A piece of paper
crumpled and crushed
flies with the wind
drops down in another lane
the way gossip spreads
from one place o another
a meaningless talk
causing anger.
Category: thoughts
Categories
The Variants
A twig branches out —
at least two
maybe more
branching out —
twin twigs
maybe quints or more
A tuft
of happy
grass
hair down and blowin’
in the breeze – a tuft
of happy grass
life leaves
and the leaf
lands
life
less
leaf
fall
Categories
Mirrors Do Not Lie.
An early marriage
and three children within ten years
placed me in a status
when I had no time to stand and stare.
Imagine I studied for the
board examinations
four times.
Each time it was different boards
I managed to come out well
my own take was honours
one another with distinction
the other two with a first class.
My sons flew from the nest
Left to me,
I started to look at the mirror quite often.
The reflection is quaint.
I see an old hag with grey hair around the temples.
I shout”it is not me!”
Mirrors do not lie.
Categories
An Excess.
Had to rush through
many weddings.
Saw nothing, ate nothing
it was a mad rush.
Anything too much
is a stress.
Categories
The Artist in Cheema.
Cheema stares at his canvas
painted on a grey background
sober it looks .
His characters come to life.
that of
his father walks up and down
muttering,
the other
his mother cajoles him
as he waits in the corner
with bloodshot eyes.
An artist at heart
took to engineering
at the behest of his family.
The JJ school of art Mumbai
the classes he loved to attend
disappear.
The huge halls of
Indian Institute Of Technology
come alive.
The portraits, sketches and the idiosyncrasies
of characters recorded in his mind gradually
convert into Oracle and Java.
The colours fade. The encoded information
surface.
Cheema’s sojourn in U.S
pay him in dollars
the exchange factor
(a dollar= sixty-seven Indian Rupees)
help his family
to come out of the woods.
The dream of becoming an M.F Husein
remains unfulfilled.
The artist dies unceremoniously.
Categories
Tender Amidst Thorns.
Roses are beautiful
fragrant they are all through
tender amidst thorns.
Categories
More and Less.
More is less.
Less is more.
Is less actually more?
I contemplate.
Is more really less?
I deliberate.
Less and more
and less.
show a nothingness.
A minus and a plus
and a minus
denote a diminish.
One is born
he is more or less.
One lives
he is more and more
One dies
he is no more.
The minimalist
against the profligate.
Categories
Ramayana–Idealistic Ihikasa.
Rama, the legendary son
of Dasaratha
left for the forests
and lived as an aesthetic
for fourteen years
never wished to return
whatever be the hardships
Obedience being emphasised
in this move.
The news of his father’s death
did not deter his resolution
the promise he gave
held him from going back
word of honour
a virtue he subtly places
before the world.
Born as a prince
he lived in the wild forest
eating meagre food,
fruits and vegetables
for fourteen years
exemplifies his attitude
one of renunciation:
a quality of strength.
Ramayana extols idealism
with a profundity.
Categories
Pavalamani,Pasimani.
Pachaimani, pavalamani, pasimani
Beads, precious beads,
she cries in a sonorous cheerful voice.
Her family of four all wear
beads hanging from their necks.
I invite them in, splendid in their vibrant coloured
clothing, rustic in a way yet noble.
They sit on the thinnai and set up shop,
spread a coir mat and display a dazzling
array of beads. I examine carefully.
The man cries,
aiyoo, amma “
Why are you so fussy?
they are ordinary beads, not diamonds
you would look pretty with pavalams
they would go well with your complexion.
Bowled over by his charm,
my interest aroused
I decide to buy
His son danced around merrily.
His woman adored him, shown by her coy stare.
[Normally these people practice casual relationships.]
I am struck by their love and contentedness
I bought pavalams paying over the odds.
The gypsies, in general, are not disciplined,
wayward bohemians.
the women in check multicoloured skirts and high cholis
they tell fortunes, often with a kol(cane) in their hands
while the men tie a loin of cloth around their waist
and a thalaipagu (a headgear) around their head
catch snakes, rats, and frogs burn them
a sumptuous dinner for the family.
They care not for our institution, our culture
they shun learning gain knowledge by hearsay
excel in mental arithmetic
veritable computer-like in their swiftness to compute.
Eat raw be it fruits, vegetables
One man and one wife are not in their code
meet and mate whomever they like, be they bold
wanderers of lands called as Narikuravas.
they bid goodbye in a chorus of giggling
the man, for sure, is a born salesman
caught me at the right moment
and made good of my weakness earning a profit.
Categories
Honesty Be The Rule.
The revised version,
A man walks with his head high
shows off he is invincible in tries.
He, who lived happily all through
faced an eventuality one day.
He lost his wealth overnight
finds himself alone in the world
a situation he did not expect.
He had shunned relations and friends
they retaliate in turn
a forsaken man he is
saddled with liabilities.
Had he been honest
and shown compassion
he would have been
in a better wicket.
The original version,
Man is driven by necessity
most times he walks with head high
behaves imperious unnecessarily
a show off that he is invincible in tries .
As always times change for him for bad
he who saw roses all the days
would undergo an eventuality that makes him sad
he would be on the run afraid of a chase.
Driven by loss and wants he turns to the reality
had been unmindful of others all through
an extravagant transaction had brought the fall definitely
been saddled with liabilities becomes insolvent in truth.
Not being a story or tale nor a history in the run
being a one of recent that happened a day before
security is mortal’s chiefest enemy an idiom not of fun
practise honesty as a rule, therefore.
A request to pick the best.
Meenas Poems 