Off to Join the Gurkhas (Satis Shroff)
OFF TO JOIN THE GURKHAS (Satis Shroff) There were two young men, brothers Who left their homes In the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas. The older one, for his father had barked at him, 'Go to Nepal and never come home again.' The younger, for he couldn't bear the beatings At the hands of his old man. The older brother sobbed and stifled his sorrow and anger For Nepal was in fact Kathmandu, With its colleges, universities, Education Ministry, Temples, Rana-palaces and golden pagodas And also its share of hippies, hashish, tourists, Rising prices and expensive rooms to rent. The younger brother went to Dharan, And enlisted in the British Army depot To become a Gurkha, A soldier in King Edwards Own Gurkha Rifles. He came home the day he became a recruit, With a bald head, as though his father had died. He looked forward to the parades and hardships That went under the guise ...