The voice of a person smoldering in the flames of corruption

Everyone is troubled by corruption,

but no one wants to distance themselves from it.

It's an incurable disease,

in front of which everyone feels powerless.

Corruption, like termites,

is hollowing out our society,

and we are laughing and watching the spectacle.

10th-grade failures are becoming teachers,

and the protectors of the country are turning into predators.

The educated masses are sucking up to them,

and some media outlets are worshiping them.

While talking about "good days," even those good days have passed,

they have become like childhood—

once gone, never to return.

What greater proof of patriotism could there be than this?

That’s why he became the leader of the entire nation.

The train in which he sold tea as a child,

he sold the same railways in his old age.

We used to hate nepotism till yesterday,

and shouted slogans against it.

But now that we’ve received its benefits,

we’ve fallen in love with it.

From government employees to private ones,

from the highest rank to the lowest,

all officials see bribes as their birthright,

asking for fees in exchange for services.

Corruption mixes in the air,

enters with every breath.

Feelings are killed, conscience is buried, humanity is awakened—

forcing the helpless to suffer,

and extracting money from the dead.

The hunger for corruption,

led to the fodder scam too.

When the beast inside man awakens,

even the real animals are left hungry.

Some leaders became so "honest,"

that they laid the foundation stone for a jail,

only to end up living in it themselves.

Even the act of touching a mother’s feet,

became a topic of conversation,

used for power,

to fuel ambitions for a chair.

There’s great camaraderie in corruption,

everyone is corrupt, but trust still remains.

If an officer ever comes for an inspection,

no one lets anyone else get caught.

The poor are dying,

relying on prayers instead of medicines,

poverty is so severe that they can't even afford a shroud.

Meanwhile, in the same households where someone became a leader,

their seven generations sit back and enjoy luxury.

Chanakya's dream of an undivided India,

was shattered as the nation fragmented.

The dream of stringing all the states together in a single thread,

became pawned in the hands of politicians.

The dream of a society free from corruption,

now the question is,

will I leave this life first,

or will my country free itself from corruption?