The Raavan in Me

I walked down a desolate street,

The weather an absolute treat,

The drizzle slowly landed on my head,

Substituting the silence — dead.

The world looked like a dream,

The surroundings were all colored — cream,

And in the distance I could see,

A reflection of a darker me.

A crooked smile painted my reflection’s face,

A hurry in his graceful pace,

I silently followed the murkier me,

Answering my curiosity’s plea.

A few steps ahead he stopped,

And on a bench he dropped,

He whistled at every girl passing by,

And from the distance I saw them utter a silent cry.

I couldn’t tolerate my sullen face,

And towards the bench I raced,

I dragged him after a desperate fight,

Until the bench was out of sight.

My darker-self almost faded,

As his crooked smile receded,

He pulled his hand and ran ahead,

The grace in his gait transformed to dread.

I had defeated the Raavan in me.

He stopped after a while again,

As increased the sputtering rain,

And beside him a man crumpled our flag,

And tossed it in a bunch of rag.

And even at such brazenness, my darker-self sat still, ignorant of the person’s act.

I couldn’t believe my eyes,

Couldn’t forget the martyrs’ families’ cries,

I forced him to pick the tricolour,

And pay it its deserving honour.

And then he disappeared finally,

And left behind was only me,

And on my shoulder fell a rose,

In the distance as the sun rose.

I had defeated the Raavan within me.

And then I realized what Dussehra meant,

It wasn’t a day of benevolence,

Neither was it a day when Raavan was killed,

Nor when Shri Ram’s victory was instilled.

It is a day when your evil dies,

When your surroundings are purified by his anguished cries,

It is a day you remake yourself,

It is the birth of a newer self.

Vedaant Sengar is a grade 10 student at Vishwajyot High School. He has many varied pursuits, writing being one of them. Vedaant is also a member of the student counsel at school, where he serves as the cultural captain.