Vadodara cop’s humorous couplets on lockdown violators leaves residents wanting more

Meghani, 39, says he has been putting his "gift" to use to convey the message to those who don't follow the rules. He may not share lineage with the renowned poet Zaverchand Meghani, but his witty tweets have been proving to be comic relief for the residents.




A top cop in Vadodara, who is also a literary writer off duty, is using his humourous couplets to make the lockdown violators in the city understand the importance of social distancing. His satirical tweets are proving to be a comic relief for Vadodara residents who clamour for more updates on lockdown violators.

“We are filing portrait photography and face sheet records in addition to the mandatory anatomical (black) slates for those who are stepping out of their homes to assess the ongoing situation.” It might sound like a service description but it is a warning to compulsive lockdown violators who have been giving poor excuses to Gujarat policemen. The message above is one among the many satirical tweets from Deepak Meghani, Deputy Commissioner of Police in Vadodara for Zone 1.

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Meghani, 39, says he has been putting his “gift” to use to convey the message to those who don’t follow the rules. He may not share lineage with the renowned poet Zaverchand Meghani, but his witty tweets have been proving to be comic relief for the residents

Sample this. A man in Gujarat drove about 100 kilometers, crossing three districts during the lockdown until he was apprehended by the Nandesari police station this week and booked for violation of prohibitory orders. To avoid getting booked, the man said he was coming to an agricultural produce market in Vasad in Vadodara in order to procure cereals for his personal use. “Now he will have a balanced diet of cereals and pulses in the jail,” Meghani tweeted in Gujarati while narrating the incident. He says, “Everyday, when I am moving in my vehicle, I ask my Police Inspectors what is going on. This Nandesari case was extremely unusual. We are sorry about his plan of procuring the grains getting curtailed. We don’t know if he was really buying or lying. But it happens when you are in the middle of such things that it automatically generates humorous couplets.

Warning those stepping out for morning and evening walks, he tweeted in Gujarati, “Gayo hato koyal and more ni bhasha shikhva bageeche Ghalib, Shabdkosh navo shikhwadi police mane baag baag kari didho (I went to a garden to learn the language of the cuckoo and the peacock, the police planted new vocabulary in the garden of my heart).” In one tweet, he refers to evening walkers caught Wednesday as “Vishaanu Kavach Dhari (special protection from viruses) and writes “their meeting with the men in uniform opened the floral path of the law enforcement for them to walk on.” His followers and residents of Vadodara reply to his tweets, asking for more updates on the violators

His team recently also busted a group of men holding a “sev usal party” during the lockdown as well as some violators selling tobacco products. Meghani tells The Indian Express, “Despite the police doing intensive work, newer and newer violators surface from somewhere daily. We have caught them, but it doesn’t deter people. It has become so difficult to make literates understand the situation.

He says that the decision to use his writing skills to convey the lockdown message is his attempt to make people understand the importance of social distancing. “Before lockdown, I used to only write literary verses and it was a collection of my writing. Then this Lockdown came. It is a once in a lifetime experience. But people are not understanding that we are sitting on a precipice. We will fall as a nation. So I thought I could use my gift to pass on the message.

Meghani, who has been posted as Superintendent of police in Surendranagar and Kutch West in the past as well as an intelligence posting in Ahmedabad, has also published a collection of Gujarati poems titled Titiksha (Sanskrit for forbearance). He says, “When you are going through pain, you have immense patience. It was published for close private circulation and limited sale. But I am already writing two other series titled Godhuli and Laghu Kavita. But my personal projects are on hold due to the lockdown. So all the creative thoughts are focussed on Covid19 lockdown on Twitter.

Meghani says agony and exasperation often result in humour. “Everyone is in some kind of agony right now. Agony always gives birth to humour. I like words. I like writing out my thoughts. The thoughts keep on coming, like neurons catching the waves around. Most of the lockdown ideas strike while brushing teeth in the morning,” he quips

The top cop is not on other social media sites and prefers to stay incognito. “I had even deactivated my Twitter account a couple of months back but returned after several people urged me to. My followers are mostly literary people but my job doesn’t allow me to travel to literature festivals. Also, not many people accept policemen as part of their circles. So I am an outsider for most literarians,” he says

A native of Sabarkantha district, Meghani is an avid follower of Ramesh Joshi, Suresh Dalal, Rajendra Shah, Umashankar Joshi, Sneh Rashmi. “I also like Chandrakant Bakshi, Rabindranath Tagore, Premchand, Paulo Coelho, Shakespeare plays. My wife likes to read my poems and she is also my best critic. Channeling my thoughts into humour definitely helps keep me upbeat during these times,” he says.

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