Meenas Poems

I make mosambi juice
for my baby, a must for
him at 11 in the morning.

Sterilize the feeding bottle
pour the juice, wait for him
to wake up.

He is not fussy as all that,
but gets up with a loud cry
enough to bring the roof down.

The clock joins with him
as it strikes eleven times,
with a great sound.

The little one drinks,
burps with a smile,
engages in baby talk.

As I rise to get the bottle
cleaned, my in – law walks i.
She remarks

“Bhagavathi’s child does not drink juice.
His skin is smooth and shining”.
Bhagavathi being the maid.

Both, Bhagavathi and I, are hurt,
the one for feeding, the other ruing
her inability to feed.

In lockdown India
when the corona
turns atrocious,
a woman gives birth
to twins, She names
them as Corona and Covid.
after the deadly virus.

It is 24 March 2020,
and happen in Chhattisgarh,
when the virus gathers momentum
in the Indian subcontinent.
Incredible. How can they?
I mumble along with
the rest of the world.

As the community struggles
to win over the attack.with deaths
and anguish.The parents
behave strange.The christening
takes effect. Amusing!
An admixture of geniality and
quaintness.Hard to understand.

The twins, boy and girl
will grow up blessed
with perfect health,
They being the warriors
of the bio war.

one of great travail
where no work is done
still poses a tedium.

Exhausted I turn,
with sweat in the forehead,
perspiring with a sigh
as the sun draws to noon.

The skin becomes dry
Hands and feet give up
I am fallen. Trodden
by the extreme heat.

Air conditioners, fans
prove no match to the warmth.
Forecasts say this will continue
for few more days.

It will be dog day,
I drink pot full
bathe thrice, I cannot
smother the parchment.

As age catches up
the rigour is unbearable,
I stand without ease
no other way I could,

Mapping the trend in the recent years
I trace to places untrodden
by society so far.

Frequenting pubs, getting drunk,
almost every evening commands
a respect on today’s society.

Driving through the city
in luxurious cars raises
the level of living .

Flying to places and countries
for a cause or for socializing
is regarded high.

Dining out, holding parties
for birthdays, for anniversaries,
elevates the ranking.

Dressing with ostentation in mind
in expensive outfits lends
an enviable position.

Adorning with finest jewelry
sporting a feigned smile
bestows pride.

So masquerade the “nouveau riche”
with painted faces and artificial
speech.

Morality, discipline modesty
govern a distinction
which most ignore.

no mechanism whatsoever,
lighting fire with stones,
eating raw food,
wearing minimal clothing
made of leaves and barks,
hunting and fishing being
the chief occupations,
those of us in the year 2020
are compelled to emulate.
We do disgruntled.

Back to the Stone Age,
where men slept
under no shelter,
just under the trees
while the sun shines,
retreat into the caves
when there is rain and thunder,
beget children, raise families,
do not know to read or write,
live in great joy.

That could be ours too
living close to nature
not governed by greed
without monetary concerns
eat what you grow,
a little more if be the need
what you hunt and drink
pure water from the pond
a peaceful existence
without disease.

• 

Himalayas turns alive
seen from Jalandhar
hundred miles away.

The Ganges flows gentle
carries no waste, dead bodies
water becomes fit for drinking.

The residents of Delhi
feel free to breathe,
the sky looks clear.

Roads in Mumbai
resume their stateliness
the city is back to glory.

So does Chennai
its beach restores the
lost grace.

The garden city
Bangalore smiles
through the fresh blossom.

Historic cities, Mysore
and Madurai remain calm
without celebrations.

India’s bustle has subsided.
The teeming population
stays home.

Nothing could have
brought such regimental
order other than the virus.

A renewed India
will emerge, an enchanting
resplendence would enliven,

It is graceful to witness
the marriage of two
individuals. A milestone
in their life, one of rejoice.

Weddings expose a glamour
The talk focuses not on the merits
but revolves on how many gathered?
how were the arrangements?

which goes on for days
the feelings of the wedded
remain unseen, the event
is eulogized.

The ostentation robs
the sanctity. How many
in the crowd have a good
heart? Difficult to answer.

A display of wealth a
show of status
marks the occasion. Weddings
turn a disenchanted illusion.

(The seventh one on “Social Distancing” )

Call it not discrimination
the distance between the genders
maintained with a strictness,
how we were brought up way back
in the early sixties.

Never it was gender bias, a feeling
lenience can bring chaos.
Boys and girls received
equal opportunities. Most
made the best use of them.

Challenges were met with caliber
Girls turned to be diligent, boys,
boisterous as they are, worked
with less interest. In the final
rounds both vied with each other.

The distinction took an exit
when the matured players
exchanged views,worked
united. One perceives
wisdom in the brought up.

There was no messing.
Everything was clear.
Discipline was precise,
comprehension was ultimate,
the extensions led to success.

Sixth in the series ” Social Distancing”

Flying to places,
turns a social symbol.

choosing a place for honeymoon
where it is all exotic,

another one for holidays,
a region with attractions,

pursuing higher studies
in reputed universities,

settling down with jobs
highly remunerative,

frequency of visits
for commercial transactions.

the stay in hotels,
spending time in pools,

partaking unfamiliar food,
delicacies of those places,

a put up with weather,
mercury at the peak,

else temperature below freezing,
unknowingly casts an affliction,

more or less life threatening,
an epidemic or pandemic spreads,

Most succumb to this extravagance,
heralding a disaster

that of an unknown morbidity
leading to mortality.

( Fifth one in the series ” Social Distancing”)

With folded hands
held near the heart, I greet
those who come home.
A gesture where warmth,
love and respect exude.

I offer a glass of plain water,
notifying the guess their presence
has a special significance, one
as essential as water, significant
of honour.

Engaging in conversation,
in between the discussion
I serve the visitors
with snacks and beverages
an act of hospitality.

Such is my tendency,
where physical contact
hand shake, embrace, hug
find no place. To me
solicitations are akin to worship.

( The fourth one in the series ” Social Distancing”)