Pages from my anthology

Pages from my Anthology

                 Dear (Wo)men

There she is born,
Saved from scans and scorn,
They rejoiced 'Lakshmi Beti Aayi hai'
With pink frock and nails long.


Her frock replaced by salwar kameez,
Pouty lips, appealing gait and chubby cheeks,
She tries to discover yet hide clear,
From the peeping eyes on her adoslescent smear.


Lover she is; bottled with passion within,
Strength and will to lead the crowd,
Head held high and carrying high heels
Home and work she equally deals.

Time now comes to hold the hands of the man she loves,
A bond of love she pours, none in vain,
To build what she calls 'her new home'
With promises to stand, eat and dine,
Together both create 'divine'.


And yes, now her stomach begins to show,
A new life as they call 'grows',
She prepares for another role-
Turning a new leaf,
A mother she is-
  Tender, abnegating and protective.


And in this mix, she forgets who she is,
Call her Durga, Mary or call her 'she'
Her lips only carve an arch to smile,
'She' is a wo(man), a part of you,
Racing beside you till the last mile.

          

In the News....

There is news everywhere. Some are good, some are bad, some are real or fake, some are special while rest ordinary. But there are some which will surely remain as headlines at least for a couple of weeks.
The first in the line will be the US presidential election result. Donald J Trump is the 45th President of the United States of America after defeating Hillary Clinton in the presidential race. Yes a mere business tycoon who had contested for the most coveted position of the world is indeed today more powerful than any of the Marvel superheroes. Call it luck or the extensive persuasive election campaigns, Trump had played his Trump card well to be the resident of the White House for the next four years (one can call him a political alien) whereas ace politicians had dedicated their entire life for the same. His election as the head of the superpower nation has sparked protests in many regions whereas world leaders in their congratulatory note to Mr. Trump have shown due respect and interest to work with him. India especially is looking forward for a fruitful bilateral ties strengthening time since Mr. Trump had asserted in his election speech that he is fond of India. Whatever the future holds is only a mystery now but in the words of many, entrusting the reins of one of the biggest democracies in the hands of someone who had intertwined himself in many controversies in the past is just like gifting a complex video game to a 10 year old. There is no wonder that he will be lured to push the many buttons, all unexplored, on this video game and experiment on all possible outcomes. The only treat would be to see whether Americans and the world will lose or win the game.
The next in the line of news is the ban on the 500 and 1000 rupees currency notes. While the Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi was engrossed in his strong verbal address to intimate the burning issue, all Indians were busy either stacking their old notes for exchange or else counting the live guards in the form of coins and 100  rupee notes. Even in an unannounced form, it is an economic crisis which will affect almost every walk of life because in an overly populated country like India demonetization has its own pros and cons. Thus in his message the PM requested the countrymen to support and remain patient in this war against corruption- a war against filthy black money owners. Although the social media is projecting the issue in quite a light-hearted manner, this sudden step is welcomed and questioned at the same time. If the government has pledged to eradicate the menace of fake notes and black money, should it also not take legitimate action to punish those involved in bringing our economy down proving that this outburst is not a political drama like campaign promises where the only sufferers are the general public and those who laden their homes with illegal money have only little to lose. Only then we can say that “Acche din aa gaye” otherwise all these public inconvenience caused is just another proof that our representatives step out in the jungle for a stroll and not actually to hunt.
The third issue which had recently caught the headlines and is a very serious concern is the Smog envelope in the national capital. It is an environmental problem which most people were acquainted to only through their school books. Post Diwali celebrations, Delhi had an alarming increase in the polluted air level. So things once taken for granted are now national and international problems being discussed at conferences like the COP 21 and COP 22. The Delhi government have banned all sort of construction activities for a couple of days but it, like spraying water on roads, shutting down industries for sometime or the odd-even rule, are not enough to curb the drastic nature of the endangering smog. What about the heavy deforestation, over population and rapid industrialization? When will people start to question those if they really believe in sustainable development. Everything now is as unclear as the Delhi sky.
Moving on to the NE region and specifically our state Assam, many issues seem to jolt the inhabitants. The most controversial amongst all is the arrest of the Assam Public Service Commission Chairman Mr. Rakesh Paul. The bold statement and accusation of a young lady dentist was enough for the police to arrest him for committing severe corruption leading to raid in his innumerable assets in and across the state. But more than the vast amount of money and property that he had amassed in the name of offering high profile jobs, what came as a massive shock was that he had conducted the prestigious public service exams right in his place and no one even got the slightest of hints. One can then very well gauge the structure of bureaucracy and the corruption that would evidently be present. Isn’t it purely a case of denying a true suitor an honourable job and placing it in the hands of those who loaded his bank account with cash?  The Chairman’s removal will require the final approval of the President of India. Will he come out scot free like last time and his helping hands too do not get a jail stay? Will his arrest simply adorn News channels when after some days he will be moving below the clear skies without penalty?

Questions and apprehensions on all these remain; time will definitely be the best answer.    

Pages from my Anthology

                    The Proud Flower

O! There she stood, all surrounded by full blooms,
Fresh and juvenile,
Ripe and beautiful,
Envied by all the glooms. 

The birds sang praises,
Bowed her to open her coloured petaly twines,
O’ little flower had only plans - to be famous and kind,
But being robbed off was the sole fear in mind.

Every day the bees would hum,
The cuckoo sang on spring’s arrival,
This little flower however had,
 Only reasons to stay still.

She thought of the passerby who
Would be charmed to see her,
Of the naughty lad who would try
To pull her attire,
Thought of the gumptious bee who
Would steal a bucket of nectar.
Hence better still was to be the bud she is.

Days passed , she felt pale and weak,
No more birds dancing around her,
No more flies to sing,
She was alone, for she served no purpose,
Only a bud she was, awaiting rebirth.

Thus she decided, to go off her fears,
Let the wind through her tiny feathers,
Let the bee hover around her,
For the world to see that what a
Divine beauty she could be.

And when all the happy times flowed,
The heavy storm’s entrance was big and clear,
All she was left with was-a tiny bright petal,
She knew her time had come to face it with grit,
To embrace, like all others,
The fate she was meant to end with.

            

JUST ONE MORE TIME, PLEASE!

Sometimes life thrusts you to an unnoticed, unwanted edge where you have no better option than to retire to a blank page and blue pen in your hand and screech a word or two in some incorrigible handwriting rendering it incomprehensible even in the barest proximity range. And better so, switch off the ‘mini devil’whose attributes are contrary to its size and cut off from the outside world.  This sudden outburst seems to be an identical picture perfect situation in every unmanaged disturbed person in his 20s.
Adulthood –this is the perfect time to do some soul searching in the pool of utter confusion one lives in. (maybe that is how masterpieces of self-discovery were gifted to humanity.) Just a peep outside one’s comfortable slumber shell and things are just like those floating bacteria cells in the biology lab accumulating slowly, growing in mass to fill up every space. And although some scientists treat humans as a tiny speck in the universe, it has been a constant urge on part of living beings for the quest of a meaningful life where success is considered a prized possession.
 However there is difference between playing to win and playing not to lose. And however strong and efficient one might be, failure of some kind does peek in.
 What does each failure teach?
Does it remind that one is not good enough or does it suggest that one is yet to hone the skills to be amongst the top 5%? But whatever it may be failures do have two hard implications-they either break you or make you. They tell you or teach you. They discourage or motivate you. They tell you to give up or try just one more time. How difficult it is to gulp down failures. To start over once again with the same tools, go for the same tasks; build the same castle which you saw yourself get smashed into dusts and still clueless about your stand at the threshold of victory and defeat.
Volumes of books proudly adorn the stories and struggles of those who braved against all odds, laughed at their own mistakes and made their presence felt. But did those glossy pages try to project the emotional turmoil and nothingness faced by each dejected soul. The world cares for the gold medalists, it does not care for the one who came second or third or the one who competed for the same nor does it care to see the sweat and blood behind   that win. This is the competitive dog-eat-dog world we live in.
Nevertheless there are some who try to rise from each fatal blow to stand as a paradigm to that one story of a spider which inspired King Robert Bruce not to give up his kingdom to the enemy. And may be because of this someone rightly said that life is a sine wave- and there will be two peaks –of maximum and that of the minimum.
All it requires is patience to keep calm during adversity and logically transform it into an opportunity and not be exuberantly carried away by a success- for even success like happiness is a journey not a destination.
                                                 

                                Happy trying!

Pages from my Anthology

                    FROM DAMINI, TO THE WORLD     (Dedicated to those girls who have seen the worst side of human nature)


It is my last day to see the morning sun,
For never will light touch my dead soul again,
All I have is nothingness around,
The dark has engulfed me to the death terrain.

I never knew where my fault lied,
To be stripped off on the road side,
To become the butt of lust and impulse,
Why did I ever come into this life?

All my dreams of a happy life took minutes to shatter,
Alike my body which was drilled in no time,
Was it a crime to lead a happy life,
I wonder why I was chosen.
Yes it could be you,
Today or the other day,
Its not new.
Its been there for ages,
One who starts life is not allowed to live,
She has to die—in the Womb or outside.

                       


Now I leave behind those happy moments,
And go far to a place unknown,
So far that am shielded,
Shielded from the savage race- the Humans.

Pages from my Anthology

                            INSPIRED (2nd June 2006)     


                             
Faint music and voice so low,
Still were the steps graceful and glow,
As little drops fill the sea,
Her little steps could enthrall the Thee.
Sadness and happiness for you and for me
But why is that happy you and not me?

Had I been in her place,
I would have said-
Life is not a bed of roses, but still not of thorns too,
Then is that I crave for more and lose all that I have too.
Fame is what I fight to win
But she likes to be her own pleasure queen,
Simple stuffs are her possessions,
Which I keep and throw at will
Call her poor but me too neither rich!
She can learn when none to teach
Then why can’t I when I have others who preached.
Life started from the same soul for both of us,
I will end and she too in the same dust.
Thus,
Everything is the same for her and for me,
The only difference, our minds not alike,
The opposite approach we have for life,
Stir my thoughts from from land to sky…