where do you go to my lovely

I know where you go to my lovely
When you're alone in your bed
I know the thoughts that surround you
'Cause I can look inside your head

i fell for her so long ago
today only her smiling face
peers out through a sepia haze

when did we meet, where did we meet
punch-cool, college or gymkhana?
these gray cells fail to connect

she must be tall, slim---has to be
short and barreled were not in vogue
then or now, if i may confess

she must have been articulate
even in those days i was
allergic to beauty sans brains
and she must have been charming too
and no am not conjecturing

phir kahaaN chali gaee woh
aur gar itni achchi thii tou
hum nay aaj say pehlay oos ko
kabhi miss kyuN nahin kya

what happened then, where did she she go
why did i not remember her
till i read of paan and naswaar
was it because she ate them paans?

acknowledgments: peter sarstedt and sahar rizvi