The poem begins with an epigraph from colonial historian HG Keene, referencing the arrival of invaders from beyond the Himalayas, possibly Central Asian or Afghan tribes. Keene's Eurocentric framing—"a swarm of hard, hungry savages"—reflects colonial historiography, where indigenous cultures are seen as stagnant and external invasions as the main force of historical change. Kamal’s use of this quote sets up a meditation on history, cultural erosion, and shifting power dynamics. Stanza 1 Gazelle embossed on a lop-sided moon. Vasanta had only been rendered insensible By the outrage in the garden A sadhu watches his toe-nails grow In his Himalayan cave. This stanza paints a picture of something once beautiful that’s now damaged or lost. The gazelle carved on a lop-sided moon is probably an image from an old coin —showing how past beauty and grace (the gazelle) are now seen through something distorted or broken (the lop-sided moon). It suggests that history and cultu...