A Love Affair Gone Wrong

You looked at me
With eyes wide open;
Attraction writ large
On your face.

Soon we were together
And spent times joyous;
Those initial moments
Etched in my mind.

Can you forget those
Nightly trips to the beach
You and me alone
While the world slept.

The intimate stroll across
The campus in the eve.
When limping, I accompanied
You, a thorn’s mischief.

Rushed to the classes
In the wee hours, came back
Rushing as well.
Those times, now a distant memory.


You refused to part
With me, when others
Wanted to spend time with me
Such was your love for me.

Now that I am crippled
My both legs unable to support me
You left me, never batted
An eyelid to look back at me.

Now as I lie in neglect
My bones beginning to rust
Do you remember me?
I am your once loved cycle....

A Plagued Age

        I couldn’t have chosen a worse time to be born; of course birth and death are not in my hands you would argue, leaving me incapable of proving my earlier statement, which is based on the assumption that I command all the aspects of my life, a brazenly bold one so to say. Sure, I don’t command all the aspects of life and most I leave for fate to intervene, if there does exist such a thing as fate. So, whether I was born by the sheer will of God or due to the consequence of some cosmic incident is of little relevance now that I am born and can’t return to the state of being unborn.

        The ‘time’ that I used does not imply the exact moment of my birth nor does it refer to the exact position of the stars and constellations that supposedly determine the life I am to lead from thereafter. I simply used it to associate with the period in the space time continuum in which one finds me with the highest probability of existence on the planet, which we- the most tyrant of its inhabitants -call ‘Mother Earth’, an absurdity in itself because we don’t give it the respect as is deserved by an object that is assigned to the name ‘mother’ according to our own comprehension.
        The period that I am speaking of is a bountiful one; ushered in by the realisation that physical overpowering of one another is just not enough to remain powerful. We have moved on from trying to overpower each other by ransacking each other’s home and territory to trying to rule one another by trying make them slaves of a comfortable life, thus creating a pack of nations which wrestle with each other trying to grab markets for themselves, which are nothing but consumers of their much hyped technological accessories promising a better life, an utopia for fools, for it is fools that what we all have become, in spite of us being the most intelligent beings in the universe known to us. People are now overwhelmed by the products of development, of technological advancement which manufacturers claim would help them lead comfortable lives, help them do more with less effort, undoubtedly a noble aspiration, but if only it were that they were genuinely inclined towards achieving that goal.

        Thus, living in such a period filled with artificial things and enjoying most of the recent pleasures that can be afforded, it seems only quizzical that I deride and question most of the things around me, which have become integral to my being, though I can as well be better off without many of them. We have been endowed with a beautiful yet dangerous thing, which separates us from all the ‘lowly’ creatures that crawl the earth, a mind that allows us to think, and this mind is the very source of my whimsical thoughts. Blame it on God for giving me an unsound but working mind, that I doubt the workings of His world, my race and have as a result ended writing a piece that does, in essence, try to belittle our achievements.

      Our achievements, at the turn of the 21st century include mostly material objects, which have greatly reduced our interaction amongst ourselves; society now has become nothing but a fluke, with only counterfeit feelings being shown to our fellow beings, words that have no genuine implications; we have become more concerned with ourselves, our life, comfort and all material objects that the modern age has to offer. Austerity was, in the past, considered a great virtue, simplicity a way of life; but in recent times, abstinence is a thought so repugnant to people that they have shed away all their inhibitions just to continue their present way of life.

        Spendthrifts, a term that people of yore might have used to describe the present populace, has been replaced by ‘shopaholics’, no longer is spending more considered a bad thing; it actually is a matter of pride that one can spend more than one’s neighbour. So, taking a plunge into this deluded worthless race of spending more, people have begun working longer hours, even to the extent of literally living in one’s workplace, not because one loves doing it, but so that one can earn more and spend on useless objects which have no use altogether except maybe a moment’s satisfaction. This view has been handed over to the new generation, of which I am a part of, immature and under the illusion of a beautiful life filled with material objects, we have taken the degradation, if you allow me refer the situation as such, to a level which, I can best describe as ruthless.

       Peer pressure has always been a factor in making people do stuff their conscience would not readily allow them to, but in our generation, not having been tutored in values that can shape us into better humans - not having parents around us as we learn the basics of social life being the prime reason – we tend to be influenced more by our friends and end up doing things without even a pricking conscience. And with a never ending flow of money to our pockets – parents unlike us do tend to have a troubled conscience – we end up enjoying to our hearts’ content without any remorse for spending on useless things and also learning nothing about self-restraint. The only remorse that might be there in our minds might be that a friend bought a better and costlier gadget, leaving us with a resolution to buy an even better one the next time. Also, there is the need to keep up appearances – you need good clothes, the latest cell, the most stylish motorcycle (a car would definitely be better) and such and such. Having a girlfriend earns us respect among our friends, the less unfortunate ones without female friends are pushed to the outside perimeter of the friend circle, others look up to us as a role model, and are always under pressure leading to relationships that are hollow to the core. Being a cool guy is more important to us than being a good person; pursuit of the truth, the good is for the deranged is the present thought that is so prevalent among the present generation.

       What would I have not given to be born in another age, even if it might have been the dark ages or during the world wars, able to experience feelings that were not as counterfeit as now? Even if I had been forced to believe something that my mind doesn’t allow me to accept, I would have had the unconscious knowledge that I am doing something that is not good. In this present age, forced to face people who work only for their personal interests, their pleasure and comforts, without the slightest of trace of knowledge that their actions are not as noble as they think – I doubt they even have time to consider what is noble – who are draped in nonchalance, conviction in nothing but the need to fulfil one’s interests, I am filled with nothing but disgust.

The Old Tree

I chanced upon a desolate land
Not a living soul in sight;
Only a single,weathered lone tree
Stood in the midst of the arid gloom.


Tired, exhausted and wasted
I rested my aching legs;
Under the calm of the old soul,
An oasis in a burning desert.


A voice unto my ears came
Floating through the dry air;
Uttered my name, it did;
Amazed, glances around showed none.


Once again, the voice
Addressed me, it spake
"Fear me not, O' Child,
I mean thee no harm.
Only a eager ear do I yearn
To listen to my sad story."   


'Twas the tree that hath spoken, 
My wits, they stood at their ends.
Continued the tree, no response sought.
"Long ago, when the earth was green
And the sky blue, so unlike today
I had many a friend to revel with."


"Man, then, was yet to be born,
Nature made you last of all
To enjoy the fruits of her labour;
You are a young tribe, abound 
In what all of us lacked.

Used your resources, Us too you did !
You delighted your senses and throve;
Not a care in the world,
Not a care about the world, about us.


Soon you outgrew us all,
Nature made you too good;
You worried not for her;
Now, she, herself, is ailing.


We resent you not, juvenile you are;
You err whilst you learn,
But mistakes aplenty you made;
And brought us to a pass.


We would fade away,leaving 
Your command over the earth;
But not long will your merriment last,
Without us, concise your stay will be."


"So take heed, My Child
For I speak for your well-being;
You are nature's best creation
Don't let yourself become your own fall." 

Monkey Invasion

      Deep within the deep jungle inhabited by black bucks, deer and really wild monkeys is the campus of IIT Madras. Trees much more older than our wizened professors provide these animals the perfect place to live. The co-existence of these animals alongside the so called 'high' IQ people has helped them reach several lives' worth levels of evolution in one lifetime. As is evident from the frequent raids of the monkeys on the very students who helped them achieve this distinction of high IQ among the apes.
       Their attacks remain confined mainly to procuring their basic necessities namely, food and water. But because of their living among such civilized(?) people as IITians, it seems that there has been yet another addition to their basic needs...clothes. Students frequently find themselves in want of clothes as their relatively lowly developed siblings make off with clothes in order to salvage their new found sense of shame..
      And when it is a matter of food, it is always a better option to offer them half of your snack in an attempt to dissuade them from attacking you and taking all of it. This I realised from a very close encounter with one of their numbers. I was trying to ease my hunger with some measly puffs, having missed the lunch and was making my way to the hostel when to my great alarm, a big monkey stood baring my way. I tried all types of intimidating poses but to no avail. The big guy just refused to budge. Then without a warning, it took a mighty leap at me and relieved me of the fare in my hand. Luckily, I sustained no injuries to force me to visit the institute hospital...(I have heard too many scary stories about the hospi !!!).
     Recently, I had a very shocking revelation that monkeys were actually drinking from the water dispenser near my room and I stopped drinking from that dispenser even if it means an extra 5 minutes of walk to get the precious liquid(dunno if you consider water precious... I do).And I am always on the look-out for a lurking monkey...

A pome..

A fleeting image it was
Of a lady on the street;
Slender was her form,
Her eyes blue.

Moments only did I behold her,
But a lifetime they would last
In my mind's privy quarters;
For never a face such had I imagined.

Her nimble body did seem
To grace her environs;
Demure her looks, lent to her aura
An innocence that never could be real.

Alone she was in the aisle
Alone was I, not far from her;
But worlds apart were we;
The soiled creature that I am
She, an angel come to earth.

Swift was the movement that
Replaced her with a void eternal;
For what hope do I have
Of espying her again.......

The 'DHAM' of the Conference...

        Today, I happened to attend a video conference which featured Mr. Vinod Dham of the 'Pentium' fame. He certainly is a distinguished person who was behind the development of the Pentium processor, thus earning him the recognition as the 'Father of Pentium'.
       Though I would have liked to dwell upon the topics that were discussed, the fact that it would also divert me from the idea which motivated me to pen this post was enough to discourage from that discourse. Anyways what amused me a lot during the whole talk was the moderator for the show, a certain professor of our insti(tute). The said professor was a 'Tamziha' fellow who ran into quite some trouble articulating the questions that were put forward by the students. This brings me to the point which I so eagerly want to share with my readers......the average Tamilian's pronunciation of the English language.
      If you think that Tams (that's our way of referring to the localites) are experts in English, I would rather that you reconsider that view. Let alone words, their problem starts from the very first letter of the alphabet..namely 'YAH'. You got me..yes, they cannot pronounce 'A' the way it is supposed to be. Another letter that bugs them is 'HEIGTCH'....no prizes for guessing what it stands for. And this goes on for many more letters.
     It is fun watching a Tam trying to make you understand what he is trying to tell you.... M.A goes as 'YUM YAH'.Yeaah man... . Actually one almost feels like pulling one's hair out when talking to a Tam. Well that can as well be said of the Andhra boys over here....if only they knew proper English....yes, no, come, go is all that leaves their mouths. But a Tam's English is more accentuated and leaves you trying hard to keep your guffaw inside of you. Of course, as I said this is true of an average Tam guy and doesn't mean there are no guys who can speak very fluently. In fact some of my friends put me to shame when we converse in English.
       But for a professor in an institute of such recognition and fame, it truly is regrettable and that too in front of such a renowned personality was definitely something that should not have happened. Anyways, the talk left me trying to come to a definitive conclusion as to the number of ways the Indians lag behind the Americans, or lets say the West..

Joi Aai Axom...