This poem, The Tiffin Box written by Kavitha Lankesh is for her sister Gauri Lankesh. Recited by Teesta Setalvad
The Tiffin Box
Breaking news!!
What was in Gauri Lankesh’s car???
A Tiffin box!!
Her dinner may be for that day
Perhaps for the day after
Which I had packed for her
The left over curries
And amma had rolled umpteen chapathis
She would eat
What she felt like that day
Or didn’t..many a times
A bachelor at heart
That was who Gauri was
Immersed in her own journey,
Her ideologies, her activism
And caring for her many Comrades..
Perhaps more than us?
Late in the night mulling and spewing
Her thoughts on social media
She forgot ..to eat
She just left the food
On the kitchen counter
For roaches and ants to crawl …
She joked to her friends
That she had many a choice
Of curries and dishes
Sadly she hardly ate.
But when did eat, she ate heartily
Beef, mutton, chicken, fish , …
Or in her words “Anything that walks… or crawls.. !!”
My god how can you eat THAT?
What’s in my plate is none of your business
she said as she happily sucked on the bones!
I am a vegetarian, yet on Bakrid,
According to my sister and daughter
I made the most delicious
Mutton biryani!
We fought about million things
big and small,
sombre and silly
She with me
Me with her
When we were young and foolish
the fight lasted
A couple months,
Or maybe a few weeks.
As we grew older
The fight lasted
Just for the night…
The next day started as if we
Never argued, never hurled hurtful, vile words…
How wonderful it is to grow up!
Just a few months back,
she accused me of not paying a bill at office
And I blasted her to
Make it even for the free food I gave her…
Disgusting? Yes.
But the next day
As if nothing had happened
life continued..
Till I saw the Tiffin box lying
In the car…
Untouched ..
which made breaking news!!
How I wish I could fight with her
One last time for not eating!