The Crow's Back

[In mythology and folklore as a whole, crows tend to be symbolic more of the spiritual aspect of death, or the transition of the spirit into the afterlife]

Oh look, it's the Crow again

Tapping on my window pane to remind me it's there.

Yeah, old thing, I know you're there.

Cawing away in vain; well I say- Dont.

For there will be a time when I join you,

And right now, it ain't.

I am not afraid of you, my dear pal.

For being with you is the next adventure.

But right now I have a job to do.

Sit there and I'll join you when the time is right.

Sit but don't shit.

For I wont clean the window

As I climb out towards you!

And I don't want my dear ones to do it too!

I'll leave behind a clean room and a clean bed,

And a nice tiny window to the other world.

Be there, stay good, I'm yours I know.

But right now, I belong to all these people too.

And when the time's right, or when you feel it's right,

Just tap. Once. Or twice.

And I'll be there, grinning wide.

And we'll go beyond. Truly beyond.

:)

Sky's Eighteen

Amber tea in my yellow cup

Was quite something today.

There was rain outside and lightening

Crazy, Mad rain battering the world

And I smiled and sat inside and had my peaceful tea.

I saw Poetry outside.

And wild desires living themselves.

There was distinct harmony to be seen

In every wet bird, wet tree, wet human.

There was music. Oh boy, some nice music.

It was raw like the pitter-patter of the rain.

As familiar as the words I've used.

As warm and fuzzy as my amber tea.

Sky seemed eighteen finally.

It spoke and it yelled with authority of an adult.

And I was all ears to the Conversation of the Clouds.

I told her it's raining.

Her reply made me warm.

Warm and fuzzy like my amber tea.

I looked up again.

Believing myself to be in my Twenties.

The tea was all of Forties.

But that one crazy sky above was younger than us.

And its passion was driving me crazy.

My silly ol' Sky was Eighteen and I'd fallen for it.

:)

Them 'Intellectuals'

[The following was a comment on one of Dr. Manmohan Singh's facebook posts, by a certain Ravi Shankar]

Fashionable Topics of the Intellectuals

Fashionable topics the all-knowing intellectuals discuss.. over whiskey and rum and kababs.. air conditioned five-star ambience.. and Abh to raat aur baaki hain..

1) Sustainable development

2) Global warming

3) Poverty eradication

4) Price rise

5) Environmental degradation

6) Save the forests

7) Climate change

8) Energy crisis

9) Renewable energy

10) Education for all

11) Save the tiger

12) Water issues

Collective decision taken.

Soon 12 committees will be formed, all the members will be in all the committees.

Fact-finding committees will visit Shanghai, Bangkok, Phuket, Honolulu, Bali, Los Angeles, New York and Florida.

You know what some of these places are famous for.

If their sons or daughters are studying in Timbaktoo, or if they have their girlfriends there; They would visit that place as well.

Young graduates will be hired at meagre salaries to do `indepth' study on these subjects. They will be given 24 hour access to internet so that they can create `well-researched' reports using the time-tested process known as `copy-paste'.

Best photographers will be commissioned to take `tell-all' pictures of impoverished children suffering from malnutrition, students studying under kerosene lamps, women baking roties on a smoke-emitting chulha to romanticize poverty.

Top printing houses will be contracted to print glossy reports.

Reports will be discussed by `civil society' in seminars at all those places where IPL matches are held.

Venue: the best five-star hotels of the city. 

Seminars will helpfully conclude by 4 pm so that they can meet Lalit Modi before watching the matches. 

Media - both TV and print - will be in attendance to lap every single sound byte of the experts who are about to create a `new India'.

God,  please come down to India soon..

Us

It was unbelievable

Way too good for the day

Here I was, a molten goop.

There she was, warmer than the softest kiss.

Cradling time, as it slipped by.

Holding on to the best moments.

There were too many.

Mind knew no Body

It was everywhere around us

It lived our dreams then.

Her touch was unreal.

Her words, even more.

She said it then, I remember.

She said it and she held on to me tight.

And we smiled.

:)

Me and the Train

Cheese is good.

Anyway,

It's a part of my commute to travel from Thane to Kalyan, in a suburban train.

Today at Thane station, I had an option.
I was carrying 3 huge bags (groceries, fruits, stationery) and my backpack.

Platform 3 had a Thane-Karjat slow train coming in.
Easy to get in but crowd builds up at Kalyan.

Platform 2 had a CST-Kalyan slow train coming in.
Tough to get in but train almost empties at Kalyan.

I chose the latter.

Me and the Pigeon

Spent Five Whole Minutes in front of the mirror imitating a pigeon.

And then realized the pointlessness of it all.

I ain't gonna be a pigeon ever.

My Stubborn Poem

She stirred.

And then she slept again.

As stubborn as a thought could be.

The hustle and the crowds

Their words and the work

That piles up on the desk

And the coffee and the water

And all the food we eat up

All those hours we talk

All those minutes we hasten

They kill. They all kill. They all kill her.

And she refuses to stir again

Not dead though.

Does it really take late nights to coax her up again?

Or does she really need to be kissed?

Does silencing my mind does? Or does the caffeine?

Alcohol surely cannot help the words forming up in my mind.

I hear all the day's conversations passing through my mind all night

And she sleeps.

Refusing to be awakened.

She stirs. And then she sleeps again.

As stubborn as a poem can be.

Months earlier I'd said that she is Thoughts set loose upon my world.

Hell she is. Is she not?

The sheer stunning beauty of a frank mind. My mind. Any mind.

Not forced. Flowing. Effortlessly existent.

And quite aware. A free fall of words. Layered. Structured.

Lovingly caressed by their very conjurer.

She doesn't need to be led. Just aroused. Just kissed. And loved.

But she refuses to be awake these days. Too much work?

She simply stirs and sleeps, my darling set of thoughts.

As sweetly stubborn as a a poem can be.

Today I spent time those little thoughts inside.

And they believed I'm truly one with myself tonight.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her stir.

Then I talked a long talk with those bits within me.

And they felt the carefree grin, which was ever so natural in its presence.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her awaken.

Then I stopped and I truly stopped.

I closed my eyes and thought of nothing.

Perhaps of the laughter and the love and the dreams that I share.

And I felt my ear being nibbled. And more.

My stubborn poem made love to me then.

And I was as happy as a poet could be.

:)

Operation Rainbow 7 (Rajmachi)

[l-r] Supratik, Vijay, Me, Sagnik, Gaurav and Prashant (SP)

And the seven of us went on one of the craziest trek ever.
Sushrut, Gaurav, Prashant, Sagnik, Supratik, Shamik and Vijay.

Morning at 5, a text-
"Wakie Wakie.
Wash your teethie and let us Trekkie!"
Vijay modifies- "Walkie Talkie, Trekkie Wakie"

SP, Suppu, Shamik reach Karjat, by bus, an hour early.

"Pinnacles of Rajmachi" text received by all.
Replies- "Fuck Off."
"Shut the fuck up and travel."

Sushrut, Gaurav, Sagnik rendezvous at Kalyan.
Vijay ends up on one end, Sushrut walks to the other.
Finally they meet and walk up to Sagnik and Gaurav.
Train announced and we run.
Get inside, split ways.
Journey passes with GoodDay biscuits, laughs.

Karjat:
Observant self in form
Notices Italian cap and white legs
All meet as long lost pals after years

Walk.
Ask for Directions.
Walk.

Bridge. DukDuk Dukkar.
200 bucks. Kondivade.
Photos. Laughs. Tales.
Shamik and Gaurav the only ones with Cams.

Walk.
Ask for directions.
Walk.

Village. Foolhardy Optimism.
Sushrut leads team up the wrong hill.
Error recognized. Laughs. Leader-Taunts.
Team falls back, long muddy walk ahead.

Walk.
Ask for Directions.
Walk.

Vijay talks.
Sagnik creates.
The Game of Unwanted Trivia.
Points, Stars, Credit Cards formed.
Laughs. Laughs.
Trains, Engines, lots of Unwanted Trivia.
Laughs. Laughs.

Kakdi Stop.
Teams overtake us.
"Aur leader kakdi kha raha hai..", says Suppu.
Laughs. Laughs.
Unwanted Saga continues.

Right Village. Right track up the hill.
Into the rich green forest.
Forest that smells of rain.
Track through the forest.
Track that leads up to the Pinnacles of Rajmachi.
:D

Walk. Walk. Walk.
Shamik- "Ambush!"
"Bush hi Bush hai, aur kya Ambush?" :P
Follow white arrows.
Click photos on plains.
Hungry wind of the rain everywhere.
Pastel green grass, trees, shrubs.
Frigging Striped Mosquitoes sucking us alive.
Convoy pic. Water. Sagnik lumbering up.
Prashant running all the way back.
Pics. Laughs. Laughs. Walk again.
Sagnik and Sushrut sing along-
"I fell into a burning ring of fire!"

Wrong turn. To the Caves.
Fall back. Wrong turn again.
We face the cliff.
Sushrut explores, suggests we fall back again.
Shamik and perhaps all suggest climbing up the cliff. (!!)
Some hesitancy in the air.
That moist, virgin air of the rain.
Decision taken. We climb up the Cliff!

Cliff is vertical.
Cliff is slippery.
It's full of snails, some water.

Suppu gets a call.
"He-loee?"
Sagnik climbs up first.
Then Sushrut does.
Our feet supported by dear ol' Suppu.
"He-loee?"
Then we all do.
Crushing the snails.
Risking falling down and breaking our dear asses.
Suppu hangs up by one hand.
Gaurav almost slips.
Vijay almost slips too.
But we all climb up. Sexy.

Bags, Sticks passed on. iPod's safety ensured.
Sagnik is very relieved.
We climb up again and are lost.
Yells. Yells. Some more.
"Koni aahe?!"
"Koni aahe ka?!"
Cows spotted. Cows talked to.
We climb up to the cows. Crushing vegetation on our way.
A bit more horizontal walk and road spotted.
Arrows spotted. Relief like never before.

Kaka spotted. Lunch booked.
Walk again. For 90-120 minutes more.
Sakharam Cafe reached.
2 glasses of lemon juice.
Packet of peanuts. Parle G.
Shamik mistaking the packet for ice cream.
Gives a 100 watt smile initially but loves peanuts all the same.
Vijay preserves some for the train journey back.

Walk to the village. Kaka's place.
Heaven Heavenly Heavenly Heavenly lunch.
Bhakri, Bhaji, Dal, Kairi pickle, Lasun chatni, Papad, Rice, Buttermilk.
Nice. Rural Lunch. Kaka clicks pics.
The Team on a high.
Laughs again on the veranda. Some more.
Rain starts.

Umbrella jokes. Pee jokes.
Dog, a pro, follows us all the way down.
Walk back to Sakharam Cafe and down.
Slippery Road. Falls.
Gaurav in all spectacular positions.
Sagnik, twice, in appreciative elegance.
Flight of Suppu during Sagnik's second.

Down, Down, Down.
Slippery Road. Niiiice Rain.
Dog poses, mocks. Overseeing us clambering down.
Then does the same with ease. Ruddy.

Sagnik jubiliant on the way back.
Teaches us the right way to descend.
"Don't clamber down, jump."
"Just walk, baby! Why worry?"
"I can't stop, I can't stop, I can't stop!"
:P

We meet another team.
They lead us on to a better road.
We follow, with initial skepticism.
Especially from Shamik and Sushrut.
But the heck- the road turns out to be better.
100 watt grins.

Gaurav stubs his toe.
That IS painful, people.
But the matey has a damn good spirit
and never really complains.

Good road down.
"Oooooo Huzooor.. Tera tera tera surroooor!"
"Kajara Kajara kajaraaaree.."
Prashant- "Abbe chup!"
Bwaha!

Slowly, surely, we reach.
Dog eats up an entire packet of Parle G.
He is named Parle G.
Catch a DukDuk Dukkar.
Laughs Laughs Laughs all the way back.
Vadapav bought, eaten.
Saumya catches up in the train.
Suppu gives football updates.
Simadri sends everyone a text.
Shamik eats up Vijay's preserved peanuts.
Sagnik makes hypothetical jokes.
Sushrut forgets Prashant's and Shamik's names.
SP laughs some more.

An awesome day, people.
An awesome day with an awesome team.
:)

The Coffee Song

[Coffee, my dear people, makes me do weird things at times. You might notice that I'm willingly passing on the blame to ol' coffee. But then- that's that. I strongly suggest you put aside your brains while going through this, erm.. post. Let your brains have some coffee. And thank you, Nikhil Mane, for that one particular line. Cheers,]

Crazy Coffee, Crazy Coffee,
What would I do without you?
I drink you deep
From a yellow mug,
From a red cup,
From a giant white mug
And from a black one too!
You keep me so happy!
Crazy Coffee! Crazy Coffee!

That day, you remember?
You milky brown thing, do you remember?
You're black, are you.. do you remember?
It was cold. It was damp.
I made you Hot. Oh so darn Hot!
I had you Hot. Oh so amazingly Hot!
And you were so warm and fuzzy.
You made me so happy!
My Crazy Coffee. My Crazy Coffee.

"Spanish Eyes.." sings Matt Monro.
"Crazy Coffee Eyes.." sing I.
When blood enters my coffee stream,
Oh the Beatles don't shine,
Beach Boys don't shine no more.
Cyndi Lauper does fade
Even Dylan shines no more.
When blood enters my coffee stream.
Oh Crazy Coffee, keep it flowing!
I need no blood, just want you Coffee!
What would I ever do without you?

*starts howling*

Craaaaaazzzzzyyy Cooooffffeeeee!
Youuuu keep my brain working, baby!
Youuuu, I truly won't flatter.
Youuuu, keep my kidneys working, baby!
Youuuu fill up my bladder.
Annie fills up John Denver's senses.
But you, Coffee, make me lose mine.
Craaaazzzyyy Coffee! Crazy Cooofffeee!
What wooould I doooo without youuuu?

*stalks around glancing sideways suspiciously*
*points threateningly*

They! They have their eyes on you!
They aim to take you from me!
I seem to be going insane..
Should I let myself be?

*howls again*

Because yoooouuuuu have my senses!
Oh yoooouuuu have made me MAD!
What is this I write these days, Coffee?!
Why this, Crazy Coffee?!
Craaaazzzzyyyy Cooofffeee!
Btw my new mug is blue.
:P

They Kissed Me Good Morning

The kite fluttered in the air,
A single string tied it to the earth.
The kite sang a song of longing,
It sang a song of love.
The kite hummed a melody of the birds.
It's string, shone bright in the wind.
The kite fluttered in the high wind.
The kite fluttered inside me.

The dew glistened on the leaf.
The dawn arrived with its lustrous light.
The wet leaf soaked in the morning,
Though night was none the less pleasurable.
The leaf shook off the dew,
The seductive droplets, wanted no more.
It was a morning leaf now
And it smiled at me.

Finally my thoughts find words.
And I stand amidst the world.
It moves, I don't.
I move, it doesn't.
We complement each other.
I paint the wind.
It carries the streaks around.
Bright colors, waves, blots, smiles.

Single strands, thin, powerful.
Dripping with intensity.
Thin strands all around.
Magnanimous in their gestures.
Simple in their meaning.
Infinite in their existence.
Momentary is their presence.

Words often don't make sense.
They just tumble out,
And it's even funnier
Because the chatter is silent,
And it's the nib that does the talking.

Words often limit our thoughts
For they have a structure
And poetry is simply an attempt
at forging the Unknown.
An extempore play,
When the mind is set loose
Upon one's world.

Is this poetry?
I do not know.
I'll call it words, structured.
To soothe me early this morning.
Random thoughts kiss me good morning.
:)