by

The Water Jail was built in Mysore in India during the rule of Tipu Sultan. The war prisoners were tied to the slabs inside
and kept in cool water.

The Water Jail

These steps
lead to an old dungeon.
The river Cauvery
with protruding bones and ribs
flows nearby.
The fossils of torture
lie at the bottom of time.

Wrists of those prisoners
are tied
to the stone slabs.
Cool water
touches their chins.
Sleep drowns.
Agony bloats.
An aching past thus
echoes in the arched cells
These relics of torment
attract thousands of visitors.
Now you need not go to Mysore.
You can find it in every nook.

First published in New Reader Magazine.
Reprinted in The Literary Hatchet.

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