Always wondered whether  little
People may be called “great,”
Those who live and die
Without ever coming into the public
Eye—noble to the core in
Every sort of menial chore.
Or must greatness of necessity
Involve the conquest of land
And leverage, through sword
Or subterfuge, or cunning
Deployment of the  beguiling
Word, leaving behind the claims
Of the yellowed page. Can those
Who simply wish well and  remain
Mindful of such whose stories
Few scribes or eulogists will tell
Ever be designated great, except
In a sort of politic flourish
Among the media, where the
Rottenest may allude to the “great
People of India” etcetra.
Is it so impossible to marry great
Purpose to a lived ordinariness
And throb of empathy? Perhaps
Not: think of a Kalam or a Gandhi.

---