My 15th encounter with the peacock

It's hot
Said the peacock to me
I offered him sugarcane juice
Since he didn't know what is sugarcane juice
He balanced the flat-bottomed glass tumbler
On his head

Sitting such, on his haunches
Till the sun set
He said, this is so cool

My 14th encounter with the peacock

What makes a birthday
The peacock ponders
The day you were born, I say
So when were you born, he asks
I tell him

The peacock replies
I was born on the 65th day of October

My 13th encounter with a peacock

The peacock and I
Were returning home
In a rickshaw

The peacock was bewildered
By the number of people we encountered
Who were laughing
He said: it is sentience

The next few days
He created graphs, bars, pie charts
About the history of laughter?
About its inventor?
About the first ever laugh?

He was meticulous
Which noted civilisation laughed the most?
How many laughs is one human permitted in one life-time?
What distinguishes a giggle from a laugh?
Is it correct to say all laughter is useless activity?
Can a sad man laugh?

The peacock asked me these questions
Since I had no answer
I merrily laughed

My 12th encounter with the peacock

My grand-mother, told me
Told the peacock to me
We could have toppled the human race
Really? I sat straight up

Taking my eyes off
A game of cricket at the local maidan
Imagine a law
That prohibits unsanctioned celebration
In public places
Meaning?, I asked
Meaning no human could hand-clap
When the tennis-ball bounced across the boundary
As it did just now, said the peacock

Sans tall praise
The human race will crumble
Once and for all

My 11th encounter with the peacock

I had a dream
A four-dimensional one

Icebergs tasting like cranberry and tiramisu
Apollo, holding aloft his golden lyre,
A jade-green space-ship transporting me, back in time
Mermaids tap-dancing on my head
Me giving a lec-dem on music to Auber, Spontini, Halévy
Fireworks in the sky as I woke up

In the morning
I recounted my dream
Where were you? Why didn't I see you in my dream, I asked
The peacock said: We dare not
What?
We've been banned from appearing in other people's dreams

Saying so
He burped
Washed down my egg-bhurji and toast
With mosambi juice

My tenth encounter with the peacock

1.

I visited the bank
The peacock followed me
The chowkidar prevented him from entering it
He screeched
I came running back
What happened?
He can't enter said the chowkidar
Why, asked I
He has no money said the chowkidar
What is money? asked the peacock
Something you and I don't have, said the chowkidar

That's how the peacock sat on the chair
Beside the chowkidar
Outside the bank



2.

When I stepped out
Why do you visit such places, he asked
I told him
About banks, savings, bonds, interest rates, loans

He heard me
So you've applied for a loan?
Indeed
Why do you want a loan?
To buy property
What happens, if you can't repay the loan?
In the event of a loan default, they can seize my property, I replied
Quoting from the rule book

So you will be landless
Yes, I said
This is hopeless, he said
Perhaps

We walked in silence
Had a cup of tea on the way
He broke the silence
I want a loan
For what?
Does one need a reason?
The bank officer will ask for it
I want to check if the system works
Ok
Can you arrange it?
Me?
Yes, you
What's your surety?
My feathers
I don't think the authorities will recognise it
Why not, they are there for everyone to see
That's not how banks work
This is hopeless, he said
For the second time in the day

Besides you can't sign
What is a sign, he asked
Do you know how to hold a pen?
No, he said

Some more silence

I swallowed my tea
He spat his tea at my feet
I think Sumerian clay tablets are better than your bank
Saying so, he flew away
Flapping his feathers
Like a rainbow in the sky

My ninth encounter with the peacock

We watched the water buffalo
Pull a simple plow through the fields
You know, the peacock said
I'm lucky
If I had been slightly less pretty
I would have been doing that work, now