Sunday, May 27, 2018

Colours of a Heart



cleansed of blood
laid bare
to entice
to be taken

---------------
Bhashwati wrote:
Ye to kisi behroopiye ka dil hai...
jis ke rung aur dhung hazaar, bach ke rehna re baba

The composition is a crowning glory of the serviette series.
Rainbow on a platter. Almost.

Friday, May 25, 2018

Palm Calm

Calcutta, 1963

the question is
how lasting, how pervasive
is this calm
in a time which can only surpass itself
in its turbulence and mayhem
as man overruns everything
faster than all the waters 
of seas and oceans and polar ice
can rise


Saturday, May 19, 2018

Back to the Womb


(1965)

my journey into time
backward through my mind
took me to forests of clouds
which became dark
and rained on weeds
that swayed indolently
in a green breeze

as it became dusk
I heard my mother calling me
before I could hurl the last pebble
into the pond
to frighten a frog away
and make ripples of music
I could not wait to comprehend

the complicated maze clears
into the transparent innocence
of my childhood
and as I think of all the wisdom
of disillusion
I recognise the unsullied past
of languid time
before I travelled into the future
of a dehumanised present

I close my weary eyes
to run back into the one time
which I can relive without remorse:
through the dense trees and marshy clearings
shrill cries of excitement
playful mischief
an endless capacity to marvel and wonder
at every small search and discovery

then I hear myself calling out for me
in helpless desire
if not to be able to retrieve my loss
to retain at least the ability
to live while I last
with nostalgia

Friday, May 04, 2018

Arctic Sun



Because of man-made climate change and the depletion of the ozone layer, the Arctic sun has reduced the snow by almost 90%. Where has this snow gone? Into oceans, rivers, water bodies, and then onto the land, continents, cities; flooding streets and homes.

But that is not all. The depletion of the ozone layer over the the poles has conversely facilitated the penetration of ultraviolet radiation, which affects earth, its creatures, weather and life itself.  When this phenomenon of reduction of the ozone layer had not taken place, it was protecting all life, and controlling more or less all weather in a particular system and order in the planet earth.

Now, that protective ozone layer has been progressively reduced to smithereens. The behavior of water bodies has gone haywire, and therefrom springs unseasonal heat, rain, storm, flood, and countless other inclemencies, causing enormous harm, disease and death to creatures of every hue and kind; to forests and vegetation; and to almost everything else on earth.

Is this process of disintegration of the planet as Man knew it restorable, renewable? I have no answer. I would be grateful if someone has, and if I come to know about it before my time is up.

Tuesday, May 01, 2018

Summer Afternoon


In the past, India generally provided losers at international sports competitions, but this year India has won more medals, including gold, than at any time since the Mahabharata. May this trend continue, and increase.

----------------------
India's performance in badminton at the 2018 Commonwealth Games:

Women's Singles - Saina Nehwal - Gold; P.V. Sindhu - Silver
Men's Singles - Srikanth Kidambi - Silver
Men's Doubles - Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty - Silver
Mixed Team - Gold


P. V. Sindhu (l) and Saina Nehwal