keeper’s head and disappears.
Batters, bowlers, fielders all join in the search.
Some days the pitch is gentle and quiet.
Batsman respond by scoring all round
The ground. Then suddenly the ball
Hits the rugged surface, swinging, spinning.
‘Catch it’, ‘How’s that’, we shout.
We head for home when the midday sun
Starts to glare, sweeping away the urban grime.
On the pavement women cook lunches,
Children play with a rubber ball and wooden plank
On dusty, pockmarked tarmac.
Page(s) 54
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