Random Recent Writings

1st February, 2022

Today I morphed into a gyaani

Publicly offering wisdom

to the young man in the bank

Young man with a maroon knitted cap

Who just had to get a cheque 'received'.

He tried jumping the queue

But the counter clerk told him

To join the line like everyone else.

The two customers before me

Had time-consuming dealings

And this young man, just behind me

Was grumbling away,

about how useless and

terrible this bank was.

With all the kindness (and patience)

That I could summon up,

Overcoming my natural diffidence

I spoke to him, telling him gently

That today is the first of the month

A busy day for bankers,

And if you are in a place

Where you have to wait for a while

Curb your irritation, and use it well

Think good thoughts, remember God,

If you happen to believe,

And do not let your mind

Be agitated and restless.

He listened, perhaps stunned

By this strange, masked woman,

And said that he believed

In his Thakurji.

I then spent half a minute

At the counter,

Getting two cheques 'received'

And left, exchanging with him

A warm and friendly smile.

I sometimes surprise myself!

21st January, 2022

When there's not enough

leftover rice to put away

or to give away,

and which you don't want

to throw away

the pigeons come to mind

as avian waste disposal

Put it on the outer edge

of the balcony railing

Whitey comes along

with a lean and hungry look

This winter has been a harsh one

others follow,

and you find yourself

reaching for a stale roti too,

wondering if you are being a fool

inviting the pestiferous pigeons

into your territory.

The squirrel comes along too,

foraging, charming,

as desi squirrels are.

A quick look in the fridge

finds a forgotten lump of paneer,

stale and smelly.

You break it into pieces, and leave it out

and wonder if it will be eaten

The squirrel sits there quietly

whiskers aquiver, while 'suspigeons' wonder

if this white stuff is food or not.

You come back after a while, and its all gone,

as are the squirrel and the pigeons.

16th January, 2022

The spouse sometimes has

Two hardboiled eggs

For breakfast, or dinner.

I knock them together

To shell them, and have observed that

The egg in my left hand always cracks,

Is the 'hittee', to coin a term

While the one in the right hand

Remains whole, the hitter,

Till I crack it on the worktop.

Is this a metaphor for life?

Hittee and hitter are both

Sliced,salted, peppered

Consumed.

12th January, 2022

In the cold of winter

In the midst of the gloom

The limes are ripening

As new flowers bloom

Many leaves are browning

There is much decay

But there's the promise that spring

Isn't too far away

#hope

3rd January, 2022

The sickness and rot

Spreading like a cancer

Through minds that know

No grace, no love

A cancer fostered by

Impunity pumped within

This sick system

Dehumanizing all

But the few they consider

Worthy of survival

In mera Bharat mahaan

Excluding many

Targeting minorities

The underprivileged

Underdogs, who ache

To survive with respect

Just a modicum of it,

As human beings

As equal citizens

In a country that belongs

To us all.

My heart aches

At the rot, seemingly

Untreatable.

Please prove me wrong.