Aspirant

What would pearly gates 

of the veritable heaven

look like to an aspirant 

of the Public service exam? 

I remember 

sitting in the corner 

of the last reading room 

in A.C. Joshi library 

nestled in the very heart

of the sprawling campus 

of Panjab University,

amidst a hundred others

whose eyes were glued to

the notes and books 

or sometimes stared vacantly 

at the wall or the glass panes, 

And lips moving perhaps 

to internalise what was read

or, perhaps in a silent 

prayer to the God Almighty,

reading and re-reading 

editorials from the Hindu, 

old and new NCERTs, 

yearbooks from Publication Division 

magazines like Yojana 

writing copious notes 

and critical essays, 

pestering professors, seniors

and previous years’ successful candidates 

for tips, shortcuts and 

their formula of success. 

Sometimes, we walked aimlessly

eyeing the romancing Enfields

and Kinetic Hondas, 

And then reminding ourselves 

of a far superior goal, 

Getting restless reflecting at the

options or rather the lack of them, 

dreaming of the white simplicity

of the elegant Dholpur House.