Ritual She Never Chose – A Poem by Snigdha Agrawal

his drinking buddy
came every Saturday,
like a ritual
she never agreed to

she served them
hot pakoras,
mint chutney,
the smell of frying
clinging
to her saree,
her patience

the whisky bottle
emptied slowly,
so did their stories
of post-partition losses,
rehearsed grief,
polished by repetition.

she listened,
nodded at the right pauses,
refilled glasses,
cleared crumbs of nostalgia
from the table.
week after week,
their past occupied her present,
leaving no room
for her silence to speak.

the night wrapped itself
around the bottle
as it lay drained
her frustration stayed bottled,
uncorked,
settling into the walls
of this irksome routine.