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...