Friday, February 28, 2014

CHANGE

in the middle of the night..
I go walking in the street..
..sings Billy Joel at the back of my mind. its one of these regular days when sleep is as elusive as the winters of Calcutta. The only difference between the song playing and the practicality of the gender I allude to can not walk in the street in the middle of the night. Its an erratic weather, that offers no respite and no sleep either, with a constant nag of a back ache gained due to a constant sitting position..urgh..am complaining like a nag...
 
I admit I am complaining, but aren't we all? about the system and the lawlessness, about the traffic and the mad rush, about perfection with people and the unruly behaviour of the ruthless young, about the dying poor and the permanently afflicted rich, about the nasty government policies and the suave politics of the legions abroad, about how fake life has become and how different we are from the portrayal , about the loss of vocabulary and diction and the superfluity of the same with the intellect few, about the dirt and the grime and the slow coach that the city has become, how the roads are spilling with heads and cars and vehicles being driven opposite to the one-way lane?
 
amidst all this complaint the few who differ and protest are labelled as cranky, attention-seekers, mad?
Modern day Tughlaqs?
To apply paint and pancake is suggested as bedecked, to be polite is labelled as coquettish, to be to his own business is said to be rude and indifferent, then so be it.
someday someone needs to stand-up; for the wise men of the yore and today never did, nor ever will stand up to make amends, or take responsibilities, the foolish ones love to be leaders and democrats and responsible.. No wonder this democracy of 65 years and the weeny politics of the day looks like mockery.
 
Voltaire, Plato, Marx or Gorky, or for that sake any great leader of his time be it a socialist or a socio-political one was ostracized by the society of his time, but adored for later, when the ashes have finally become so ingrained with the land they stand buried now!!
 
Me thinks the wise men of today are waiting to be remembered tomorrow..
Cheers to Change
Cheers to Thoughts again
 

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Faces

I look at the silent faces on the street
Some have expressions
exasperation, and others mild wait and tire

I look at my face
In the reflection of a parked car
Do I look serene or a star?

Who cares of the random muse I look
am bemused
tasselled and free

Or am I?

Its a winterless day
mid-February.
Amidst dust and sand
I think of you as I cross the road
knowing you are elsewhere
crossing your own sands of time