Mr. vishnusami at the gates of the madras museum, on pantheon road*

Welcome to the museum, please keep in line
only those who nicely did the guest book sign
will be allowed to see culture, thanks to very-nice me.
(& since its culture, you must be of Indian identity)

All people dead, only words here
(and pliss no drinking of wine or king-fishy beer)
tradition! Our people's heritage.
...here people? No-
Gone due to drought, war, & bad drainage.

But they dont fool me-- not bad toilets:
brain drain!! western job markets!
you want to see pictures of dance? or maybe swami trance?
we have many gods, right now all on holiday.
..You are going? but this is your culture, you must stay!!

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This wrote itself in response to the worthy Mr. Soeb Fatehi's exercise on caferati, which read as follows:

'Write four lines . . .
maybe five or even six . . .
and tell us what you feel after reading the quote below.


Poet John Ciardi once asserted, "Tell me how much a nation
knows about its own language, and I will tell you how much
that nation cares about its own identity."'