The Barrens through the Heaven

Mumbai Rains

2020-07-28T11:57:00.000-07:00

I witness
My first Mumbai monsoon:
And I remember
Words of Anita Desai;
My first memory
Of anything
Related to Mumbai rains.

During the rains:
Hari’s stint in Mumbai,
The apathy of being drenched
Again and again;
And remain indoor
Inhaling soot
Within Sri Krishna Bhojnalaya.

During the rains:
Mr. Panwallah, the watchmaker
Who suffered bronchitis,
But never complained.

During the rains
Jagu, whose family lived in slums,
And water clogged their huts
But still empathized with his employee.

True Mumbai snob,
And true Mumbai spirit.
I reflect upon myself
To see

My greedy, dissatisfied self -
One who runs and runs;
Has everything
He craved for
But still craves for more.

June 2016

Tranquillity

2020-06-24T22:21:00.002-07:00

Stunned, speechless, stoic

Dry, stone-cold eyes

The sightless eyes

Looking into nothing,

No rage, no loath,

No affection nor aversion

Neither mourning and nor humorous -

Total impervious.

And

Facing the same,

She sits,

Sees herself,

With a smile

On the lips,

And the face

Serene.

Untangled, immortal

Eager to depart

Towards infinity.

- 25^th June, 2020

2020 – Gaia’s Revenge

2020-06-12T08:36:00.005-07:00

The world (and India too),

Is fighting the war, unforeseen

Against a sub-microscopic army

That keeps multiplying,

By every passing moment:

Against whom

All the lethal weapons

In the arsenals

Of all the nations combined

Are useless;

And the military helpless,

The governments at loss

And the politicos silent;

The businesses suffer.

When the larger chunks

Of people

Have lost their breads

And their homes, and honour;

And are running

From pillars to post.

The urban folks

At large,

Sit at home – restless,

Angry, deprived , desperate:

But, safe (?)

While,

The medicos do fight,

At the front –

They win

Some of the battles,

while losing others;

And losing their lives,

In the course.

It seems

Inflated human arrogance,

Will be humbled

By Gaia,

And will be shown its place!

13th April, 2020

Death!

2014-11-02T09:39:00.001-08:00

Death, I fear you !
Truely, I do.

Thick swabs of cotton.
Covering crimson wounds.
Yellow Saline bottle,
dripping slowly:
Drop, by drop.

As I go breathless,
Suffocated;
Under the Oxygen mask.
My lungs reject,
The forcibly infused.

Death, My body is aching.
It is all sickening.
I cannot digest;
I cannot breath.
I cannot walk,
Still;
I soiled my bed,
Infirm,
As I think of You.

I know,
You're my friend;
My only True friend.
I dread, embracing You.
Death, I fear You !

Dated: 14 May, 2013

Faith

2014-11-02T09:37:00.003-08:00

Shouts:
"Pagan,
Atheist, Sinner;
Faithless, Kafir."

As I bow in pray:
To slay,
Swords are drawn.
Dated: 7 May, 2013

To Pune

2012-10-06T07:50:00.002-07:00

I can visualize

How my life will change:

A few days later;

When I leave your lovely aura

And enter into realms of

An unknown city..

I will remember

With longing,

Every nook n corner;

Every street,

Every late night movie

Every coffee

And the highway

And the long drives..

You took me in,

When I was so naive:

Made me survive

The heartaches, failures, sadness

Depressions and

Nostalgic mood swings..

You took my adolescence;

And have made a man..

A man,

That will remember you,

Always....

dated: 08 may,2012

Silent

2012-10-06T07:49:00.004-07:00

You kept quiet,

You didn't say a thing.

You were mum:

Tears were ready

To roll down your cheeks.

But your teeth showed

Through a plastic smile.

Oh, your pink lips,

how deceiving!

Humoured everyone around.

Sadness, finally found you;

As you returned home,

Alone within your closet:

After a toiling day

After a social life:

Where you are known

By the name "jubilant"...

dated : 19 june, 2012

Graveyard of Lost Soul

2012-10-06T07:48:00.001-07:00

They all frequent

This graveyard;

Every night.

Over alcohol and cigarettes;

Some with

Champagne and cigars.

Pondering over their death:

Each one.

A cop; who let out a hard core

A doctor; who let a person die

A lawyer; bailed out a murderer

A judge; who erred in judgement.

Some soul,

They can't buy the alcohol;

They crib and cry:

They are guilty too.

This graveyard is celebrating

Every night.

They regret their death:

Over alcohol, and smoke

And delicacies.

dated: 23 July 2012.

To Pune

2012-05-15T05:07:00.002-07:00

I can visualize
How my life will change:
A few days later;
When I leave your lovely aura
And enter into realms of
An unknown city.

I will remember
With longing,
Every nook n corner;
Every street,
Every late night movie
Every coffee
And the highway
And the long drives.

You took me in,
When I was so naive:
Made me survive
The heartaches, failures, sadness
Depressions and
Nostalgic mood swings..

You took my adolescence;
And have made a man..
A man,
That will remember you,
Always.

dated: 08 may,2012

Colours

2012-01-25T22:05:00.003-08:00

Blue Line, Yellow Line, Red Line
Some smaller;
The green line, violet line
Some exclusive
The orange line..

We intersect each day
We cross each other;
Only colours, aint we?

Together we make, the veins of Delhi:
Alone,
We are just colours..
(Dated: 4 December, 2011)
courtesy: "Lump In The Throat"

Crimson

2012-01-25T22:05:00.001-08:00

Crimson streaks through zenith
Hazy with fog;
Outbreak of a new dawn.

Chirping of swallows
& sparrows, and
Croaking crows:
Awaken me.

Is this day forth
Going to be
The day of my life;
Or just
Another day of my life..
(Dated: 4 December, 2011)
courtesy: "Lump In The Throat"

Boad Ride Across The Ganges

2011-11-25T22:47:00.000-08:00

Part I

From the famed Darbhanga House Ghat-
Reminiscent of a rich King's donations;
From whence, as the legends say
Two thousand and more years ago
Sanghamitra left for LAnka,
The land of Patliputra;
Shrunk today in a small posh colony
Detached from the Ganges-
Distancing itself:
Amidst expanding dimensions of Patna!

Part II

Foul water, no more blue;
But stale grey.
Denying the once famed medicated waters.
No dolphins show themselves:
They are safe(?) in lone sanctuary
Many miles downstream.

Part III

A skull shows through water,
Long strands of hair:
Neatly detached
Through a sharp cutlass;
Missing lower jaws.

Part IV

A newspaper story of recent past
Flashed through conscience immediately-
'Eighty-eight skulls seized, from
Ticket Collector's Office, at Patna Station;
No claimant.'

Part V

We sailed past,
Apparently ignoring the sighting.
I only hoped in my mind, fervently:
"Those eighty-eight skulls
Were dead
Before being detached.."

Dated: 24 November,2011

Senryu

2011-08-23T23:05:00.000-07:00

A peltering wave, Striking
Against neighbours, forwarding energy;
To eternal entropy: Silently..

Dated:23 August, 2011

A Tribute to Amy Winehouse

2011-07-24T02:33:00.000-07:00

(14 Sep,1983 – 23 July,2011)

R.I.P. Amy !!
My heart yearns for you...
And so are zillions others,
Bleeding tears, near your corpse..
No, you dont know me..
& you will know me not either;
No, you have been so naive..
Dated: 24/07/2011

Frail Hearts (a reply to Prabhat Jha's poem)

2011-07-01T20:07:00.000-07:00

A reply o this poem:

Frail,
That is what our hearts are.
Just living in fear of death,
Persecusion, Public shame or
Deflation of ego..

Suffering evry moment,
Letting our brothren suffer.
Crying in muffled voices..
For ourselves,
And in hoarse ones for the others.
We all are crying, individualy..
We all are suffering alone..

In era of social networking
Is Man still a social animal??

Dated- 1 july,2011

Encroachment

2011-07-01T10:49:00.000-07:00

Like the spider-webs
Woven across the corners of the walls;
These homeless, encroach the government land
And build their homes.

Displaced once, and again;
They come over
As soon as administration's Buldozers
Leave.

They have this love;
Possession and ownership !!

Perceived as a blot
On this urbanised civilization..

dated: 30 June, 2011

Dogs- "Faiz Ahmad Faiz"

2011-06-12T23:31:00.000-07:00

These Canines: Stray and waste
Doomed to beg and feed
A saving, amounting to time's scoldings
An earning of world's off-shooing.

No rest at night, nor comfort at dawn;
Gutter for residence, and garbage for home.
Make them fight, one-another if deviant;
Show them morsels, give them a bite.

They feed on everyone's kicks;
They're dead, fed-up unfed.
Humans are sure, to forget all ego and pride;
These trodden creatures, if raise their head.

If they wish, they can own the world;
And chew their masters up to their bones.
Someone remind them of the inflicted insults
Someone awake them of sleeping impulse..

Translated: 13 June,2011

Haiku

2011-06-12T10:50:00.000-07:00

A car,
Crashed into divider:
Bonnet crushed;
It was silver.
Dated: 12 May,2011

Senryu

2011-06-12T10:43:00.000-07:00

Standing alone in crowd,
Unnoticed, to world;
Waiting, to be recognized..

Dated: 12 June, 2011

The Dead

2011-05-16T05:45:00.000-07:00

He was found today,

Lifeless- Silent.

In his studio apartment.

The door-mat was littered

With three day's newspapers.

And bills thereof ,

Showing dues of three months.

Reeking of tobacco

And marijuana,

And of decaying flesh.

Few notebooks

Spread around him.

The laptop was still on,

Plugged in the power socket.

A cellphone

showed five missed calls,

And four messages

All from one number.

An e-mail

Open on the laptop screen;

That read rejection.

And a haiku,

On a parchment; read -

"Enough! I evade;

I am finally

going to rest."

Dated 16 May, 2011

Shepherd in Summer

2011-05-12T09:33:00.000-07:00

On the banks of Son
A shepherd guides
His fleet of sheep.

No sheep knows
Which way it is;
Sandy land it is,
Yellow-greyish.

All farmers are out
In their respective lands
To plow it.
What job has does this shepherd?
Its the month of jeth and 'loo'
Who needs him and his sheep.

The shepherd talks to his sheep:
"We will have our days for sure;
Someday tomorrow, 'agahan' (margsheersh:December) will come
Till then, we have to wait,
Amidst the grassy diyara (river banks).

Dated: 12 May,2011

Translated from my Bhojpuri poem

जेठ मा गडरिया

http://chhalaktepaimane.blogspot.com/2011/05/blog-post_12.html

Time

2011-05-07T03:42:00.001-07:00

Not same are the diwali fire-balls

Neither are the colours of holi, less of flaws

There ain't none such fairy tales

There ain't no streets of gold

There aren't any B'day Girls or boys

No hugs are there of the soft toys

All deserted are me an' you

That's all we've got yeah

That's all we've gotta hold on to.

Nobody is there to

Hold upon. So

Just cheer's and

Enjoy the day.

May the day be so long

That no night does fall upon.

Dated: 21st August, 2006

Leeches

2011-05-07T03:39:00.000-07:00

This is
What does itch.
A leech;
Stuck to my skin
Feeding upon me.

It pains not,
It seems unbotherable.

But slowly,
Eats me.

Unconcerned
I grow weaker,
Finally;
Adopted to it.
I assume its existence
Inevitable, unevicted.
Perfectly natural.

Tranquilled, oblivious
Of my potential,
To root it off..
Dated: 7 May,2011

Desert

2011-04-15T04:56:00.001-07:00

The ruddy faces of travellers

Sweaty body , dry throat.

Half empty Mashaq.

Caravans of camels:

And their bells

Creating melody with

The desert storm.

Dry sand-mounds;

Brown, dust of sand.

The scorching yellow heat.

Small cactuses-

In the name of Greenery

Today:

Camel is no more the ship of desert;

Air-conditioned cars run instead.

Instead of Mashaq,

Bottles of cold mineral water.

Music surely is there

But of I-Pod;

Confined to the ears

Alone.

A lot has changed!

What is reminiscent :

Simply

Brown, dust of sand

And

Small plants of Cactus.

Dated: 13 April, 2011

Translated from my poem "रेगिस्तान"

http://www.sahityashilpi.com/2011/04/blog-post_6350.html

Castles in The Sand

2011-04-15T04:52:00.000-07:00

Castles in the sand

Stand erect.

Rustling waves

Foaming white;

Rushes against:

Erases the existence

After break-through

In few attempts.

Memories;

Stand firm;

Untill

Time wipes them off...

Dated: 14 April, 2011