VICTORY

With the suspension

of three members of staff

from the institution

the officers and

manager were in a jubilant mood.

‘The trouble-makers

are out’ – one officer  mused

after the remaining members of staff

left the office

with dark, clouded faces.

After the suspension of

three members of staff

all hell broke loose

contrary to the

expectations of higher-ups.

If the slogan shoutings were

outside the office until then

it was slogan shouting inside

disturbing the very

peace of the authorities

who held a party

on the very day the

three members of staff

were thrown out

and the ultimate victory

went to the

employees with the

management signing on the dotted line.    

ALONG THE WAY

Countless babies are born

and countless babies die per day

with happiness and sorrow

mingling with each other

across our land.

Celebrities,

common men and

poverty-stricken people die

across our land each day

with gnawing pain, tears 

and relief mingling with each other

and photos and

reports in nutshells 

being printed filling

a full page or two newspapers.

Once in a while we happen to come

across the photos

along with reports in a nutshell

and are either flabberghasted

or feel indifferent.

i often wonder how many familiar faces are

omitted by the newspaper

for no fault of theirs.

Such informations

pay visit to us from

somebody whom we

come across after a long spell in our life,

along the way. 

THE GIFT

The gift of

a new dawn is

a precious, priceless jewel to

both of us.

The gift of a

smile is sweeter

and immemorable to us.

The gift of a ‘kiss of love’

is ecstasy  to  us

and if it is a first kiss in our life

the memory of which would remain eternal.

The gift of a warm and long hug by

both is something which

lifts our sagging spirits.

And the gift of a

sunset overwhelms us

with its charming, colourful 

appearance beyond our imagination

which though painful is

a magnificient  scenery

before he goes down

the horizon for the day.  

THREE POEMS

Steps and Missteps 

Though not all steps are
missteps.
But missteps are
missteps.
Hence you should have to
start from the beginning.

Thoughts and Meditation 

Thoughts must not
get distorted and wander along
through unchartered territories.
They should
move along a straight line.
Meditation is
the only remedy for
the thoughts to walk ahead
along a straight line
in order not to get them distorted.
Otherwise learn to live with it.

Realties and Fantasies

Realties are realties.
And
Fantasies are fantasies.
Still both are inter-related.
When realties and
fantasies play together
a beautiful invaluable an creation
come into being.                

BILAWAL BHUTTO’S ENTRY INTO PAKISTAN POLITICS

It seems like Bilawal Bhutto, leader of Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) is, stepping  into the foot-steps of Zulfiker Ali Bhutto who once announced ‘one thousand years of jihad’ against India for annexing Jammu & Kashmir with Pakistan. The same Bhutto came to India and met the then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and held a meeting at Simla which is widely known as Simla Agreement. Just before deposing Zulfikar Ali Bhutto due to ‘alleged disorder’ in the country under the leadership of Zia-Ul-Haq who proclaimed himself as the defacto leader of Pakistan who met with an air crash while flying aboard an airplane which to a section of Pakistanis believe that it was a case of sabotage. Bhutto did a favour to him and declared him a four star General superseding senior military officers. Still the General had no moral prick to arrest Bhutto and imprison him and Supreme court issued a verdict sentencing him to death. A famous work called ‘A Case of Exploding Mangoes’, a comic novel by a Pakistan journalist Muhammed Hanif secured instant fame. General Zia entered and implemented Islamic tenets in the constitution which made Pakistan an Islamic State. The laws were ruthlessly implemented by announcing Sharia laws which came into practice under which punishments were carried out to those who were alleged to have committed blasphemy which were equivalent to the punishments meted out in the Middle Ages. Mr.Bhutto was made to suffer in isolated cell for a long period and later put on trial and was sentenced to death in spite of pressures not to kill Mr.Bhutto by countries around the world especially those nations which were under democratic rule. After suffering harshly inside the isolated cell Mr.Zulfikar-Ali-Bhutto was led to the gallows and thus came to the end of an era.
His wife Nusrat Bhutto and daughter Benazir Bhutto who later married Asif-Ali-Sardari, former President of Pakistan under the banner of Pakistan Peoples’ Party. With PPP winning a comfortable victory and the new dawn of democracy shone once again but had to pay a heavy cost, ie the fateful and her violent death by the so-called ones owing allegiance to Redt General Pervez Musharraf who pumped bullets on her while she was on a whirl-wind tour of Pakistan to canvas votes in the elections. Mrs Bhutto had a premonition that murderous elements were after her and apprehended death. It was a pre-planned and pre-meditated handy work of those owing allegiance to Gen (Retd) Pervez Musharraf, it is alleged by a cross-section of Pakistanis.
With the victory of Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP), the Retd General Pervez Musharraf’s term as the self-declared President of Pakistan came to an end and the ‘courageous’ man fled Pakistan with his family and sought asylum in London and repeated his assertions that he would fly to his home country and join politics. Until he flew to London and Dubai All Pakistan Muslim League, the political party which he had founded was to some extent in a state of hibernation. The man however flew back to Pakistan after a prolonged period mustering courage and arrogance and on the moment he stepped down on the soil of Pakistan from the airplane he was arrested and put on house arrest. Citing many reasons, the govt under Nawaz Sherif, leader of Pakistan Muslim League (PML) filed cases against him and as of now Musharraf is in a catch-22 situation.
Bilawal Bhutto, the UK educated handsome youth on completion of his studies whose sole aim is to assume leadership of Pakistan Peoples’ Party and to make known his intention to capitalize on the situation prevailing in Pakistan, he declared in London that he was ready to fight against India to capture the Jammu and Kashmir at any cost. And to sideline other parties of Pakistan he along with his followers declared to hold ‘one million march’ to 10 Downing Street, the official residence of David Camaron,  Prime Minister of Britain.
The other day while leading the march to President’s official residence, he was heckled, booed and empty plastic  bottles by those belonging to various political parties of Pakistan since they were not invited to join the march alleging that he was cashing in on the situation single-handedly. Britain had however made it clear that the issue has to be solved between the two countries in a cordial atmosphere and PPP’s plea to Britain to play a third party rule was rejected.
The announcement of one million Pakistani’s march by Bilawal was nothing but a ploy to let the world come to know that he has going to be playing a pro-active role in Pakistan politics.

UNKNOWN CITY, UNKNOWN DISCOVERY

Driving down the

straight road in a strange city

he saw her walking ahead

without looking left or right.

But for the crowds

he could have applied the brakes

and come to a halt

or call her at the top of his voice

due to the hustle and bustle of the city.   

After completing their

studies in the same

college and in the same classes,

for years together

they parted ways with

hopes and assurances

of meeting again someday, somewhere

in future.

But contrary to their

expectations, contacts

between got snapped at an unknown junction

in their life.

If he could

find her in a village

along the way he could

not only have fished her out

and shared their feelings past, present and future

and that would have

been a pleasant and refreshing experience.

But in a city it

is almost impossible these days

maintaining friendships for long

is nothing but wishful thinking.

After the car reached

in the outskirts of the city

where crowds are virtually absent

he parked the car on the street-side and

he sat with his drooping head

for a long time, drowsed

for sometime with thoughts

travelling down memory lane.

He switched on the

ignition key with the sadness

of having lost a golden opportunity,

a rare opportunity.

Life craves for many

invaluable things but gets

back a miniscule of

what we wish, hope and pray….

THE CAMARADERIE

Yesterday

watching a drunken brawl

between two friends

inside a bar

I was sitting alone

in a corner of the

bar in the dim light listening to wild music.

With anxious eyes and

drum-beating heart

when the brawl went out of control

I called one of

the waiters clad in white with a turban

and asked him to call

the security to throw them out

since they were getting on his nerves

and let peace prevail

inside the air-conditioned bar frowning.

The security advised them to cool down

which both were not

in the mood to oblige.

Today

at about the same time

I saw both of them

coming  out of the bar

joining hands

and laughing aloud

showing no sign of enmity

and in its  place 

intimacy was reigning supreme

between the two.

I laughed to myself

thinking about the

role being played by liquor.

Strange are the ways of liquor …

I told myself. 

A LONG JOURNEY

Each year in the course of a long

journey down the tarred road

he used to sleep

in the shade of the

colossus of a tree

for a few hours

in the blazing sun.

One day

while sleeping under the tree

he saw a dream which

to him was nightmarish

about the disappearance of the tree

from the street side.

Within a few years

upon waking up

he was wondering

how come he happened to

see the nightmare

which to him was something appalling.

Hence, while passing

along the village

with his heart pounding

he recalled that dream.

He happened to see

and on noticing the tree

from afar

and

he heaved a sigh of relief.

A tired he, due to long journey

he slept under the tree

enjoying the warm breeze.

Before falling asleep

he could listen to the

rumblings of its

leaves which were music to his ears

which were like a lullaby.

After one year while

walking down the tarred road

he looked afar

and true to his nightmare

the tree had disappeared somewhere.

Unable to bear the shock and sorrow

he never came along thru the way in the future years…

NEW YEAR DAWN

Post midnight after

celebrating festivities on New year eve

heralding the dawn of New Year

with other participants huddled together

in the city’s well-known restaurant.

The Australian  lady was

returning to her room

at Oberoi Trident

along the sidewalks of Marine Drive

which lay under the

yellowish- greenlight of sodium vapour lamps.

She was silently singing a love song

which she happened  to

listen at the New Year party.

The sea was on a hilarious mood

with waves after waves

flurrying and returning

she felt it like

the sea was making merry

under the starry, moonlit sky

dancing and singing

with the merry-making infinite sea.

The rejoicing and delighted

lady  was caught from behind

by an unknown figure

with all his force 

and dragged her to 

a police chowky

who was clad in a khaki dress

and when she was about to cry aloud

the man roared with

an order to shut up.

The weeping lady pleaded with the man

not to torment her

and free her from his grip.

But no -

the man was not in a

mood to listen to her pleas.

He was in a hurry to undress her

and defile her

crush her like an

elephant crushing a rose flower.

After celebrating his New Year

he let her free

and commanded her to

go to any hell

she wanted to go….

HIDE AND SEEK

From dawn to dusk

I am very much with you.

In between I play

hide and seek with you all.

Before dusk engulfs you

it is my hobby playing

pranks on you.

Before I bid farewell to you

I promise and assure you

after twelve hours

with disappearance of the dusk

for waking you up

I would appear again

and welcome you all

and elevate you sky-high

and make you joyous and  ecstatic. 

The more I discharge my duties,

the more vigorous I become

and will be on duty 24X7…..

BOKO HARAM, ISLAMIC STATE, TEHREEK-E-TALIBAN PAKISTAN SOW THE SEEDS OF MILITANCY

It was a fresh lease of life for more than two hundred girl children kidnapped and hidden somewhere in Nigeria for the last several months by the ultra-militant outfit Boko Haram. It is certain that the Nigerian govt had to bow down before the leaders of Boko Haram for freeing the children in return for a huge ransom by the govt. Otherwise such a gesture wouldn’t have extended towards the govt by the ruthless terror outfit which went on a killing spree of tens of thousands of lives with the sole aim of establishing an Islamic fiefdom in Nigeria.

It’s determination to form a govt of their own is still unchanged and hence we could very well accept the truth that they would run roughshod  across Nigeria killing innumerable Nigerians in future also. Likewise the kidnapping. The ruthless terror outfit nurtures a belief that girl children should be married off to the Nigerian men as per the principles of Islamic religion. How come they came out with such an absurd belief from the Holy book of Quran? According to them education is being denied to the girl child and women and it is only the prerogative of man. The first and foremost step is getting them married off and producing  as many children as possible. The Islamic women are even forbidden to come outside their houses and talk to other men since that too is against the Islamic principles. Similarly they should wear burqa 24 X 7.

Whether Nigeria is likely to fall into the hands of Boko Haram in the not too distant future? Let us leave the billion dollar question to time.

If in Nigeria it is the Boko Haram, in West Asia it is a far stronger Islamic State (IS) which was carved out of Iraq and Syria. Abubaker-Al-Bagdadi, the leader of Islamic State (IS) is in the saddle proclaiming himself the Caliph of the jihadist state. It has already claimed hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, kurds and Syrians. With Islamic State moving ahead with massacring innumerable citizens, Iraq pleaded with United States to intervene and teach the IS a lesson with sophisticated weapons and on listening to the pleas of Iraq, US has already intervened, bombarded continuously over the harshest terrains of the so-called Islamic State(IS) and killed thousands of terrorists with an aim of flushing out the leaders of IS (Islamic State) who are safely embedded inside the safest havens. US which is on the look out for so-called Caliph Abubaker-Al-Bagdadi and his followers has not succeeded in tracing out them so far but with a vow to capture him at any cost along with British and Kurdish assistance. Still, he is at large like Mulla Omar of Afghanistan. The Islamic State (IS) jihadists have already beheaded four gentlemen, two of them freelance journalists and other two aid workers, in cold-blood which were captured in videos and displayed before the world citizens with the purpose of terrorizing them. The fight is going on and so far the elements of Islamic State have not shown any signs of defeat.

Today’s newspapers  carry a news item regarding the expulsion of the Pakistani militant outfit Tehreek-E-Taliban spokesman  Shahid-Al-Shahid for declaring his support to Islamic State with which Tehreek-E-Taliban doesn’t maintain good relationship. 

Interpretation of Quran by various militant elements are confusing to a common man like me. What about others? We will have to inquire……            

QUEST FOR LIFE

War between two countries

is aggravating

killing tens of thousands

of citizens and soldiers

belonging to both neighbouring nations.

Bombardments, firings,

grenade attacks, tear gas, tanks

convert the lands to

a grave-yard.

Thousands of citizens

flee the land in their quest for life

to the border areas

and beyond with their belongings

and pitch tens reminding one

of vast areas of slums

but with no escape routes

since the enemies bombard

and trigger guns claiming

the lives of many

young, middle-aged

and old intermittently.

Still  they crave for

their lives expecting

ceasefire is about to

be declared  with

another persons or countries playing middle men.

Life, my friend in the midst

of towering inferno is precious to many

the world over…..

JANU

Janu wakes up early

in the morning

and completes her routine chores.

After awaking her

eldest daughter

who is walking along the bridge of teenage

she hurried to the

two neighbouring 

houses in the junction

before the sun appears

in the east.

She does have

a lot of works in each

of the houses owned by

two rich gentlemen.

She cleanses the house premises

first with a broom.

Then she enters the house

and takes another broom

and wipes out all rubbish things

in response to the instructions of the owner’s wife

except the bedroom

where her husband is fast asleep

along with their children.

Then cleanses the

utensils and fills the

vessels with pure drinking water.

The lady hands over a

hot black coffee in a

glass to Janu

which she sips slowly.

By this time the Sun

welcomes her

and Janu after

taking permission from

the lady goes to

the neighbouring house

and indulges in repeating

the household chores

from there too.

She gets a glassful of black coffee

together with some eatables.

On completion of her duties

she walks to her small house

covering a paddy field

and a narrow path filled

with craters and stores

reaches her small house.

Her husband wakes up

in the wee hours of the morning

and fearing him

she never inquires him where

he was heading to.

Late in the night

he blurts out

choicest expletives to no one

otherwise to himself

and arrives at the

house in an inebriated condition.

All hell breaks loose

with him repeating

his abuses not only

towards Janu and their three children

and all one by one

is forced to suffer his blows

and kicks until

the whole house and

surroundings reverberate

with their cries.

One day he didn’t come back

none knew where he went

and after one week

on enquiry it was learnt

that he fled away 

with a lady leaving

her husband and three children

Janu breathed easy 

children breathed easy

their fear  melt like ice

and continued to have good times.

The next day

Janu went to the temple

took a bath in the temple pond

and bowed before the

God thanking him for

the blessings showered

over her and her children….

And they lived happily thereafter.

WITH LASCIVIOUS SMILES

Waiting for his footsteps

she lay with eagerness

and enthusiasm on the bed.

With the clock striking 9PM sharp

and listening to his footsteps

she gets up, hurries to the door and

unlocks it and open the door.

With lascivious smiles

both lock in an embrace and exchanges umpteen kisses

and she rushes to switch off the light.

After a long merry making

and after both

deriving gratification

he bids farewell to her

and promises her he would

come at sharp 9PM

and always keeps his

promises and assurances to her.

After closing the

door and locks it from inside

she goes to her bed

and slumps into the bed. 

She always keeps

it a secret just like him

and both  ensure

that they would never

reveal the secret to anyone.

Thinking of him she

lapses into slumber  

till her husband

reaches late into the night.

THE BABIES

With her delivering

a girl child

her husband

who was a confirmed drunkard

got angry not only towards his wife

but towards the entire world.

The emaciated, anaemic woman

was overwhelmed with great joy

for being  evolving to be

a mother of her pretty baby.

But her husband’s anger

was directed not only

towards the woman but

to the new born baby too.

‘If that be the cause

you are also responsible for

the birth of the baby’.

The man who was drunk

beyond limits 

showered thunders over her 

until she fell unconscious.

In the meanwhile

the new born  gift

was crying loudly

to draw the attention of her mother

or somebody beside her.

After three to four months 

the man impregnated the lady once again

without taking account

of her ill-health due to

malnourishment and hard work elsewhere

and because of her fear

and hatred of the

man she took away

the child with her

and entrusted the job of looking after the baby

in the huts of her close relatives.

After a long wait

with anxiety and anguish engulfing her

she delivered the second baby

who too was a girl child.

By the time the man

reached the hut

she took away both

her babies and vanished in the darkness...

  

THEN & NOW

Friend,

I shouldn’t have befriended you.

Even otherwise, we were familiar.

Remaining familiar

was/is sufficient and more.

In these days

in this mobile world

one is always on the run

looking for better career prospects

hence nobody remains

rooted at the same place.

Jobs vary, institutions vary

hence we keep on running

seeking better prospects

from place to place. 

One day bidding  goodbye 

leaving you alone with a heavy heart

I boarded a train to a faraway place

on getting a new career,

a better career in a

renowned institution which

offered attractive emoluments, a higher post,

better comforts and with no pre-conditions. 

One day

you would also move to

another place, another institution 

a reputed one, of course.

In our life, either you

or I could meet you once again, God willing.

Mobility is the hallmark

the world over and

unlike those old days

when our predecessors

prayed to God for not

transferring them

to another place

where they were

previously working.

Now that old days 

have departed

with the flow of time.

More and more institutions

have spread,

infrastructure developed

and invited more and more job seekers

and they are willing

to take up more and 

more  assignments which

attract better remuneration

accommodation and other facilities.

Money is power

friendship for namesake…….

RIGHT OR WRONG

Yellow is longing and

expectation – thus she believes.

Yellow does have the magnetism

which could attract 

him like iron- thus she believes.

Whenever she does have

a premonition that  

he would come beside her

in the late hours of night – thus she believes.

Sometimes her anticipation

of his arrival turns right

but not always.

She has a variety of

night gowns – yellow, red

green, blue, brown, black etc.

Sometimes, contrary to her expectations

he would appear before

her in the deep and thick

hours of night

even if she wears a

black, red, green, blue

or brown gown which

would drive her mad with inexplicable happiness. 

Still she sticks on to

her belief in yellow colour

without any basis.

It drives one to think that

her belief in yellow

is meaningless and absurd.

All colours

all different colours do have

different meanings

thus believes each human being.

It could be sometimes right

sometimes wrong.

Yet neither is disappointed 

nor disillusioned.

Right and wrong are

two sides of the same coin. 

LABOUR UNREST

One day a mannequin

walked away which

was placed infront of a shop.

To the surprise and fun

of the onlookers

it was walking down the path

speedily and the owner on watching it 

ordered one of his employees

to nab him from behind

and give him a few slaps

and command him to

return to where

he came back.

The mannequin responded

by dealing hard blows on the employees back

and on his face till he bled  

which were unbearable

to the employee

and he ran away for life.

Those  who watched the employee

running to the shop

weeping with excruciating pain

the mannequin continued to

walk ahead.

Following in the first

mannequin’s foot-steps

mannequins one after another

walked along the side-walks

and on inquiring tactically why

were they leaving 

from the shop sides.

They did cool down

and listed a number of complaints.

That they were standing

in front of the shop

from morning to evening 

suffering the blazing Sun 

that they were not

provided with at least

one or two glasses

of pure drinking water

that they were not

served at least a square meal each day 

that with the approach of monsoon

they were forced to

stand under the torrential rains shivering

and they were not paid monthly salary due to them

having said all

these each mannequin one

after another sped

ahead in protest

since their

patience had reached its nadir…

In these days of global

labour unrest

even the mannequins strike

work in protest against

their employers…    

UNDER THE MOONLIT, STARRY AZURE NIGHTS

Under the moonlit, starry azure nights

she would appear on

the terrace of her house

clad in a glimmering white gown.

With her hands

folded across the chest

and long flowing hairs

she resembled an angel

who cast shining smiles

at me which elevated

me skyhigh.

While I was residing

hundred meters away

in my home

standing at the gate

I could see her

appear in her white gown

which could attract

a person standing far away.

I knew she was

throwing her eyes at me.

In order to be happy

delighted and ecstatic

I shifted to a

house close to her house which was

a rented building.

From that day onwards

we could see each other

we could smile at each other

which lifted our spirits to skyhigh.

With the approach of night

her house glowed like a palace

a marble palace in white

with the lights and surroundings switched on.

Those days were spring season of our life.

Her parents were there

and siblings were there

all in a congenial ambience.

One day like a thunder

piercing my ears

the owner of my rented house

paid a visit to me

and informed me about his decision

to sell his house

and served me a

one month notice.

That day I couldn’t sleep

sleepless I remained all

through the night

but I had to vacate 

the house at the earliest.

On informing her about

my evacuation

she too faded like a rose flower

and didn’t appear  on the terrace

from that day onwards.

Since I had to avail

of a rented house in

a far away town

I was in a hurry to

vacate the house

and shifted to a flat.

After about one month

with the hope and expectation of having a

glimpse of her

I was aghast to see

her palace like house

demolished by somebody

and on enquiry

came to learn about  a

new owner who bought the house

who demolished the house and leveled it

the reasons for which were

best known to him

whither she went?

whither her parents went?

whither her siblings went?

None had any idea whatsoever.  

RHYTHM

When the thorns of depression

wounds the soft petals

of a man’s mind

blood oozes out of his/her mind 

either he/she approaches

a clinical psychologist

or a psychiatrist or both.

Some are after a certain period

totally cured

some cases remain 

controlled  but not

cured completely

and some cases remain

uncontrolled for ever and

he/she becomes a burden

to his/her family members. 

He/she is thrown out

of his/her home

or are dumped in a

mental asylum like a criminal

is imprisoned in a jail and

he/she is condemned 

to be there through out his/her life.  

YARDSTICK

When you are with me
I often feel
you are far away from me.
When you are far away from me
I often feel
you are by my side.
Distance to me
is either an illusion
or kind of disharmony.
It depends.

REEL AND REAL

After reducing the

villain to a heap of pulp

the hero walked

along the path non-chalantly.

After about half an hour

a few steps away from his home

the hero sensed

somebody following him.

The villain tall, burly and muscular

along with his gang were following him

with lethal weapons in their hands

were approaching the

hero with fire of rage in their eyes

to wreak vengeance on him.

Hero unlike the villain

though skeletal was energetic

strong and courageous

was surrounded by the

villain and his gang

brandishing their weapons 

rushing towards him

and finish him off if possible.

The hero keeping his

cool came face to face with

gangsters and the villain

and within minutes settled scores with them

without any weapons

in his possession but

courage personified.

You might be wondering

how a man skeletal, tall and dare-devil

faced the sturdy, muscular

villain and his gangsters,

kicked and traded blows single-handedly

and forced them flee from the scene.

Remember,

hero is always hero

and villain always a villain

the latter is

bound to bear the

kicks and blows of the former.

What you and I were

watching were the scenes

enacted in reel life not real life. 

GOD, TIME, DESTINY OR FATE?

From the very moment

living-beings are born

and race ahead down

the road of time

it is written somewhere

by somebody

the periodicity of their

existence on the surface of earth.

How far each living-being should race ahead?

Different distances are allotted to each

and is strictly followed?

While some living beings

even before moving ahead

bids goodbye to the world.

Some move ahead

only a few steps and bid farewell to all

while some cross the half-way mark

and luckily or unluckily

a few jump ahead

since they are allotted more time

on the face of the earth  

who is the ULTIMATE authority?

Could we name God, Time, Destiny or Fate?

CIRCLE OF SEASONS

Like a couple

after celebrating their initial years of married life

immersed in glory, beauty and pageantry

slowly get bored with one another

and each keeps aloof from one another

like sort of an inclement weather enveloping  them

you people after suffering

unbearably hot summer days

often start praying for my arrival

to escape from the blistering heat

dreaming for the skies to get cloudy

with darkness like a torn blanket pervading the land

expect me to open up the doors of skies

for the torrential rains for days together

like the couple after enjoying

the initial years of life sticking together

getting bored with one another

I too become a burden and bane to you

and incessantly pray to God

to exile me from your land

often forgetting the undeniable fact that

you will have to

pray to me again, again, again and again

to return once again…. 

LIKE A JOURNALIST

Deep down in my heart

I have a collection of secrets

which I won’t ever

divulge before anyone

and I like a journalist 

reporting breaking news 

which he/she extracts from a person

on condition of anonymity

he/she keeps it to himself/herself.

Unlike several persons

most of them celebrities,

politicians, film stars

and a few common men or women

claiming that their lives

are open books

and they don’t have

anything to hide before anybody

while there are umpteen skeletons

tumbling out of their closets.

My hitherto life is not

an open book

and I am not willing to

open it for somebody’s reference.

I do have or

did have any love affairs

unlike persons aplenty

boast about their

love relationships…. 

THE TEMPTATION

On the look-out for the fellow

who tempted and succeeded

in his efforts 

by providing me

with the invaluable

material comforts of life

in exchange for my soul

I have travelled a long

way to identify him

and continue to go on

with my ceaseless efforts of

finding him till I succeed in my search.

True,

my life was blessed

with the pomp and pageantry overnight

which up till then

was in dire straits due to

hunger, poverty, lack of a roof

over my family and all the

basic necessities of life.

From the very day

he bought my soul

a moral prick thrust on me

and I was cocksure that

I was an incomplete man

in the place

of a complete man before the fellow

took away from me.

I am in constant 

search of my soul

and the man who

tempted me with the

priceless material comforts

of life in exchange for my soul

my friend, philosopher and guide.

This is my pledge to find out the

fellow one day and

will regain my soul at any cost 

until my search is accomplished.  

LONELINESS

A man or woman

is basically alone.

Be he/she is in the midst

of a crowd

or in a crowded train

either long distant or

a suburban train

or with his/her friends

or with his/her family

husband, wife or children

or listening to melodious songs

or rock in rapt attention

or enjoying a scintillating dance

by pretty danseuses

or playing cards or

for that matter any game

or ringing up and talking

to his/her lover

friends afar, cracking

jokes with them or playing

pranks on them

or writing or reading even

when the city is roaring outside

and wherever he/she is

either sitting or lying

alone in his/her room 

or meditating inside a cave

at the foot of Himalayas

like a hermit since decades

man or woman is basically alone…

and from persisting

loneliness no escape

for him/her….

until his/her last breath…