The sky all dark
humidity high
Leaves still

The birds are silent
Even the ocean so anxious
that the waves are hesitant

The streets are lull
The mood is dull
The air is heavy

A late afternoon
It's already late
Too much of waiting

For that rain to start
Expectations soar
A chill descends from above

And then it starts
Slowly but steadily
The momentum picks up.

The leaves are dancing
The waves are singing
The air is cool and fresh

A hot cup of tea
Is all that matters
Hopes high and up.

When everything seems to cease
When all doors seem to be shut
When the last ray of hope subsides

When the lights seem to fade
When the air becomes thick and foggy
When the sky above is gloomy

When we seem to fall down forever
When our energies reach rock-bottom
When even our kith and kin become strangers

When all movements come to a grinding halt
When the world around you start whirling fast
When your last breath becomes tough and heavy
….
When you start sinking down
Almost lifeless...
….

A lightning inside your head
A sudden deep breath
Jump up
and draw all your power
And swim against the current
in the dark waters

Far, far away
I can see a fade dash of light
You kick away the water
You ignore the unfriendly air
You forget the strangers dragging you

The faraway blade of light
Is now brighter
Pump up your hopes and courage
And charge forward

For ....

There is always a light
At the end of the tunnel

It is just blank
empty
void
hollow
just noise
just nothing, but
idiotic and
stupid
...
..
.
the promises
the poor get
..
.
the News channels...
and the news readers
..
.
the life
of the ordinary
..
.
the politicians
and their doings
..
.
the schools
and the "education" they provide
..
.
the food
the tastes of the poor
..
.
the health
and health factories (hospitals)
..
.
the relations
and the value systems
..
.

It is just blank
empty
void
hollow
just noise
just nothing, but
idiotic and
stupid
...
..

Just close your eyes
From the hatred
From the rejections
From the sufferings
From the pain
From the anger
From the corrupt
From the cruel
From the bullies

Just close your eyes
But not your mind

Open your mind
And fight all the injustice
And make others' eyes open

For a better world
For a better tomorrow
For a better planet !

Just close your eyes
But don't be blind

Just close your eyes,
To recollect the energy in you
To be the sight for the real blind!

Water is life

What's life
with out water?
..
Too much of it is a problem
Lack of it is also a problem


Water is definitely
A bone of contention


A war in the making !

It is raining
Slow and steady
Not very light
Not very heavy

When you ride your bike
The small drops pierce through your dress
It hits mildly on your eyes,
Makes your eyelashes heavy
With dripping water drops
Down to your nose and to your lips
It tastes cool and good
Compared to the demineralised water
of your household RO filter

It is raining mildly
Enough to wet you
Makes you cool and shiver lightly
Makes you fresh and cool
Gives you the energy
Better than any other means

It also brings back
A strange nostalgia
Which  you can not connect
Immediately..

Is it the childhood memories ?
Is it the rainy school days ?
Is it the sweet memories of
Your dead beloved ones
Who shared many such rains in the past?

It rains mildly
Slow and steady
Not very light
Not very heavy
But enough to
Make you happy
Make you fresh
Make you calm
Make you a new person
Rejuvenating
Refreshing..

It is raining mildly
Slow and steady*
....

What if
all the species
on earth except humans
Got united and attacked us:-

For being so stupid and inhuman
For being so idiotic to destroy
our own common place of living ..

For mining our own resources
to the bottom so that nothing is left for future..
even for our future generations..

For being so cannibalistic,
for being in war, for being parasitic,
for killing our own species..
In the name of religion, caste, colour and creed

That big nations manufacture weapons
To be sold to terrorists
To **** its own people?
And then hunt the so called terrorists
Which are their own making?

What if there were no religions?
What if there were no castes?
What if there were no Gods?

What if there were no fights?
What if if there were no wars?
What if there was only peace?

The Flower Sellers
Rushing with their bundles

The Milk Vendors
Cycling with their milk cans

The Newspaper boys
Sorting out their packets

The Morning walkers
Warming up and stretching

The Chai-walas
Pouring out their teas

The scarfed mill workers
Speeding for their shifts

The vegetable vendors
Carrying their head loads

The Suprabhatham
Flowing from a distant house

The night shift workers
Returning home.

The Municipality workers
Cleaning the streets..

*The city is waking up
Or did it ever sleep?

Oh my dear friend
where are you?

Till yesterday
we fought
we argued
we discussed
we debated
we agreed
we disagreed
we agreed to disagree
we learnt from each other
or at least
I learnt a lot from you..

But
Oh my dear friend
where are you?

We said goodbye
in the late evening
at the side of the road
Leading to your abode
On a Tuesday night
Only to hear that
You had gone away
With out a word the next day!



I still
remember your smiling face
your sparkling eyes through your glasses
your sharp and crisp words
your simplicity
your sense of humour
your no-nonsense approach to things
your straightforwardness
your firm but friendly voice

You left me on the highway
Not to return
only your memories
will linger in my mind
till I find another friend just like you
which is impossible
for you are so much inside me..

Oh my dear friend
where are you..?
Even after all these days
I feel you as my pillion rider
at the back of my bike.

Oh my dear friend,
where are you..?

Keep Smiling,
Even when blood flows all around you,
even if you see your own blood
drenching your dead body.
Even when the hawks descend on you
Get up and Awake from the ashes
Be the Change..

Keep smiling
for
India will save itself

But it may take time
for people to realise
that this is too bad

Even ****** did not last
History will repeat itself
And a new India will be borne

But it will take its own time
The question is ..
What is this time?
How long?
How fast?
How many more to die?
What will be the new form?
Keep writing..
Keep talking.
Keep working.
Inspire others..
Be active..
Be the change...
and ...

Keep smiling...
Even when blood flows all around you...
Keep smiling...
For
this will not last for ever..

Random scribblings
Sometimes
Makes much more sense
Than
Well thought out,
Planned & refined writings.
Because,
Randomness is
What our nature is,
What occurs to us  ...
What we normally are,
What we do by instinct,
and
How we react
.
..
...
*naturally...

Laugh
As much as you can
..

crying
is
old-fashioned.

It's time
To move
To run
To walk
To talk
To act
To live now...

It's time
For time does not wait for us..
Live now, Live today
Because it's time
To change
To be the change
..

Hurry..
..
.
It's time..

Be Positive
Because
Being negative
Does not take you anywhere
Being negative does not make you positive.
..
..
so
just be positive..
though it's a bit cliched
a bit old fashioned to repeat..

It still makes lot more difference
in a word which is
+ve.

The air has a burnt smell
It is hot and dry
The streets are  empty
Even the dogs are missing
It is a hot and bright afternoon

People have taken refuge
under the roofs of their homes or work places
Even the trees seem to be mute
So are the birds and the cattle

My throat is dry
My mind is blank
My brain is asleep
Am struggling to keep awake

The weather is strange
The climate is changing
The ponds are dry
The brooks are dusty
with no water to flow

The earth is moving lazy and slow
Time seem to crawling because of the heat
The noon seems to un-ending
The schools are noiseless and sleepy.

It is dusty and hazy
The only wind being because of the
fast moving buses and trucks
and some occasional cars

The windows are closed
so do the doors of the buildings
across the streets
The rich enjoying their siesta
in the air conditioned rooms

The poor, sweating it out
in their places of work
for their daily wages
so that they can have
some food to eat in the night.

so also that
the rich can continue to have
their peaceful siestas
..

We die momentarily
When dear ones depart us
But we are reborn
with their energies
transferred to us
and may be
they live in us,
through us
Provided
we are worthy
of being the carrier of
"their" lives..
for what
they stood
in their lives,
the values they fought for
the virtues which they cultivated ...

Some times
We freeze
We stop living
We stop thinking
We become blank

We forget our surroundings
We become blind
We forget to remember
We fail to react

We die momentarily
In dark space
We come across
Such small deaths many times
In our lives
Especially when whom we consider
So dear and near
Depart us …



Seems like we are lost for ever,
even when we are in the midst of a crowd
When we lose the energies of those who are nearby
When we fail to connect

We feel the emptiness of the complexities that surround us
The work that has been done, remaining to be done
Does it really matter what we do?
Or what we live for?

Does it really matter that we live?
In the vast timeline of the universe
Where do we stand?
The infinitely  negligible
Portion of the man in the entire universe?

Death ?

Is it just the process where your body stops functioning?
Your heart stops beating,
Your lungs stop contracting and expanding
Your brain stops the processing of signals
Your blood stops gushing through the highways and narrow roads within our body?
Your memory wades away and is erased forever?
Your senses make no sense?
Your body starts losing its heat and starts cooling down?
You yourselves sliding into a sleep from which you never comes back?

What happens to  “us”, “our” knowledge?
The feeling of “me” and “mine” ?
Our feeling  of this universe, the science, the philosophy?
The values that we have given to things, people, cultures?
Our view points, our process of putting things to its perspective?
Our interactions with people close and far?
Our love and affection to people  and theirs to us?
What happens to these rather complicated web of interconnectedness?
Is it that only our link gets cut when we die?
What happens to the energy between  me and the rest?

May be we have lived our lives.
We have done what we could have done
Or may be we have left some gaps which others may fill or leave
May be things would be better with out us being there
When others try to fill our space, they do it better
And if we can be an inspiration to them,
If we can be a cause for others to do things
May be we live through them
Our thoughts will live in them
And we live again

It is immaterial whether we live or not
For, things will get done the way it should be done
Either for good or bad
If we can be part of a vibe, part of a collective
Part of a movement
Which strives for a common good,
And if we can contribute in whichever small means and ways
The common vibe that is generated from the good energies  of a group
Then we live, even after our death
The values that we lived for
Will continue to grow and lead the world
For a better cause, for a better world
For a good today
and
For a brighter tomorrow

It isn't difficult to befriend
Especially in this virtual/real world
A warm smile
A simple "hi"
A "like" in the social network
A "share" of a posting..

Just a spoon of warmth
A pinch of freshness
A drop of love
A bit of seasoning
Is all that  needed for a
Perfect recipe of friendship..

A show of solidarity
A mark of respect
A word of compassion
That is more than enough

If we cant even do that much
Then what is life for??

I like the dark
The dark skies
The dark ocean
The dark forests
The dark soils
The dark nights
**For
If there were no dark
We will never understand
The meaning and value
of Light..
and
Life.

Oh Dear River
How many faces do you have?

The pleasant calm face
With the undulating waves

The happy face
with the life thriving inside you?

The playful face with the Kids
Swimming in the river?

The vibrant face
During the downpour?

The kind face
Blessing the dark thin fishermen?

Or

The sad face
With the dark effluents let in to you
By the greedy industries?

Or the pale face
With your inflows being reduced
due to the catchments
being encroached
by the real estate mafia?

Or the angry face
With the ***** politicians and thieves
Who plunder your sand
And destroy not only you
But the livelihoods
of the poor farmers and
the water resources of the people?

Oh Dear River
How many faces do you have?

Don't be angry with us humans
because we don't care for anybody

We live only today
and we don't care for tomorrow
nor do we care about
our children of tomorrow.

We are the only inhuman species
On this earth and we wrongly
Call ourselves
As Humane beings..

Green
Refreshing
Maturing to become
Grains that will feed us

WIth the sweat of the farmer
WIth the tears of the widows and daughters
WIth the sorrow of the indebted ..
WIth the curse of the deprived and downtrodden..

We don't see the stories behind the scene
We relish the fancy recipes of the Master Chefs
Of fragrant rice, golden rice and the slim and slender grains
We forget the dark, thin, slender bodies who make it for us...

A cool morning
After a night's Rain
Sun still hesitating to wake up
from the blanket of the clouds...

What we see in the mirror
Is a virtual Image
Out there for us to explore.

But do we always get to
See the real world ?

Or are we always
After the reflections ..
And not the real?

Sweet is the village home
With the overhanging trees
With the open well on the east
With the kitchen adjacent to the well..

The coconut trees giving shade
The Jack fruit and the mango trees
Decorating the land beside
The peacocks roosting on the trees

The red Mangalore tiles
Giving protection from the sun and the rain
The green chillies and the bananas
The drumstick tree and the climbers

Ginger and Curry leaf tree
The Coccinia and the Turkey berry
Plants and climbers
Giving all the vegetables in-house

The long verandahs
The corridors
The wooden stairs
The large dining hall

It is not just a home
But a life itself
With nostalgic memories
Which will never die at all...

The house that has seen
Various happy moments
Various sad events
Which has seen birth and death

It is not just a home
But a life itself
With nostalgic memories
Which will never die at all.....

Patiently he untangles the net
Standing calmly
Brazing the breeze
On the dancing boat
With an oar on its side
Which is cooled by the
Waters of the river..

The sun will set in an hour or so
And he has to finish his catch
Before the dusk
And back to his hut
Where his wife will
Waiting eagerly
To make the dinner
With the fresh catch

Another day
Another catch
The river but
Remains the same
Greeting the fishermen
Who roam the river
With their boats

I wish
I were as brave as the rain
Because
It's not afraid
Of the waterfalls,
The rocks
The stones,
The gulleys
The thorns, or the dirt,  
The garbage
Which when falling
Is so pure
But after the fall
Gets through
All the *******..
And Poisoned*
.....
..
.

The distant howl of a fox
The high pitch sound of crickets
The croaking of the frogs
The light sound of the drizzle

This music of the Night
Makes me dreamy and happy
And I am slowly
slipping into the night's sleep

There's Nothing
More Tastier
Than A
Glass of
Cool Water