Meenas PoemsNothing much to manage
seeing only damages
all around in stages
went across to rummage
the items to gauge
what is inside in ranges
could find nothing in the storage
only few things in the page
that were left out in a wage 
got totally discouraged
threw everything in a rage
walked away in a daze.
The bell rings
not from the church
not from the temple.
The bell rings incessantly
not an alarm
not a phone .
The bell rings with great sound
neither from the fire brigade
nor from the city tower.
The bell rings violently
it being a call
it being a siren.
The bell chimes vehemently
warning everyone to hide
hurrying all to go underground.
The bell’s sound
takes various cues
whilst this rings fear.
A day or two ago
heard a story of long ago
when men used to work manually
with no electricity to help them
and no other gadgets to assist them.
getting up early in the morn
walked to the place of work
with meals wrapped in leaves
toiled the whole day
and had complete rest in the evening
with no other distractions
except the weekly fair
and the street dramas enacted
then and there with songs
without any orchestra
only the drum and the conch
that lent the beats
They were healthy and robust
eating all natural food mostly raw
vegetables fresh from the farm
supplemented by fruits and grains .
Their life was easy and lovely
and they did live long
passing at the right age
as no medical facilities prevailed
facilitating a prolong and an extension
perhaps it was an intentional
giving way to the next generation
Living long has its own fall backs
that too after sixty it s a tedium
living most of the time alone
while the husband and wife keep staring
there arises a vacuum very emphatic
and if the man falls sick 
the wife tends the husband
but never could she expect that
if she gets ill and lies in bed.
That being the untold verdict
of the community at large
where the male chauvinism
reigns supreme and great
however exhausted she be
has look after the chores
Getting away from this earthly being
very much before you turn sixty
seems appropriate and wonderful
as you are saved from illness
and the much condemned loneliness
I can hear the advice of many
bidding to get involved in service
which again needs a healthy frame
and a stamina sane
which again leads to the vicious .
Die before you turn sixty or even ahead
as you would not be a burden to anyone
the least to yourself.
.
She has an eye for beauty.
likes things pretty
treasures them in her kitty
goes on hunting for nicety
keeps on buying them in density
preserves them with an intensity
cherishes them with an affinity
her name is Betty
and she looks dainty
![airpotato_thumb[3]](https://meenas17.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/airpotato_thumb3.jpg?w=300&h=175)
Having been with the crowd for long
participating in every event
with a full mind at times
and half mindedly most times
going by the rules of the community
and respecting the call of the elders
have now decided to get away from the commitments
as it brings with it nothing desirable
a bag of gossip and a container of comments
good or bad depending on the subject
mostly biased all throughout
a sequence that had brought heart burns
and a confluence that lands us in unwanted trouble
sitting there pretty well for a long time
but in the end getting meaningless messages
which lack authenticity and prudence
mostly turning out to be a bug bear
and a convention releasing no joy.
The confluence of people unlike that of rivers
stage a dim spectacle of irrational exchange.
Having been through life in a most different way
just looking after my work with dedication
had no time to see what was going around
as being cast in such a sphere had no inclination
as to get through and beat the competitors
but natural as it seemed I came above them every day
unknowingly I became a butt of their anger
by ruse they denied every share of my right.
I went about with a tempered attitude at times
while most occasions burst out in a fury.
Neither my anger nor my placidity paid dividends
as I lost the entire share to those who played foul.
Years passed and I grew out of it with much difficulty
but now my children in their lighter moments
make fun of me saying with cheer and humour
that I never knew to ask anything on time
and could never achieve the rightful portion
Their jocular remarks do hurt me great
I ruefully disdain my attitude and disposition
feeling great for the loss because of my nature
the loss 
in turn finds a reflection in their life too
as the wealth would have passed on to them as by natural law.
Rivers flood falling into the sea.
The sea in turbulence sweeps to the land.
The land stagnates and gets drowned
hopelessly.
The water drags everything live and dead into the sea.
It is namaste that greets me
wherever I go around the world
seeing me in saree that looks different
in my own country where saree being the national dress
as women move about in pants and T-shirts
and my bindi which is another incongruity
largely round in my forehead shining red
which too has become obsolete in my country
where women go with no marks on the forehead
or the bare minimum being a tiny dot
that is not visible from a distance long
but could be noted in close quarters
with a salaam I an shown a place not at the back
but given to take a prominent position
right in the front among the very important
granting me great respect and warmth
which others in modern attire do not get
Proud to be in my own attire with the saree
draped around with pleets and folds
a perfect dress in which I feel at home
whilst the other modern attires seem something out-of-place
very much alien to me while I wonder
how people move about in such forms
that get tight and strain the muscle
forsaking the comforts of the loose
almost an enviable six yard cloth
that needs no stitching and requires no fittings.
Like my sari namaste is also so loving to me
keeping me at home at any part of the world
as I tend to wander all over the world
while a salaam chooses a precious
salutations that make me know that I am being
acknowledged by my Muslim brothers as well
Namaste ans salaam are an integral part of my life.
having one foot in the Indian subcontinent
and the other planted in the Malaysian peninsula
Thinking in line to outbeat
very concentrated on the overthrow
went he ahead in a measured flow.
Keeping silent for a time
then moving discreetly on time
he entered the spree very specifically
sending messages to the opponent’s friends
pretending to be noncommittal in his trends
then he slowly encroached the much guarded fray
getting across with a smooth dash in a swayA
that being the plan he had thought so long
got it finally to a proper form
forcing the exit of the opponent
and paving the path soft for his denouement.
Meenas Poems 