In wait

I lie, frozen glacial
Impassive, dreary and still
I lie choked and stifled
Stationary against my will


I seem a mere ghost
To the wandering casual eye
Unable to discern the tiny trickle
That despite all, refuses to rigidify

The sun sends its compliments
But it'll take more than a few rays
To strike a chord
With my crystal carapace

Someday the water will gush forth
Unfettered, free at last
To surge, to breathe life
Into the sands I flow past.

The Minimum Energy Level

It seems to me that there are two phases in which we all exist.

One – where everything is proper, where one moves about with check valves highly active in the brain. One stifles yawns, sits upright on chairs, politely declines third helpings (even if it’s a favorite dish) and resigns to second (for fear of insulting the cook).

And the other – where one sits with one leg thrown around the backrest of the chair (my pose as I type this), gluts on chocolate cake, whistles out of tune, jumps on newly made beds; etiquette be damned.

Most of us would say the second happens when one is all alone. Or maybe when one is with family. And a few close friends to whom one has nothing to prove. Or when one is working or too engrossed in something to care.

So why care the rest of the time? It seems to me that for every act of “good” behavior one tries to accumulate credit in the onlookers’ mind. Just so that one is taken seriously by them later. Then there are others. Those who appear to do anything they want to do. Why some of them still retain their claim to good opinion while others are alternately ridiculed and despised remains a complete mystery.

And there are still others. Those that are so saturated with genuine sophistication that it seems inconceivable that they could be otherwise. Wonder if they’re missing out on things or the other way round.

Teetotaler Anonymous

Nights on end without a wink
Days full of empty marooned time
Now and then, a feeling of hope
A sense of despair in the mean time


‘Have one, just one before you leave’
‘Never have, besides, I’ve brought my car’
‘Really, I insist, have one for the road’
‘I’ll down the cola and hit the tar’


Amidst screeches and tears
The ambulance wails its way on
They stare at me full of rage
Verdict announced; conclusion foregone


Trying to remain sane
But I’m on the brink
One thought persists
What if I’d taken the drink?

Epics of the Kalyug

There is either inordinate reverence or deplorable scarcity of originality or simply the lack of courage in the minds of filmmakers who find they must resort to the Ramayan or Mahabharat to make a saleable flick.
I strongly suspect the latter.
Raavan, following closely on the heels of Raajneeti just left me confounded. Why two obviously intelligent directors with excellent track records made films that were so obviously shallow, pointless and implausible beats me.

Agreed that these epics are deep wells to draw from, with intricately woven characters and social backgrounds relevant to all eras; but surely there’s a reason they were television serials, to quote Mayank Shekhar.

Exploring deeply into a particular character or relationship is always fascinating, as is depicting a particular portion of the narrative. But to reduce entire epics into two and half hours of banal travesties, well, that’s something else again.

All I can hope for is that others take a lesson and don’t go that way.

Just disgruntled, I guess

What happened? Why did you get so late?

Oh, I was just thinking of leaving when I found a new voice message saying that there was to be a meeting at 6:30. So I waited back n guess what? At 6:15 the guy calls to say that it’s been rescheduled for tomorrow. Man! I could’ve been home by then!
Ask someone what time will they leave from someplace and the reply you’ll get is “Can’t say. I’ll give you a missed call when I actually leave.”

Sound familiar?
The thing is, we’ve lost control of how our day will proceed ‘cause it’s too dependent on external factors liable to sudden changes. And if you are one of those “boring” people who like to stick to original schedules, you can bet you’ll be left out of everything. Or worse, be disgruntled about having to shelve other things abruptly, and you’re not committed enough to the current activity. Plans, in the unlikely event that they exist, rarely fall into place.

There is as usual another side to it. Back in the, say, 70s, you could have unexpected visitors. Housewives would cook extra meals just in case. People would travel across the country without reservations. Unimaginable!
The sheer lack of communication channels made people think ahead and be better prepared for “un”forseen problems, while we don’t know a bridge exists until we’re halfway across.
We’re also very commitment phobic because of this unpredictability.

But all of this holds true only for personal and everyday matters. Bands have their shows for at least the next 6 months chalked out. And while we’re at it, ask someone who got married recently how much in advance they had to book the venue.

As usual my post is dichotomous. And I leave it at that.