The Ladies in the Burqas

I catch her eyes catching mine
Little else I can see of her
She who is in her burqa, sitting
With another lady in burqa
And a teenage girl in jeans and tanktop,
Sitting as I am here in the Food Court
At GVK One mall, having finished my lunch
And waiting to catch the 1 ‘O clock show.

I see these women in burqas
All over here in Hyderabad
Often I note their confident stride
With a slingbag across their shoulder
And sometimes I see them
In groups of two or three
Hanging out at a mall or restaurant;
I wonder what they discuss
Whether they are studying or working
Whether they are liberal or conservative
Whether they think religion is, a la Marx,
Opium of the masses, and whether
They can at all discuss these things
Across the dinner table at their homes.