Bangles clink in unity on the owner’s decorated wrists

The sun is beating down

The dust is floating around

Cheerfulness is spreading like a disease

Barefoot feet thump across melting pavement,

Hoping to catch the vegetable lady

Innocent childrens’ laughter fills the air, as they run from persuasive grandmothers

Neighbors look from apartment windows disapprovingly, from every side

Students are conversing on their way back from school

The temple’s prayers are heard from one side

The mosque’s on the other

And looking on, above all this, is the Indian Flag

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