Three years of hard work
Three years of patience
Three years of dedication
Where are the rewards?
You talk so much about speed
You talk so much about quality
You talk so much about numbers
Where were you
When the salary was delayed
Every alternate month?
Where were you
When the incentives were delayed
By more than a year?

Three years of hard work
Three years of patience
Three years of dedication
There has been so much
I have put up with
But I do expect something in return
Such as timely payment of salary
Timely payment of incentives
And you have failed to deliver
In all of these aspects
Each of which, is so critical
For a healthy relationship
Between employer and employee
But, are you a good employer?
Looking at the evidence so far
I guess the answer is no

Three years of hard work
Three years of patience
Three years of dedication
The wait has been long enough
I have been extremely patient
But at some stage
My patience is bound to snap
And then, you will hopefully understand
That it may be easy
To lose a good employee
But much more difficult
To find a replacement
And, looking at the speed
At which you pay the salary or incentives
The search will go on and on
Until your wretched company shuts shop
Which is something
That we are all eagerly looking forward to!

One of the truest friends, you are
Selfish, are you never
Greatly, do I value our relationship
And always, will I clap
For anything and everything you achieve
Because, you make me believe
That every problem in the world can be solved
If we thoroughly apply our mind
You are a very kind soul
And strongly do you feel
For anyone and everyone
Being associated with you is really a boon!

One of the truest friends, you are
For your family and friends, deeply do you care
You were also a wonderful colleague
At that time, was my ego getting big
But thanks to you, did I manage to mellow down
And learn a valuable lesson
Something that I will remember forever
You know, you can seriously make a good teacher!!

One of the truest friends, you are
You and Vivek make a rock-solid pair
It was a great honour to visit your home
Both of you are truly gems
When it comes to character and personality
No wonder, does everyone love your family
Especially your lovely little children
From whom, is there a lot to learn!!

One of the truest friends, you are
And will be forever
May Jesus bless you and your family
With every bit of love, happiness, peace and prosperity!!

Were nothing to go right
You would show me the light
Because, are you a beacon of hope
Which doesn't allow anyone to mope
Really, are you that one person
Who manages to keep me sane
Even when I am surrounded by total chaos
You teach me how to find bliss
When I am trapped in a bottomless pit of despair
Thanks to you, am I able to bear
Even the worst of all situations
Much louder than your words, are your actions
You fight fire with fire
Never, do you put on airs
Underneath your hard outer shell, lies a rather soft interior
For your people, do you greatly care
Not to mention, are you extremely brave
So much is there about you, that I greatly love
You are among the greatest poets
Not to mention, the most fearless activists
About what our society thinks, you give not a ****
Even after receiving so much hate
You have shown not, any alarm
Rarely, do you take the bait
Even after endless provocation
And at the same time, you show not, any caution
Hence, by you, am I so inspired
That I feel less and less afraid
To speak my mind
Until I grow really, really old
May the Lord bless you, you fantastic human being
With anything and everything
Which you hold dear
Keep fighting, keep motivating and take care
Jai Bhim! Vaazhga Periyar!!

How cruel can you be?
How heartless can you be?
Every month, every week
Every day, every hour
Every minute, every second
You subject your employees
To nothing but abject slavery
In the name of hard work
In the name of targets
But in reality, just to satisfy
Your unquenchable thirst for money
Your insatiable greed for power

How cruel can you be?
How heartless can you be?
You expect results at the speed of light
But you do not provide your employees
The necessary resources
After all, do you think
They are all Harry Houdinis
Capable of pulling rabbits out of hats?

How cruel can you be?
How heartless can you be?
Your employees burn the midnight oil
And brave Hell for you
Some of them are forced to do it
Just to make both ends meet
And you have the sheer nerve
To deny them their pay
Which they have so richly earned
After weeks and weeks of toil

How cruel can you be?
How heartless can you be?
Mark my words, the time will come
When you will pay for your deeds
Till now, you have been lucky
Fate has been on your side
However, things will soon change
Your company will be in free-fall
You will be in debt
With nowhere to turn
As your employees will desert you
One by one
Not even a Houdini can save you then

Dear South Africa, worry not
Chokers, you guys are definitely NOT
Done your very best, you have
A lot is there, to love
In the way you play your cricket
Certainly, are you not easy to beat!

Dear South Africa, worry not
Losing, is the end of the world, NOT
You guys have scaled many peaks
Never given up hope
Even when the situation has been bleak
Always, have you gone deep
Whether it be chasing totals
Or for that matter, defending them
Never, have you not given it your all
So, no need to raise an alarm
Just because you lost one final
Which, by the way, was your FIRST
And you certainly played your best!!

Dear South Africa, worry not
You guys have done a lot
Brought in big hitting batsmen
Beefed up your spin attack
Improved your batting against spin
And of course, terrific, is your pace bowling attack
In short, have you taken all the necessary steps
In order to improve your winning chances!!

Dear South Africa, worry not
Always, do you guys fight
Till the very end
Soon, may your title drought end
Please keep repeating this to yourselves
"We are NOT chokers
The World Cup, will we soon WIN!!"
Amen!!

There is no one in this world
Who matters to me more than you
The lone exception being Jesus Christ
Were you to be put through any test
No matter how rigorous or torturous
I have no doubt you would emerge victorious
This is not to say you would find everything easy
After all, in life, is nothing ever easy
However, you have faced the worst
And emerged among the best
So many people hate you to the core
However, none of them do you fear
Never, will you be silenced
My heart, have you stolen
And I am sure I am not alone
You have as many ardent admirers
As you have fierce adversaries
Thanks to you, am I able to find the courage
To break free from my cage
Which is full of numerous anxieties and insecurities
And make my way towards finally finding inner peace
Nobody has made such an impact on me
As you have done
Thanks to you, can I smile through my pain
Because, no one dares the way you do
Not a lot of things, do you rue
Because, you are thoroughly independent
And at the same time, not hellbent
On doing anything with blind faith
Well, here's wishing you loads of happiness, peace and good health
And as always, may you be blessed by the Lord!!

Best wishes, dear sister
So sorry am I, that I can't be there
On what is probably the biggest day of your life
After all, getting a US visa is quite tough
However, for you, am I so happy
Aakash is indeed an amazing ally!

Best wishes, dear sister
Aakash is such a dear
May the two of you have a great life
You, I am sure, will be an excellent wife
May you both be there for each other
Through good and bad times
May you learn a lot of things from each other
And may your love blossom
Into something as everlasting as change
And may you infinitely expand your range!!

Best wishes, dear sister
So proud am I, to be your brother
May you and Aakash have the grandest wedding
And on you, may the Almighty shower his blessings
Have a blast and take care
May this beautiful pair stay happy forever!!

Day by day
I am falling apart
Sinking to new lows
My world crashing around me
I may be thirty years old
But at heart, I am a child
A lost child, seeking reassurance
Seeking sanity, in this insane mess
Seeking happiness, in this tragic story
Seeking an escape, from this hideous cage
After all, what have I done
To deserve this terrible fate?
I did not ask, to bear this burden
On my already weary shoulders
It is quite easy to say
That I will soon be fine
That it is only a matter of time
But, how can I right the wrongs
That I have done
Over the last few hours
In my anger, panic and desperation?
Whether it be shouting at my family
Or breaking my phone screen?
Of course, I can start afresh
My love for my family is real
Irrespective of a few spats
Triggered by being cooped up
In a small house, for two days
After all, these are mad times
You cannot eat at a restaurant
You cannot watch a movie
You cannot attend a poetry event
You cannot even go to a park
But, how long can one remain inside?
In the absence of fresh air
The mind tends to become stale
And therefore prone to meltdowns
Can you then seriously blame me
For flipping out, as I did?
Of course, it is easy to say
That I should be more mature
Given my present age
But then, autism affects you
Irrespective of your age
Anyway, the fight is on
The virus may **** us physically
But it is upto us, to ensure
That it does not **** us mentally
Of course, we have to take a few blows
It is certainly not an easy battle
However, as they say
It is better to try and fail
Than to give up right away
Therefore, whether we win or lose
We will not go down without a fight!!

Whenever I experience pain
Whether it be physical or mental
I don't feel I am alone
Because your words are so powerful
That they transport me into another realm
Where I begin to feel a sense of calm
And a voice speaks
"Everything is going to be alright soon"
Slowly and steadily, the pain fades
And I begin to feel at ease again
You may not be a witch
But your poetry is so rich
And so full of passion
That it gives me motivation
To do whatever I earlier thought was impossible
Your attitude makes EVERYTHING seem possible
The way you write a novel
Sets an example for us all
Full of dry and witty humour
Not to mention, extreme candour
And at the same time, you keep the readers guessing
Hence, no book of yours can ever be called "boring"
And your activism lights a flame in us
Which is extremely difficult to extinguish
Thanks to you, am I starting to find the courage and strength
To fight my battles with mental health
And hoping to emerge stronger than ever
Dear Comrade, I will forget you never
Jai Bhim! Vaazhga Periyar!!

Whenever you enter my thoughts
A fire begins to burn fiercely in my heart
Destroying everything in its path
Except any positive thoughts
And from my mind, emerges a voice
Saying "You can do it
And you WILL do it!"
Whenever something seems amiss
I think of your struggles
And gradually, do I find myself more capable
Of achieving every task that is set before me
A Harry Houdini, you may not be
However, an inspiration are you, for sure
Because, so much do you care
About righting all the wrongs in our society
Casteism, Hindutva, Islamophobia, gender inequality
Determined are you, to fight hard for social justice
Even if you end up paying a huge price
I consider myself an extremely lucky person
To know such a lovely human being like you
Who talks not through words but actions
Though you are a very loving partner and mother
Rarely, do you showcase your affection and care
Your sheer nerve and bravery would make Godric Gryffindor proud
Your patience, dedication, loyalty and sense of justice would make Helga Hufflepuff proud
Your sharp wit and natural curiosity would make Rowena Ravenclaw proud
And finally
Your sheer ambition, determination and resourcefulness would make Salazar Slytherin proud
Always, will you be my primary motivator
Keep rocking, keep fighting and do take care
May the Almighty bless you forever!!