Monday, December 31, 2012

Fecund


nature
bountiful
unlike human beings
who demand deprade
scream shrill cries
of want
or self-centredness
destroy devastate
rapacious
wage wars
squabble
burden impoverish
mother earth

Paraplegic


but inanimate
a worn and tired
tire
and therefore
not an object 
of vicarious curiosity
or ridicule

only occasional
bemusement
mostly left to their own devices
of being in disuse


Injurious


fashionable 
filmi
to hold 
inhale exhale
at one time a pre-requisite to be in film
or higher echelons of society

respected rejected
social anti-social
ostracized
 credited with creativity
enhanced activity 

macho at one time
women loved it
women hate it

post-coital
post-mortem

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Blue


to believe 
in what is said and believed
that to understand life 
you have to fall or be in love

what that fall causes
is not to be materially discussed
or exchanged as shared wisdom

acceptance is the key
to survival
with or without
being in love on the surface
or be drowned by it

best to accept
the enigma of life 
in its entirety


Shiva


For some reason, all his ganas, instead of dancing in hilarity, covered with the ashes of corpses, are cowering behind him to avoid the curse of the living.

They are frightened of those who are still alive, whose dead bodies and cremated ashes they will cover themselves with and dance and jump the dance of death, intoxicated by cannabis.


To Be


if not to be
is absconding
as an option

perish the choice
abhor coveting it

better be drowned
or swim
amid the sea of foliage
green
but not with envy

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Moon-Gazer


I stare at you
pretending I have climbed to the terrace
to look at the moon

whether what I swoon for
is a matter of mind or heart

not only do I not know
but what is the point in wondering

let it rest there
so long as it can

and please forbear
my looking at several moons

I am fickle
but you know it
because I came to the terrace

Topsy-Turvy


topsy-turvy
is the right side up

unbelievers
should be given
varying doses
of the magical elixir
anointed thus
to see life
in a maze of haze
upside down
and they would come round

how does it matter
if they are lying on the floor

Mystique


behind dark recesses
allure lurks
seductive here
gentle there
intimate

silence

Friday, December 28, 2012

Darker Night


the darker the night
the more dawn becomes unreal
distant

perhaps it is afraid
and waits anxiously
till darkness fades
with sprinklings of faint light
before it decides to dawn

all my anxieties and fears
I hide inside my heart 
and wait

Ladder to Heaven


In the Old Testament, Jacob dreamed of a ladder to heaven, with angels walking up and down it. God spoke to Jacob in the dream, promising him the land on which he slept, for him and his descendants.

Jacob's Ladder is also one of the configurations which can be made with Cat's Cradle, a string game.


Tease


I am easily teased
I am more easily deceived

in the addition and subtraction
of pluses and minuses
I discovered with glee
that two zeroes equaled ten

that there were joys
even in stupidity
perhaps not known
to the contrivers

I am damned 
with zeroes
or damned
without them

in acceptance
is my escape

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Goldfinger


abstract sensuality inspired by
0000000000000000000007
in Harry Saltzman and Albert Broccoli's rendering of
Ian Fleming's Goldfinger





Furled


the irony is
two opposites
can unfurl it:
the sun
or the rain

--------------


The rain it raineth every day

Upon the just and unjust fella,
But more upon the just because
The unjust hath the just's umbrella.

   -- Ogden Nash

Discarded


the party is over
leftovers
will be scrounged
and secretly taken away

Wading


into and through
 the dunes of alcohol
amnesiac, befuddling 
liberator of 
sense and sensibility 
pride and prejudice 
social equaliser
bonhominiser
simultaneously 
elating and depressing 
often fatal

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Acropolis


or Apocalypse Now

Laughing Ganesha


When Ganesha laughs, the world laughs; just as when Shiva dances his cosmic dance of knowledge and bliss, the universe and all living beings in it dance. Even dance dances.

Wounded by a Moonbeam



Chaand Ek Bevaa Ki Chuudi Kii Tarah Toota Hua
Har Sitaara Besahaara Soch Men Dooba Hua
Gham Ke Baadal, Ik Janaaze Ki Tarah Thahare Hue
Sisakiyon Ke Saaz Par Kaheta Hai Dil Rota Hua

The moon is like a widow's bangle, broken
Every star, without a companion, lost in sorrow
The clouds of sadness, halting like a funeral procession
Accompanied by sobs, the heart says, crying

Koi Nahin Mera Is Duniya Men, Aashiyaan Barbaad Hai
Aansu Bhari Mujhe Qismat Mili Hai Zindagi Naashaad Hai

There Is No One In This World To Call Mine, The Nest Is Ruined
My Destiny Is Filled With Tears, My Life With Sorrow

Jaa Hava Tu Rasta Le Apna 
Qismat Hai Meri Ji Ke Tadapana) \-2
Aayi Hai Mere Gham Pe Javaani
Roti Hui Ik Yaad Hai
Koi Nahin Mera.....................

Get On Your Way, Wind! My Fate Is To Live In Suffering
My Youth Is A Weeping Memory In My Sadness

Sukh Chuke Hain Aankhon Ke Jharane
Loot Liya Hamen Daagh-E-Jigar Ne
Phool Nahin Ye Zakhm Khile Hain\-2
Aasamaan Saiyyaad Hai\-2
Koi Nahin Mera................

The Flood In My Eyes Has Dried Up, The Wound In My Heart Has Ruined Me
These Are Not Flowers But Wounds, The Skies Are Slinging Arrows

(Mausam Dukhon Ka Sar Par Hai Chaaya
Mujh Se Juda Hai Khud Mera Saaya) \-2
Ham Hain Akele Gham Ke Hain Mele
Ruuh Ki Fariyaad Hai
Koi Nahin Mera..................

The mood is of sorrows, a shadow over my head, even my own shadow has left me
I am all alone, it is a festival of heartache, and a lament of my soul
There is no one in this world to call mine, the nest is ruined


Film: Daag
Singer: Talat Mahmoud
Music Director: Shankar-Jaikishen
Lyricist: Hasrat Jaipuri
Translation: Guyana News and Information Discussion Forums

Monday, December 24, 2012

Unity Interruptus



Shaded Shadows


----------

Tu jahan jahan chalega
Tu jaha jaha chalegaa, mera saaya saath hogaa
mera saayaa, mera saayaa, meras aayaa, mera saayaa

kabhi muz ko yaad kar ke jo bahenge tere aansu
to wahi pe rok lenge unhe ake mere aansu
tu jidhar karukh karegaa, mera saaya saath hogaa

tu agar udaas hogaa, to udaas rahungi main bhi
najar aau, yanaaau tere paas rahungi main bhi
tu kahi bhi jarahegaa, mera saayas aath hogaa

main agar bichhad bhi jaau, kabhi meragam nakaranaa
merapyaar yaad kar ke, kabhi aankh nam nakaranaa
tu jo mud ke dekh legaa, mera saaya saath hogaa

mere gam rahahain shaamil tere dukh mein, tere gam mein
mere pyaar ne diya hain, tera saath har janam mein
tu koi janam bhi legaa, mera saaya saath hogaa







Hoppless


Indian goddesses are usually depicted with two demi /child gods seated on their laps. When I saw this grasshopper, I bent myself till I replicated this image of Indian mother-goddess, and then took the picture. Apparently the insect cooperated, with or without understanding of what was going on. I then put it on a plant before it could become Christmas brunch for a lizard, in its entirety, babies and all.

-----------

(From Wikipedia)
In popular culture

Aesop (620–560 BC), a slave and story-teller who lived in Ancient Greece, told a tale called The Ant and the Grasshopper. In this tale, the ant worked hard preparing his shelter and stores of food all summer, while the grasshopper played. When winter came, the ant was prepared, but the grasshopper has no shelter or food. He begs to enter the ant's house, but the ant refuses and the grasshopper starves.

As a result of the popularity of Aesop's fable in Western culture, various other human weaknesses besides improvidence began to be identified with the grasshopper's behaviour. So an unfaithful woman (hopping from man to man) became known as 'a grasshopper'. Portrayal of such women occurs for example in Poprygunya, a short story written in 1892 by Anton Chekhov, and in Jerry Paris' 1969 film "The Grasshopper".

Those who are unable to keep a single subject in focus but keep bringing in inappropriate associations (hopping from one thing to another) are said to have 'a grasshopper mind'.

Partly as a result of this, 'grasshopper' has lately come to refer to a person who has much to learn. Its use originated from the television show Kung Fu (1972–1975). Caine, the young student, portrayed by Radames Pera, is receiving instruction from his Master Po (portrayed by Keye Luke) who nicknames his student "Grasshopper" as a term of endearment.

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Balika Badhu


a child bride


The subject of the child bride must be part of almost all human cultures, manifesting itself in different forms, like, at best, marriage; at worst kidnapping, molestation, rape, purchase, prostitution, enslavement, etc.

In India, while myriads of writers have dealt with the subject, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhya, arguably one of the best writers of prose of whom India, and particularly Bengal, are proud, wrote most movingly on the subject, to emancipate the girl child as well as women.

There have been countless books on the subject. The ones that have been filmed in India have, among them, one which recurs again and again because of its name, Balika Bodhu (English: Child Bride), written by Bimal Kar, who received the Sahitya Akademi award, India's highest award for literature, in 1975.

In reality, the premium on virginity or on very young females continues to fascinate the so-called virility and sexual dominance of men throughout the world, whether through marriage or without it.

Indeed, human sexuality, at best, is the most unfair among all living creatures. At worst, it is 'inhuman'. Apart from Men being the main benefactors, in a lighter vein, the second biggest beneficiary is the profession of psychiatry.

My picture is a contrast to what I have written about, because of the tranquility and joy of anticipation in the eyes of the subject.

Pardon me if I have been unfair to the fair or unfair.

Fertility


I shaped the thread, which had fallen on the carpet, until I saw a mother with many wombs, dancing against a starry sky. Some of the wombs carried seeds of joy; some, the doubts and tribulations of the female child. I tried to depict celebration and fear of degradation at the same time, and created a dance pose inspired by Martha Graham: 


Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Invocation


dancing in the dunes
on and under the waves
searching for you in vain
deafened by noise
or indifferent silence

confused

moving aimlessly
above and beneath

what can be expected of you
in return for scratching and searching
every surface and space

what is the secret

Saturday, December 08, 2012

Yin Yang




Yin yang is a concept in Chinese philosophy, according to which the universe is made up of complementary pairs which may roughly correspond to passive / dynamic, female / male, light / dark, etc. They are opposite, but not opposites. Each one enhances the other.

The typical symbol of yin yang:




shows that each part contains elements of the other.

The explanation is not to be supposed to reflect the beliefs of this writer.

Dawn


of knowledge
 which is forever
questions
and more

remaining unanswered
prevaricated
perverted
or exhumed
 from muddled piles
of ignorance
 before the seeking life
is extinguished
and then
another dawn
on and on
off

Thursday, December 06, 2012

Abjection



unborn, or born tomorrow
fine,not being human 
not even a glow-worm 

lost or found