White Dove

Gone are the days of blossoms,
Of roses, lily and cute possums,
Of rising sun and rise some more,
Of growl none but roar galore.

Gone are the days of merry,
Of apple cheeks n lips cherry,
Of silence at sea and ferry ride,
Of nothing red just peace white.

Gone are the days of beer n rum,
Of Sir sweetsalot, no cheeni-kam,
Of cakes bakes and milk shakes,
Of high octane n apply no brakes.

Gone are the days of give no hoot,
Of calmness none, emotions brute,
Of tiger jump and dragonistic fly,
Of crude anger and baby like cry.

Gone are the days of cigar rings,
Of hash leaves, delusion it brings,
Of dance wild like no tomorrow,
Of sipping away sadness n sorrow.

Gone are the days of diwali holi,
Of bursting crackers with the toli,
Of lighting candles, whole street,
Of enjoying more being indiscreet.

Gone are the days of count no sin,
Of standing up, taking on the chin,
Of tears out on losing dear love,
Of feathers cozy of the white dove.

12 rupaye ki Roti

Good heavens! 140/- for dinner in train. Looking at it from the point of view of when we eat out it’s penny. But looking at it from a public owned organisation, it doesn’t sound nice. Before you start berating me for being a communist, let me explain.

When poverty figures came out. There was a huge uproar. 12/- was the figure that was discussed endlessly. A lot of our esteemed leaders who were part of Govt of the day, supported that figure. They went even further and justified it by saying, “Meal at 12/- is available aplenty in our country”.

No point naming individual leaders but that sounded like a collective voice of the Govt. The point is when on one side you say 12/- is the price per meal in India and on the other you charge people 140/- for a meal on wheels. Where is the disconnect?

When I see the same leaders trying to find the reasons why they lost, I can only laugh. This arrogance was why you lost. Insulting justifications to make  point on TV debates, was why you lost. People can bear with hunger, but if someone try to justify that hunger, it’s intolerable. This is why you lost.

Had they been humble enough to admit the failure. Had they sympathized with 12 bucks junta, things might have been different.

The sad part is all those leaders are affluent even in loss. And 12 rupaye ki roti is still soiled in blood.

Thoda adjust karo

Journey back to Mumbai. Just as I boarded the train, first voice in my ear, Bhaisaab adjust kar lo thoda.

I found my seat occupied. Couple of guys sat there relaxed. Mine was the coveted window seat which everyone desire but only few get. Sometimes I wonder how the lack of ample trains in India is a blessing in disguise. The one who gets the seat jumps with joy. If there would be ample trains, this joy would never be.

Anyways, “Bhaisaab can you please sit there”, said the duo pointing to a middle seat. Over the years as I have stopped arguing, I have somehow learned the trick to handle this. With glib and humor.

“Oh! Itni si baat. For you, I am ready to sit on the floor Sir”, I said with a smile. Everyone nearby laughed as I parked myself in my designated seat.

I am a bit tired. It’s nap time now.

Back From The Dead

How would you feel when an old friend is back from the dead? Not literaly from the dead, but after a considerable estrangement. Happy? Excited? Surprised? Angry? Or a combination of feelings?

A close friend of mine who has a history of hibernating, popped up yesterday after an year or so. I called him up, whatsApp, email during this period of total blackout but to no avail. I tried enquiring his whereabouts, nada.

His name was added to our whatsApp group in hope. Yesterday I saw a message from him. I thought someone has hacked into and playing a prank. Given the group has Computer Engineers from IIT, it was no wild guess. Then the barrage of equally befuddled reactions from other people. We asked him a few verification questions before believing.

He answered all the questions correctly. Still not sure, I ringed him up. Was it his voice? After few secs of assurances, I was sure, he was the one. Then came the usual expletives.

Few 100 expletives later it was all normal. Like he was never estranged. I guess friendship is that kind of a bond.

Tests of Life

I don’t remember the yaksha tale completely. But there were a set of questions to be answered to attain something. Clearing hurdles and attaining the goal has been a common thread all through our texts.

Some akin it to the way life is. It takes tests at times and what you achieve next depends on the how you perform. Such periods of life lets you understand the reality of a lot of charades. The real face as we can call it.

It’s very important not just to sail through such tests but also remember the period. Who decided to stand by you and who deserted you. It helps not only to gain perspective but also lets you an insight for the future.

Life is short if you make it fun. Life is long if you make it sad. For myself I would choose to keep fun and not let myself be bogged down. If people choose to stand by me, it would be good; if they decide otherwise, even better.

Some people say, after hard work comes the comfort. They might be wrong. There might be further hardships. My view is, even if there are further hardships, I would atleast be trained better to handle them.

Put right foot down

When you see injustice,
Innocent blood spilled,
Don’t just stand and frown,
Put your right foot down.

When you see a child,
Molested by a savage,
Don’t laugh like a clown,
Put your right foot down.

When you see hoodlums,
Teasing a certain eve,
Don’t sip your coffee brown,
Put your right foot down.

When you see a teacher,
Beating up small kid,
Don’t just use proper noun,
Put your right foot down.

When you see poor laborer,
Being taken advantage of,
Don’t you too fill godown,
Put your right foot down.

When you see fake promises,
Made by your beloved leader,
Don’t still paint the red town,
Put your right foot down.

When you see injustice,
Innocent blood spilled,
Don’t just stand and frown,
Put your right foot down.

Modi, Obama and UN

A lot of media coverage in India has been given to Modi and Obama meet. It has been touted as once in a lifetime event. A game changer; an earth shatterer.

There are valid reasons to some extent. US is at the top in the current era of single point of power. Hence newly elected head of the biggest democracy meeting US President sure is news. But I think the grandeur more or else must stop there.

Modi meeting anybody is news in India. I have to make my displeasure known when meeting with a failed Global Leader, Obama is given this outrageous coverage. Some might raise eyebrows on what I just said but Obama has indeed turned out to be a failure at Global stage unlike his predecessors.

Reasons can be aplenty. Starting from compulsions of uplifting economy back home to simple lack of acumen. At this point of time its hard to imagine Obama towering over state heads during conversation. One can easily remember Clinton or Bush doing so. This has sadly let to dimnished US clout which does not bide well for world peace.

For me Modi meeting Obama or speaking at another disappointing body UN is nothing note-worthy. The only positive I see coming out of it is showcasing vision and clout in front of world media which is present at UNGA meet.

Thumbs up to Modi for achieving the same. I sincerely hope Modi doesn’t end up being a failure like the two important destinations of his US visit.