I took a walk today
in long bazaar
along the fort,
the heart of vellore

market-place smells
of fish,fruit,of afternoon
hung in the air
in chaotic competence

bright clothes lay
spread out on the roadside
in plain blues,yellows
among proud moviestar blacks

sunny families went
boating in the moat,
a cow on the footpath
moo-ed morosely at me

I dodged hawkers,
made my way through the crowd,
liking the lightness
of anonymity.

Drunken laughter,
you and your friends
just chillin,
havin fun,
your nightly routine
after the
long tiring day.

Ash falls.
Burn your
orange-glow souls
in a circle
on that couch
every eye reflects
hollow silhouettes.

5.30 am,
the bell rings
milkman,paperboy

amma's up already,
two cups of tea
one glass of bournvita

the maid arrives,with
her bright smile
gets to work

grandmom chants
her morning prayers,
the diya is lit

busy kitchen noises,
something sizzles
on a pan

and a delightful aroma
permeates the air
tv-ad style

background noise
of a news channel
or a hindi serial

familiar clink
of amma's bangles
and pressure cooker whistles

I'm home.

thoughts float,
bob up and down
like paper sailboats

in crooked,
rainfed rivulets
during monsoon

that diverge,
broaden,and
gurgle nothings

and sometimes
disappear into
potholes and drains

boat-marks erased
by the water,leaving
shades of soaked white

thoughts float,
bob up and down
like paper sailboats

and i dont know
which ones are yours
and which ones mine.

Raindrop
clinging to rusty
old iron bars.

splash,
one falls
to the ground.

born,
shivering,shining
another swollen pearl

bright oval,
swaying to and fro
at its tip.

water film,
reflecting
fleeting images.

unsteady world,
dissolving into nothing,
into everything.

of no consequence,
just another raindrop
trying to hold on

to rusty old
iron bars
in a moving train.

6 pm,
whiffs of a
clear,earthy
rain-flavoured wind

it starts off
as a tame drizzle
grows into a
full fledged downpour

some far away door
crashes against the wind
whoosh of the gale outside
curtains flying

close these windows now
thunder rumbles and roars
the world blinks
streaks of lightning

bang!
goes the transformer
frantic groping
for emergency lights

8 pm now,
they fade away soon,
flicker of the oil-lamp
burns a wind-distorted flame

black out in the apartment
someone's stuck in the lift
voices echo
in the corridor stairway

amma and I
sit in the balcony
black leaved trees
ominous animal outlines

its those monkeys again
chattering,swinging from
branch to brach
and into someone's kitchen.

we gossip,watch passers-by
mingled smell
of wet earth,
hot chai and samosas

Candle,with its
rainbow ringed yellow,
tilt it to get
wax finger-cups

familiar old routine,
hyderabadi ministorm,
I miss the excitement
of power cuts.

yellow days
like fraying edges
of old parchment

the dust of vellore
subtly golden
noise pixels

thirsty sun
coffee bean
roasted skin

dead flies
in the canteen
heat-killed conversations.

Smoking,
eyes glazed,
J after J.

Flying.

Oh how its gonna kill you
this thing
Thats keeping you alive.

Echoes
of hurried whispers,
giggles in an
old ruined house.

Unsteady hands
that once
steadied yours
fingers intertwined.

Monsoons
when we used to dance
now spent in
a dark smoke-filled room.

Tight embrace
fingers running
along a collarbone
now a lost feeling.

I hate you
for showing me
happiness,beauty
that doesnt last.

Empty face
you mean nothing to me
you're just another
sepia memory.

3 am stillness,
acrid tasting.
Sleepless
moist eyes burn.
Fingers,toes
curl inward.
Cancerous pain..
Swallowed.

Gimme a blanket
Its cold here.

Ooo I'm walking on the ceiling
I'm looking up at the floor
I'm laughing,happy
singing out loud.

Colours race
through my head
Rainbow bubbles
I blink-they pop

Oh how good it feels
my mind's empty
I'm levitating,
I'm riding through space

Exaggerated emotions
strangely lack feeling
The world's fuzzy
so much better this way

Ooo I'm walking on the ceiling
I'm looking up at the floor
I'm laughing,happy
singing out loud.

Scowl

Let me be rude
Let me snap
and let it hurt.
Allow me to pretend
I can rid myself
of this frustration
by passing it on to you.

From a tea leaf to a human

I have given
All I had
and all that was expected of me.

My life is complete.

I have been boiled
till all my colour drained out
leaving me pallid and weak.
I have been squeezed mercilessly
to yield the last drop of my flavour.
I have lived not for myself
but for you,
and now I'm reduced to
nothing but manure.

My friend...
our lives are the same.
--------

p.s. definitely not one of the better ones,but thought I'd post it anyway.

I've got
writer's block.
Aiyyooo.

Man has been reduced,or rather
moulded into plastic puppets
leading a life controlled by
green paper notes
and traffic signals;
a life of alcohol,merry-making
and 'social bonding' over the weekends;
of long discussions about politics,
new movies and gossip;
where hypocrisy fills every word
spoken or otherwise.
And when the five senses begin to rust
due to disuse
some find solace in Meditation
or Chopin's Nocturnes
still others find comfort
in the beauty and purity
of a rain-washed leaf.

Cut off abruptly
By the sharp click.
Stung.

What a fool I am
to imagine
that you need me.

Behind the lonely yellow,
the penumbra darkens
Shadows overlap like
A mosaic of memories.

Jumbled thoughts
dance to
the solemn Nocturne
in A minor.

The single candle
stands upright.
The fixed gaze
sees the prismed hues.

Black dazzling horizons
where hot ice burns
in the heart
of the sun.
The waters churn,
The tide rises,
in a desperate attempt
to touch the sky.
Embers of fire
crackle wildly.
Succumb to
its chilling warmth
Yield,give way
in passionate Surrender.

Awake,
with nebulous thoughts.
Inexpressible sorrow
shared...
with a crimson moon.

A tender mind...
bruised.

Innocence...
charred.

A childhood...
lost.