My dead, over yours

One wrong
Over other wrong
Makes the right answer
A question mark
Children dead
Are children dead.

(NID, Ahmedabad / 26-12-2014)

Happy New Year !

And yes
Happy New Year
May yours too be
A box office hit
Without the
Farah Khan bit.

(NID, Ahmedabad / 26-12-2014)

Clear-sighted and blind

Clear sighted
In our blindness
We celebrate fresh beginnings
Of an old end.

(NID, Ahmedabad / 26-12-2014)

Slower and wobbly

Slow and steady
Win the race
Slower and wobbly
Get drunk
Or grow old
Or both.

(NID, Ahmedabad / 25-12-2014)

Christmas 2014

Holiday cheer
Murders and fear
Hateful exits
Welcome admits
Travel and treats
Home alone retreats
And the sun does rise
Soon after demise
Should I be happy
Equanimous and/or snappy ?

(NID, Ahmedabad / 25-12-2014)

Being Intelligent

One can be tired
Of being intelligent
Or meaning to
Amidst similarly
Stricken.

(NID, Ahmedabad / 24-12-2014)

Conversion

Lets convert
Sanity to madness
Gaiety to sadness
And election drubbings
To wins
And wads of
Badness.

(NID, Ahmedabad / 22-12-2014)

Hawa ka rukh

Hawa ka rukh
Kuch rangeen tha
Aur mein bhi kuch
Yoon hanseen tha

हवा का रुख
कुछ रंगीन था
और मैं भी कुछ
यूँ हंसीन था

(NID, Ahmedabad / 22-12-2014)

You know you are in Kerala when...

You know you are in Kerala
When Karl in Kottayam
Gets full Marx
For currying Meen flavours.

(NID, Ahmedabad / 20--12-2014)

The Right Left

The difficult choice
Is to choose
The right
But firmly in the left
Choice.


(NID, Ahmedabad / 19-12-2014)

Enamoured from Afar

What did God
Give to his own country ?
Non-resident locals
And resident visitors
Both
Enamoured from afar.

(NID, Ahmedabad / 19-12-2014)

Leaving God's own country

Leaving God's own country
For the one
Which currently owns God
And His country.

(Kochi, Kerala / 19-12-2014)

Animals and Humans

Kill
Burn
Blow up
Luckily I was in the wild
Away from the animals.

(Thekkady, Kerala / 17-12-2014)

Blessed on Facebook

Feeling blessed
That facebook
Lets the whole world in
To my itch
For feeling blessed.

(NID Ahmedabad / 11-12-2014)

Convocation

College
Convocation
Vocation
Location
Of the 2-BHK
And the annual
Expense account
Thai holiday.

(NID Ahmedabad / 11-12-2014)

Contradictions

Contradictions
Make us
But not when
We deny
The dilemmas.

(NID Ahmedabad / 11-12-2014)

Throughout Third

Throughout third
That's what I am
Leaving the top
For the ones
Whose mothers had tedious sons
Or daughters
Not that it matters
I always knew I'm great
Not too crooked, not too straight.

(NID Ahmedabad / 11-12-2014)

The Meaning of Life

I was once
Going on a journey
When I paused
For the meaning of life
She was late in coming
And I was in a hurry
So I went ahead
And had fun.

(NID Ahmedabad / 10-12-2014)

I teach MDes, Sir

I make misters of
Of masters
And C minus ones
A-listers
I teach MDes, Sir.

(NID Ahmedabad / 10-12-2014)

True Lies

True Lies
Conversations with
Assorted parents
Of sorted out wards.

(NID Ahmedabad / 10-12-2014)

Teaching Is

Is teaching an art
Or science
Or a job
None of the above
For those who teach
Often aim to reach
Besides
Where knowledge lies
In everyday life, stupid !

(NID Ahmedabad / 10-12-2014)

Photos clicked

Photos
Clicked
Filed
Saved
From one.

(NID Ahmedabad / 09-12-2014)

Anger Management

If anger management
Didn't have management
At its backside
I would have let go
Of its front.

(NID Ahmedabad / 09-12-2014)

Group Photos

Group photos
Are for individuals
To assert their
Hard earned herd.

(NID Ahmedabad / 09-12-2014)

What is Design

So what is design
It is actually a sign
That quietly go destroy
The welfare state ploy
Let market do the thing
Of profit and its zing
Let design come and make
The mammaries of the fake.

(NID Ahmedabad / 09-12-2014)

Some heavy thoughts

If you weigh
Life
Seriously
You would be offloaded
For someone
Lighter

(NID Ahmedabad / 09-12-2014)

Acting

My throat
Is acting up
Mistakenly assuming
I make films.

(NID Ahmedabad / 09-12-2014)

Re-birth Redux

If I were to be
Born again
I would choose to be
Me
Why bother others.

(NID Ahmedabad / 09-12-2014)

Tears of Joy

Who's afraid of tears
Its just that I can't
Laugh as much.

(NID Ahmedabad / 06-12-2014)

Those who cannot, Teach

Those who cannot
Teach
Those who can
Learn
How to fast-forward earn
Cash, privilege and cheer
Out of turn.

(NID Ahmedabad / 05-12-2014)

Graduation

The chairs await
In the winter sun
The business of graduating
To packages, perks
And jerks.

(NID Ahmedabad / 05-12-2014)

1947

1947
Gave independence
To the freedom loving
And the slaves
United in the silence
Of the sins thereafter.

(NID Ahmedabad / 05-12-2014)

No to Yes

It was difficult
To say no
To the yes
Which did not come.

(NID Ahmedabad / 05-12-2014)

Books Wanted

Books Wanted :

01. How To Do Nothing, On A Salary.
02. How To Be Popular While Being A Pain
03. How To Sleep Till Late, And Go To Bed Later
04. How To Be Famous, For Five Nano Seconds
05. How To Teach Them Young Ones, Period
06. How To Dream Of The Sea, On A Mountain

(NID Ahmedabad / 04-12-2014)

Re Membering

Re
Membering
Memories
Is like using an adhesive
Past its prime.

(NID Ahmedabad / 04-12-2014)

The Killer

Animals kill
Usually for food
Men kill
Period.

(NID Ahmedabad / 03-12-2014)

The last time

When was the last time
Last time didn't beget
More such times.

(NID Ahmedabad / 03-12-2014)

The Innocent

I am the victim
Cried the innocent
Looking at
The reflection-free mirror.

(NID Ahmedabad / 02-12-2014)

Lets run away

So as I was saying
Lets run away
Away from this big bad world
To something more
Unsuitable.

(NID Ahmedabad / 02-12-2014)

An over-hyped piece of plastic sheet

First came the sound
Then the word
Then the image
Which
After a lot of plodding
Moved
Hence proved
Cinema is an over-hyped piece of
(Plastic) sheet.

(NID Ahmedabad / 01-12-2014)

To teach is to know

To teach
Is to know
That knowledge
Cannot be taught
Prejudice can.

(NID Ahmedabad / 01-12-2014)

My sense of humour

(1)

My sense of humour
Is best understood
By me.

(2)

My sense of humour
Is best understood
In jest.

(3)

My sense of humour
Is best
Misunderstood.

(NID Ahmedabad / 01-12-2014)

Knowledge & Ignorance

Knowledge
And Ignorance
Are siblings
In love.

(NID Ahmedabad / 28-11-2014)

The Business of Education

To paying students
You cannot say
I teach
Therefore I am
They pay
Therefore they are.

(NID Ahmedabad / 27-11-2014)

Nothing to Post

No, I haven't had a baby
Nor did I visit those sexy rocks
Off the peculiar Vietnamese coast
My dog, cat or crocodile
Hasn't gone to sleep
In my office or in the arms of my host
Such is life
Sometimes I have nothing
Worthwhile to post.

(NID Ahmedabad / 25-11-2014)

Amnesia

01

Lets make things work
Lets forget what we did
Or, rather did not
After all, it was in national interest then
And it is in national interest now
Yes no ?

02

Constructive destruction then
Destructive construction now
India ! India !

03

On your knees
Get set
Bow
Commanded The Leader
And we did.

(NID Ahmedabad / 25-11-2014)

Of Spirits

Spirited we fall
Sober we are over.

(NID Ahmedabad / 25-11-2014)

What if

What if I were a bird
And believed in flight
What if I was human with
Humanity in my sight.

Is it enough to say I live
Is life enough to say I did
What if I was not what I am
What if I found out what I hid.

(NID Ahmedabad / 24-11-2014)

Ek Kahani To Baney ...

Walking on the clouds

You said come
And I started walking
On the clouds
With gravitational
Consequences.

(NID Ahmedabad / 20-11-2014)

Trial run

Trial run
Is this life
Will do better
Hereafter.

(NID Ahmedabad / 20-11-2014)

The Leader

Last night
I was scared
For all of us
As the rest
Were busy
Flirting
The Leader.

(NID Ahmedabad / 20-11-2014)

Arrivals & Departures

Arrivals
And departures
Are irrelevant
To the journey
Being of solitary
Disposition.

(NID Ahmedabad / 20-11-2014)

God

In the beginning
There was God
Only in the beginning...

(NID Ahmedabad / 19-11-2014)

Tonight I can

Tonight I can hear the saddest lines
Or for that matter, the happiest
Tomorrow will also do
As did yesterday.

(with apologies to Neruda)

(NID Ahmedabad / 19-11-2014)

The Devil and the Deep Sea

I am
A work in progress
Of the devil
And the deep sea
Working in tandem.

(NID Ahmedabad / 14-11-2014)

Young Designers

They call themselves
Young designers
Having used every old trick in the trade
To arrive at this
Jaded, adulterated youth.

(NID Ahmedabad / 14-11-2014)

I Am

I am
Like myself
Bold, Balanced, Beautiful
Cantankerous, Contrite
Confused.

(NID Ahmedabad / 13-11-2014)

Suljhe Hue

Mujhe yaad hain wo
Kore kagaj ke panne
Jinhe surkh saanso
Ka raang chhoo na paya

Damakti subah mein
Yoon suljhe hue hain
Thithurte andheron ka
Gum chhoo na paya.

मुझे य़ाद हैं वो
कोरे कागज के पन्ने
जिन्हें सुर्ख साँसो
का रंग छू न पाया

दमकती सुबह में
यूं सुलझे हुए हैं
ठिठुरते अंधेरों का
गम छू न पाया.

(NID Ahmedabad / 26-12-2013)

Christmas

And He is born
Yet again
In the eternal cycle of
Finite hope

(NID Ahmedabad / 25-12-2013)

Do remember to forget

Do remember to forget that I was
But do not forget to remember that you were
The Two of Us

(NID Ahmedabad / 24-12-2013)

Friendship Is

Friendship
Is
On a good day
7 likes
2 comments
1 share
And a roomful of
Myself

(NID Ahmedabad / 23-12-2013)

Prison Paradise

Let's run away
To the land
Where no one runs
Away
Prison or Paradise ?

चल भाग चलें
वहाँ
जहाँ
भागा ना जाए
जेल या जन्नत ?

(NID Ahmedabad / 23-12-2013)

A Teacher Is

A Teacher
Is Humble
Patient
Forgiving
Untiring
Generous
Knowledgeable
Fair
Honest
Available
Frugal
Loving
But Not A Human Being
A Teacher
Is

(NID Ahmedabad / 22-12-2013)

Butter, Better, Bitter

Butter, Better, Bitter
Sounds familiar ?

(NID Ahmedabad / 21-12-2013)

The Shortest Day

The shortest day
And the longest night
Still adds up to
Twenty Four Hours
Of going around
Such is stuff.

(NID Ahmedabad / 21-12-2013)

Mirror Images

Pain
And Pleasure
Mirror Images
In a Glass House
Fragile, Elusive.

(NID Ahmedabad / 20-12-2013)

In our times...

In our times - hamarey samay mein to - kya baat hoti thee
Log sirf tees the, aur lawn mein (wonder of wonders) ghaans hoti thee.

In our times - हमारे समय में तो - क्या बात होती थी 
लोग सिर्फ तीस थे, और लॉन में (wonder of wonders) घाँस होती थी. 

(NID Ahmedabad / 13-12-2013)

Big Boss, and Chilli Sauce

Big Boss
And Chilli Sauce
Can have them with ease
But exit is a tease.

(NID Ahmedabad / 13-12-2013)

Kick-ass Shit

Its almost seven
One more day
Sadly incomplete
But I did ride
The new NID lift
And this is a well thought out
Kick-ass shit.

(NID Ahmedabad / 12-12-2013)

Holy Rhyme

What if I was not really me
And you were not the seeming you
What if they were dancing naked
And still forgot to wear a shoe
What if I had tattooed this
On my back, and not on Facebook
What if it doesn't get many likes
But does get you a dirty look
Could be(s) make our lives richer
Being rich is not a crime
If you have read this crap till here
You are a sucker for holy rhyme.

(NID Ahmedabad / 07-12-2013)

Truth Unplugged

The real
And its antonym
Are both
Synonyms of
The truth.

(NID Ahmedabad / 05-12-2013)

The Night After...

I did see
The night coming
At daybreak
Only that
We were happy
And the hour
Young.

(NID Ahmedabad / 04-12-2013)

Status

My status
Facebook
Is high
In my eyes
In yours ?

(NID Ahmedabad / 04-12-2013)

Kichoo Holo Na To

Bhebeychheelaam daikha hobey
Holo
Kichoo holo na to

ভেবেছিলাম দেখা হবে
হোলো
কিছু হোলো না তো

(NID Ahmedabad / 04-12-2013)

Kadhee Pakodey Waali...

Happiness is

Baingan aalu
Dahee ka rasa
Kadhee pakodey waali
Phool gobhee ka achaar
Laukee ka kofta
Dahee ka rasa
And my mother.

जीवन का सार

बैंगन आलू
दही का रसा
कढ़ी पकोड़े वाली
फूल गोभी का अचार
लौकी का कोफ्ता
दही का रसा
और मेरी माँ

(NID Ahmedabad / 03-12-2013)

Whodunnit

Happiness is
A book
And finding 
The assassin 
After a ceaseless
Week-night read.

(NID Ahmedabad / 02-12-2013)

Once Upon A Tehelka

01.

I am holier than thou
I don't get caught.

(Thiruvanathapuram / 23-11-2013)

02.
The pot calls the kettle black
The kettle blames the coal
What fun slinging mud
Mined from the very same hole.

(NID Ahmedabad / 25-11-2013)

03.

If you are the kind
Who's up-to-date
Then you would have known
My country's state
Here fathers kill
Father figures rape
And were it not
For those ladies in shape
Barkha, Sagarika
(Not Shoma, you see)
Have delivered us
From patriarchy.

(NID Ahmedabad / 27-11-2013)

04.

The Jolly men of la la land
Clearly see a Tehelka hand
In every rape they snoop about
Including the ones with them under doubt.

(NID Ahmedabad / 28-11-2013)

05.

Why did God
If he exists
And is male
Create more
And if he is a she
In disguise
Was that nice ?

(NID Ahmedabad / 29-11-2013)

06.

The Sinner
The Sinned upon
And the spurious Saints
Remember the same
Amnesia.

(NID Ahmedabad / 29-11-2013)

07.

I accuse
And you are done for
Simply because
I accuse
And can
Hide my name
And flaunt your shame
Legally
Before the law
Could fix the flaw

(NID Ahmedabad / 30-11-2013)

05.

I hate men
Not the ones who are mine
And will listen to me whine
About how
I hate men.

(NID Ahmedabad / 01-12-2013)

08.

Politically correct
Or conservative
Either way
The Tribe will
Have its say
Shut your mouth
Or prevent it
From coming out
Consequence
Flatulence.

(NID Ahmedabad / 04-12-2013)

09.

The reason why
Fence-sitters
Like their perch
Despite the literal
Pain in the ass
Are the earnest do-gooders
On either side.

(NID Ahmedabad / 05-12-2013)

Cosmic

Was it always like this
That the Sun, of the day
And the Moon, at night
Only met
At twilight
Never playing hooky ?

(NID Ahmedabad / 27-11-2013)

Thiruvananthapuram Take One

01.

I am holier than thou
I don't get caught.

(Thiruvananthapuram / 23-11-2013) 


02.

My country is inspiring and infuriating
Inspiring in its differences 
Infuriating in its agreements.

(Thiruvananthapuram / 24-11-2013) 

Thiruvananthapuram Take Two

01.

Having a spine
Is not a result 
Of calcium alone
Or of foolhardy youth.

(Thiruvananthapuram / 08-12-2013) 


02.

Samay key paband
Samay key hamraj
Na ban sakey
Kyonki samay
Pabandiyon ka
Hamrah nahin

समय के पाबंद 
समय के हमराज 
ना बन सके 
क्योंकि समय 
पाबंदियों का 
हमराह नहीं।

(Thiruvananthapuram / 10-12-2013) 


03.

Bachhon kee baat
Buddhon key saath
Garm Maggi noodles mein
Thandey daal bhaat

बच्चों की बात 
बुड्ढों के साथ 
गर्म मैगी नूडल्स में 
ढंडे दाल भात

(Thiruvananthapuram / 10-12-2013) 


04.

Feeling sleepy in a meet
All this talk is too much heat
For a vegetarian.

(Thiruvananthapuram / 10-12-2013) 


05.

Seminars are
Agenda points 
And action plans
For the next seminar
Lets seminar.

(Thiruvananthapuram / 11-12-2013) 

Thiruvananthapuram Take Three

01.

I got a missed call
From life
When I was away
Living.

(Thiruvananthapuram / 10-01-2014) 


02.

The night will set in
To greet the morning 
The road will depart
With arrival in its cart
And one will cease to be
For others to unlock the key
Of life, which one tried 
So must you, and beside 
The yin and yang of living
Is taking less and a lot giving.

(Thiruvananthapuram / 10-01-2014) 


03.

The morning after
Or the night before 
Sun Music does the trick
Low on brow, high on hic.

(Thiruvananthapuram / 11-01-2014) 


04.

You meet an old friend 
Have the familiar warm dosa
After years
Filling you with sorrow
For years past
And the ones that would be

(Thiruvananthapuram / 11-01-2014) 


05.

Talk less, and be heard
Or talk more, and hear yourself
More or less.

(Thiruvananthapuram / 12-01-2014) 


06.

Some like it hot
Some tepid
Freezing cold, some prefer
Its that ... stupid
That I so smartly refer.

(Thiruvananthapuram / 12-01-2014) 

The naked truth

The whole truth
And nothing but
The naked truth
Is that
We were born
Naked.

(NID Ahmedabad / 27-11-2013)

The Hunterwaalis

If you are the kind
Who's up-to-date
Then you would have known
My country's state
Here fathers kill
Father figures rape
And were it not
For those ladies in shape
Barkha, Sagarika
(Not Shoma, you see)
Have delivered us
From patriarchy.

(NID Ahmedabad / 27-11-2013)

The Lotus Eater

So many things to do
So little the time
Let me be smart
And do nothing
Nothing (as in NOTHING)
In either case, is divine.

(NID Ahmedabad / 26-11-2013)

Will you stay?

Can I say
I have known you for a long time
From the beginning of time
And before
When we finally meet
And will you stay ?

(NID Ahmedabad / 25-11-2013)

Who's black ?

The pot calls the kettle black
The kettle blames the coal
What fun slinging mud
Mined from the very same hole.

(NID Ahmedabad / 25-11-2013)

Diamond Harbour

The broad river
Muddy and sluggish
A misplaced drizzle
Lonesome grey
A noisy infant
Ducking under tables
All is well.

(At Diamond Harbour Tourist Centre-Sagarika-near Kolkata, many years back)

(NID Ahmedabad / 25-11-2013)

Happy New Year

01.

May the New Year bring
Brisk walks at sunrise
Trousers of one's size
And wisdom to the wise.

(NID Ahmedabad / 30-12-2013) 

02.

On this New Year 
Cheers to
The ones gone by
For they were
Hence this is.

(NID Ahmedabad / 31-12-2013) 

03.

The new year is near
Let it be free of fear
Let hate be away
And Bablee on her way
Let Babloo have the cheek
To ask her and seek
Her love, in a scented page 
Though Bablee is engaged.

(NID Ahmedabad / 31-12-2013) 

04.

Naya saal hai to nayi raat hogi
Yoon din ko ujalon ki saugaat hogi
Naye raaston ki, nayi manzilon par
Kya bite dinon ki koi baat hogi ?

नया साल है तो नयी रात होगी 
यूं दिन को उजालों की सौगात होगी
नए रास्तों की, नयी मंजिलों पर 
क्या बीते दिनों की कोई बात होगी ?

(NID Ahmedabad / 01-01-2014) 

05.

The second day
Of the new year
Is dedicated to
Remembering the first
Such is stuff.

(NID Ahmedabad / 02-01-2014)