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Mere sapno ki rani kab aayegi tu

Mere sapno ki rani kab aayegi tu
The dulha’s chacha picks up the tune
Upon the cheering of the aunties around
And the relatives tossing Shagun money
Which the drummers look at greedily
In their shiny bling costumes 
Carrying oversized instruments
Playing to the beats of the song
Celebrating a grand auspicious day
Of a groom, whose name they don’t know.

The groom sits on his abode
Away from the baaratis celebrating his big day
The words of the song hit him the hardest
As he thinks about his sapno ki rani
Who got married to another
Glad that the baaratis are too busy
To see the tear in his eye
Because boys in his society
Especially on the verge of becoming men
Are not supposed to cry.

His ceremonial clothes fail to catch the attention
Of the young boy in the car, playing on his phone
Undistracted by all that goes around
While his mother wears a frown
After a dull day at work
But the tune catches her mind
And she hums it along
Mere sapno ki rani kab aayegi tu
She looks at her son, sitting undistracted
Kids these days, don’t understand melody.
Anyway, she decides to stop by the sabzi Mandi
Parks her SUV inside a different lane
Hoping to be able to bargain.

There is a young boy selling mangoes
With an earphone plugged in
The song in his ear giving beats to the world outside
Mere sapno ki rani kab aayegi tu
A Madam walks out from an expensive car parked away
"Aam 20 rupay kilo, 20 rupay kilo"
Mere sapno ki rani kab
"20 rupay kilo"
Some dream girl in the background 
Mangoes in the foreground 
Yelling to compete
Plugs out the earphone
Hoping to catch her attention
To earn enough money for the day
And not get scolded at home.

The Madam passes by
But she is humming a tune
Mere sapnon ki rani kab aayegi tu
His face changes its expression
He sits amused, picks up the earphone
Mere sapnon ki rani
Doesn’t notice the Madam turn back
She asks the rate, "20 rupay kilo"
She looks at the boy, her boy’s age
And says she’ll take 3 kilos at 15 Rs rate
He smiles, the amusement still on his face
She is about to leave
He agrees upon her rate.

Young boys this age
They believe in coincidences
And call them omens.
Mangoes and money are exchanged
While somewhere on the mud
The fallen earplug plays the same beat
As a baarat in the distance
Where yet another relative
Discovering his talent
Performs the age-old classic
Mere sapno ki rani kab aayegi tu.
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