THE HOWRAH BRIDGE

I stood on the Bridge at midnight,

And gazed at the waters below,
And thought of the fanciful dreams that
From the brains of our Councilors flow.

Then I thought of the quick intuition,
Which these schemes had engendered and said,
“Will these schemes ever come to fruition?”
Then I quietly stood on my head.

For I’d looked at the question sideways,
And from both sides of the town,
Taking careful account of the tideways,
But never from upside down.

So I‘ve got a new angle of vision,
As bright and as fresh as wet paint,
Which will take off the general attention?
Away from the New Market Saint

Up my sleeve I’ve another red herring,
“The Scare of the Bidyadhari Silt”,
Which will merrily keep the ball rolling?
Ere The Bridge on the Hooghly is built.

-Diogenes, in the “Englishman”
(Appeared in The Calcutta Municipal Gazette dated 11 th July 1925)