Wednesday, November 26, 2008

The peddler of words

(A tribute to the great poets of yore)

The Peddler of Words

With wisdom quotidian, and knowledge none too vast;

With brawns pedestrian, and courage always short;

With penury as my bride, and darkness for a friend,

With aloofness as a habit, on no mortal I depend.

With manner hardly kingly, and riches none to give,

With nothing worth of mention, an obscure life I live.

Scoffing fellowmen hold me in poor regard,

Oh lonely dreamer, what are you but an upstart!



But there is something of a divine light,

In what I do by the dead of the night.

A daytime squandered and badly spent,

To acquire by nightfall an angelic bent,

To sit with frenzied papers at my table,

To pen down poem, story and fable;

A head full of ideas, a heart light like spring;

Oh slumbering fools, now the upstart is the king!

Delirious and inspired, I go on to write,

Reveling and marveling into the night!



Laughing at my humor, you rejoice in glee,

And burst into tears at my crafted tragedy,

My heroes they inspire, and my demons they scare,

My villains you hate, and for my orphans you care!

This world of no God’s, but of an upstart’s alone,

I change your life, all from my dark little home.

But I aspire not riches, those are not for me,

For a mere peddler of words is all I want to be!


Friday, November 21, 2008

Metamorphosis

Another poem from 2004. One of my favorites. It depicts good old fashioned possessive love. Probably unfit today, in these times of flirting, sms love and coffee shop romance. But truly one of my most special ones.


Metamorphosis

You, always the incandescent princess,
Oh so glamorous, all very glitzy,
Me, the idiot, forever obsessed,
With you, but truth I can never see,
That you and I, are just not meant to be.
Try as I might, I can never be your kind.

Pick me, throw me, just take me for granted,
For am I not your shadow, your footsteps;
Always there, yet totally ignored?
Soon, we shall part though, as the future beckons,
Surely, into your bright world you shall disappear,
Leaving me to grope somehow, for my destiny.

But all this while, you failed to realize,
A lurking intelligence behind my dull eyes;
A will that strengthens with the darkening of the skies,
A longing, a hunger, to escape from this life;
A desire to be someone better, stronger, and bigger,
A confidence that knows its possible. And it is too.

Some years later, your life I shall enter-
No longer the shadow, no longer the coward,
And charmingly swipe you off your feet,
To carry you into the night skies above.
Long lonely years spent waiting for this moment,
Knowing, though that no price is too high for love.

So I bide my time, for someday you shall be mine,
And I know my someday is never too far away,
So my lady, don't ever think you have seen the last of me,
For I shall return, once my metamorphosis is complete.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

The Soldier In me


This is a poem I wrote sometime in 2004. It is raw, but I like it still, for it evinces my admiration and love for the soldiers of our land.

The Soldier In Me


Not too long ago, I was a body with no soul,
A wanderer without purpose, without a goal.
A scorned, unwanted and unhappy life I led,
Sometimes wishing I could just drop dead.
Society branded me a misfit and they laughed-
They laughed at me, and how they laughed!

Now at my country's border I stand,
Tri-colour on my chest and rifle in hand.
And finally in my life, purpose I can see.
Till I collapse and my last breath deserts me,
My motherland I shall guard, for I love her,
Yes, this is the new me, me the soldier.

Sometimes, even now, their laughter I can hear;
"He just wanted to run away", they mockingly leer.
But then, "Do not look back", the soldier in me says;
A soldier has no past, he only looks onward always.
Besides, a noble job I have, that of protecting
A billion brothers, oh what a thing to do for a living!

On some nights, when in a lonely bunker I lie,
A skeptical voice within asks, "What if I die?"
But the soldier in me always rises to reply,
'Worthy is the man who dies for a cause,
And an entire nation shall mourn his loss'.
And in that reply, my salvation I find.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Dostana, Miami, and the great Bollywood lie

So Dostana will release today. People will throng to see John's abs, his butt too I believe, Priyanka's cleavage, and the sights and sounds of Miami, and the associated attractions of firangs in bikinis, songs in foreign locales etc. The movie will run, Karan Johar and his production firm will roll around in more money, people will be happy, and life in India will go on as always.

The entire thought process behind the movie must have been like this:
1. Select location based on which will sell the most.
2. Select actors and actresses based on who's hot and in right now.
3. Frame a story somehow around all this.

There is nothing wrong, or nothing tragicomic about this, except for one thing: This just isn't good cinema. For long, it is an open secret that Bollywood hides shoddy scripts and sloppy acting behind a facade of foreign locations, exquisite dresses, and of course, the skin show. But why do people fall for it again and again?

Why have all of Karan Johar's recent movies (Kal Ho Na Ho, Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna to name a few), been shot in the Unites States? Was the USA central to any of the plots of the above movies? It's not only about him. Jhoom Barabar Jhoom was fimed entirely in the UK. Aap Ka Suroor, in Germany. Did it influence the story line in any way? The answer is a resounding no. Why do bimbos like Katrina Kaif, Sameera Reddy, Celina Jaitley etc. who can't act for nuts keep getting roles in big movies?

There's a general feeling in our country that even bullshit, if packaged well enough, will sell like hot cakes. We blame politicians for being profligate. We blame cricketers on their eccentricities. Why do filmstars and film makers escape, despite wasting crores?

I'm not saying glamor and aesthetics are unnecessary. But when things are put in just to show there is abundance of money, or to hide obvious flaws in the movie, it irks a thinking viewer. The idiots, of course, continue to wallow in these superfluous excesses, like Minisha Lamba's bikini in Kidnap, or Akshay Kumar's sherwanis in Singhh is King (each of which is supposed to have costed more than a lakh of rupees) .

Grow up Bollywood. Don't dish out crap like this. Grow up viewer. Watch Miami to your heart's fill on Travel and Living if you want. Don't shell out 150 rupees for the same.

(readers, your comments are welcome as usual)

Nay, said the flower

Hey. I found this in some book. It's originally a Hindi poem, but when translated, it still sends an arrow of thrill through the heart of the reader.

Nay, said the flower
Cast me, said the flower,
Not on the virgin's bed
Nor in the bridal carriage
Nor in the merry village square.

Nay, said the flower
Cast me but on that lonely path
where the heroes walk
For their nation to die.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Of cricketers and heroes

The Tireless one (Jumbo) has gone. The Indomitable one (Dada)will hang his boots after Nagpur. Soon, the Immaculate one (Rahul) and the Special one (VVS) will crumble too. The Legendary one (Sachin) shall linger on for some more time, but inevitably, he too will have to call it a day. Indian cricket is at a crossroads now, witnessing the biggest exodus in recent times. The most iconic players to ever don the India whites are bidding farewell to the game.

Somehow, I cannot imagine an Indian team without the likes of Kumble, Dravid and Saurav. True, the recent inflow of youngsters had resulted in almost inhuman pressure being put on them, but they handled it with aplomb, and showed their class time and again.

I, like most guys my age, grew up watching and idolizing these players, and the most enduring of my cricket memories will be
1. Kumble bowling with a broken jaw and high fever in Antigua (2002) to get Lara out.
2. Sachin beating the living shit out of McGrath and co. in Sharjah (1998) and single handedly propelling the team to wins.
3. Saurav Ganguly and his offside strokes which were, according to me, poetry in motion. He repeatedly bisected 7 fielders on the offside and brought the best laid plans to pieces.
4. Rahul Dravid choosing to keep wickets to accomodate an extra batsman in the team, and withstanding the enormous toll on his body to become the ICC ranked No.1 ODI batsman in 2004.
5. Laxman bringing the Aussies to their knees in Kolkata (2001) and being christened 'Very Very Special'. To this day, he remains the nemesis of the Australians.
6. Kumble's test century in England (2007) and the way he celebrated when he got it, suddenly looking more like a 12 year old kid than a veteran of 37.
7. Rahul's comment in the media : "Everywhere else, there is God, but on the offside, there is Saurav Ganguly."
8. Kumble's magnanimity and humility when he remarks to the media on being given captaincy "I understand this is a transition phase and I have to do my duty and ensure the captaincy is handed in good hands when I retire shortly."
We as a generation shed tears at their failures, and jumped with joy when they played well, for we knew they were giving their heart and soul for the nation.

I wonder how long it is going to take, or is it ever possible, to respect the pugnacious Yuvraj or the fiesty Gambhir, or the ice cool Dhoni in the same way. They are great players too no doubt, but there was something about the oldies that made us idolize them and want to BE like them (I became a left hand batsman because of Saurav) .

Seniors, we love you, and shall always respect you for your immense contributions to Indian cricket. Please stay involved with the game.

Goodbye Jumbo. Goodbye Dada. And the others too. We are better players and humans for having seen you play.. You guys will always be missed.

(readers, feel free to post your fav memories in the comments section)