Five Hundred Rupees
Five Hundred Rupees
Boisterous laughing, endless chattering
Down the roads, we are racing
Back and forth from side to side, zigzagging
The engines of our motorcycles revving
Long bike rides with a bunch of friends,
What else can be more liberating.
The winds blowing through my hair
Taking on the world without a care
My friends cheer me on as I dare
To dodge the highway patrolman, his blare.
I wave the five-hundred rupee note in the air
Price of the traffic ticket I evaded, trust my flair.
I made it to the front page story
My triumph, my pride, gone awry
The roads were predatory
In the picture, my cracked skull
And the drenched note looked gory
All that is left is misery
If only I had worn my helmet strictly
My parents wouldn’t be weeping bitterly
Don’t copy me, I was crazy
How I yearn to go back to my party.
Helmets, Traffic rules are for you, your safety.
Follow them fastidiously, you won’t be sorry
Another statistic, another history.