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Parantha’s Dream

He marched up and down
with his string tied tin.
Keeping in time with the
beat and marching.

The twelve year old boy
Parantha Parapanjani
yearned to be a drummer
in the Royal Indian Army.

Using two wooden sticks
and a biscuit tin so old,
he imitated the drummers
and their drum rolls.

He marched up and down
with his string tied tin.
Keeping in time with the
beat and marching.

A thief stole his drum
leaving him with nothing to play,
but his father’s old tin leg,
stepped in to save the day.

From a string around his neck,
it swung about his waist,
as he practiced with the band
outside the military gates.

He marched up and down
with his string tied tin.
Keeping in time with the
beat and marching.

One day a limping man and boy
walked down the busy street,
as Parantha drummed up
a leg moving kind of beat.

The regimental sergeant major
recognised the sound,
and saw the leg being played,
as it made its way to town.

So impressed was the sergeant
he enlisted the boy in the band.
A new side-drum he was given
and a stick for each hand.

He marched up and down
with his Indian army band,
so proud to be a drummer,
with a stick in each hand.

poem by Orlando Belo
Added by Poetry Lover
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