Joshua Bodhinetra

Poems and Text

Pratishtha Pandya

Editor

Atharva Vankundre

Illustration

large_01-image_123650291-AK-A-hundred-and-eight-feet-incense-stick.jpg

medium_01-image_123650291-AK-A-hundred-and-eight-feet-incense-stick.jpg

small_01-image_123650291-AK-A-hundred-and-eight-feet-incense-stick.jpg

thumbnail_01-image_123650291-AK-A-hundred-and-eight-feet-incense-stick.jpg

01-image_123650291-AK-A-hundred-and-eight-feet-incense-stick.jpg

Once upon a time,
in the enchanted kingdom of LaLaLand, the god-king Amandi Derron ruled with an
iron (deficient) fists. He didn&#39;t eat, he didn’t let anyone eat either, hence
the magnanimous (d)eficiency. What? A missing letter? Oh, it got auctioned off
to Antigua Adam, the dwarven lord of the western realms.

One day his
majesty&#39;s elvish priest Hamasith had a nightmare, he saw a highland Uar
usurping the throne. Surely a terrible portent it was, for the Uars were a
savage race who practiced evil customs like democracy and whatnot. Hurriedly
the council of wizards gathered, and lo! They divined a magical solution! A 108-foot-long
incense stick must be crafted from the purest dung of Agatamu, the fairy
goddess of bonds.

Thusly Agatamu&#39;s
bowels were dredged, all necessary bonds collected, and finally the incense was
lit. But the smell! Oh the sweet, sweet farmer-loathing jumla-loving smell! It
is said that as the frankincense smoke slowly drifted across the starving sky,
king Derron himself danced with Antigua and Hamasith. Well, perhaps the omen
was averted, perhaps not, who can say? All we know is that LaLaLand lived
happily (n)ever after.

A hundred and eight feet incense stick

ایک سو آٹھ فٹ لمبی اگربتی

నూట ఎనిమిది అడుగుల సాంబ్రాణి కడ్డీ

நூற்றியெட்டு அடி ஊதுபத்தி

ਅਗਰਬੱਤੀ ਇੱਕ ਸੌ ਅੱਠ ਫੁੱਟੀ

ଶହେ ଆଠ ଫୁଟିଆ ଧୂପକାଠି

एकशे आठ फुटी उदबत्ती

നൂറ്റെട്ടടി നീളമുള്ള മെഴുകുതിരി

ನೂರಾ ಎಂಟು ಅಡಿ ಉದ್ದದ ಅಗರಬತ್ತಿ

पत्थर की मूर्ति और गोबर की बत्ती

એકસો આઠ ફૂટ લાંબી  અગરબત્તી

एक सौ आठ फुट ऊंच अगरबत्ती

एक सौ आठ फीट लमहर अगरबत्ती

এশ আঠ ফুট দীঘল এডাল ধূপকাঠী

একশো-আটের ধূপে ভোটের বালাই

Sonarpur

At present, we can only accept donations in Indian rupees by Indian citizens. All donations made to the CounterMedia Trust are eligible for exemption under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Here is a copy of our exemption certificate.


India is bigger than New Delhi. And people need to know more about the rest of this vast nation.


Younger, media-saturated generations are growing up knowing little about their country, but a lot about the elites of a few metros and towns. For a narrowly-owned, commercially-driven media, the dumbing down of a nation is part of standard operating procedure. The last available data of the Centre for Media Studies (CMS, Delhi) show us that reports from New Delhi account for 66 per cent of news on the front pages of major dailies. The CMS data also found that just about 0.24 per cent of front page news came out of rural India. The TV channels are not much better.PARI exists to change that.We are a non-profit organisation. We publish under creative commons, and do not charge readers a subscription fee or put-up advertisements. Nothing is behind a paywall and we are completely free-to-access by anyone. We guard our independence and receive no direct grants from governments and corporations, nor any funding that could dictate our content. So, we are dependent on volunteer labour, donations from individuals, foundations and institutions that see value in independent and free media.PARI is changing the way Indian journalism reports and documents the rural.India is more than the elite of a few metros and towns. We report on rural lives and livelihoods, languages, communities, migrants and more. We need your help to pull off this most ambitious of Indian journalistic endeavours. The scale of this effort costs money. Donate generously - and spread the word about PARI.&nbsp;

Donate FAQs


Let’s get you acquainted

Welcome to PARI

All our content is, and will forever be free to consume. If you enjoy our work, you can support us by becoming a volunteer or by donating to help fund our work.

Want to republish this article? Please write to <a href="mailto:zahra@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">zahra@ruralindiaonline.org</a> with a cc to <a href="mailto:namita@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">namita@ruralindiaonline.org</a>

IN TELUGU - Want to republish this article? Please write to <a href="mailto:zahra@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">zahra@ruralindiaonline.org</a> with a cc to <a href="mailto:namita@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">namita@ruralindiaonline.org</a>

A hundred and eight feet incense stick

Long after the buzz over God and His fanfare have ebbed at His temple, a poet's sharp and witty limericks force us to take a hard look at the changing fabric of the nation

Related stories

A rain-scented walk in Sivagangai

Living on ravaged land

Biswas and the bamboos on his bike

Recycling energy, Godda style

Bhadels of Goa

Pookadai: still throbbing with morning life

Koli Kadlas

Malnourishment high among children of migrants: study

Wheels of the rural Indian West

Living Under a Red Cloud in Bellary

Vedla – earrings of the Maher community

Dreaming of water, drowning in debt

Kali: the dancer and his dreams

Farmer's diet worse than a convict's

In Yavatmal, life goes on

Suicides are about the living, not the dead

Death of a carpenter

Hoisa Shigmo!

Women farmers: weaving a life in Anantapur

Defiant in Dhinkia

Spice and all that's nice

Kerala's Green Army

The ‘jugaad’ not-a-mobile

Health as someone else's wealth

Calibrating in a Kudumbashree assembly unit