Snickering

things laugh at us

Life

life

fragile as a moth's wing

dissolving at the lightest touch

into motes

 borne on a breeze

Nutty

A betel nut tried to liven up a dead leaf with all its toxins and stimulants.

The areca (betel) nut, the seed of the areca palm, is commonly eaten by itself, plain or aromatically treated; or, most extensively,  with any of a variety of leaves, which can be astringent or aromatic and mildly sweet.  These are wrapped around the areca nut, along with lime, catechu, and many sweet and fragrant condiments. These condiments vary according to taste and the specific leaf used. Frequently, the whole thing is a vehicle for chewable tobacco. The mix of leaf and nut is called paan in South Asia.

There is irony in the fact that chewing paan, because of catechu and lime (rich in calcium), strengthens the gums and teeth, but also weakens them at the same time. Paan, like caffeine and nicotine, is chemically very rich and habit-forming, so much so that people who are habituated to it become dysfunctional in their work and effort unless they frequently chew paan as an enhancer of concentration and performance. On the other hand, when an unaccustomed person chews it, palpitation, giddiness, and even fainting can ensue.


In this picture, the nut is shown cut exactly in half. The leaf which is shown is not edible and is not part of the areca palm.
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Hemantha Kumar Pamarthy said...
....aa
apani hi duniyaa me khoyaa rahe wo
hamare dil ki na puchhe bedardaa
puchhe bedardaa

paan khaaye saiyaan hamaaro
hoy-hoy
saanvali suratiyaa hoth laal-laal
haay-haay malamal kaa kurataa
malamal ke kurate pe chhit laal-laal
paan khaaye saiyaan hamaaro.....

Charu said...

Not to forget, in accompaniment of paan and such, its contributions in three other areas; enhancements of romance in Royal households, of eroticism in brothels and ruining streets and staircase landing corners with red spits.

BTW, Betelnut's (Supari's) beautiful markings makes one think it grew upto be the leaf next to it.

Those Without Shadows

shadows

cobweb-like

fill the mindscape

shapeless

unfixed in size

criss-cross events

drained of people

places, significance

unknown, nameless, unfelt

the blinding light

of exploding neurons

of millions of nerve-endings

obscures the definition

between consciousness

and dreaming

with needle-sharp

shafts of light

casting shadows of doubt

shadows of shadows

of shadows

Marsh

marsh.

just as it is,

a tranquil sight to behold

or, a swamp before deluge

before water everywhere

fed up with one particular species

that it produced

plain fed up

with its restless

unceasing pursuit

of insatiable curiosity

gratification at any cost 

that it can bring about

even if the cost is terminal

The Veiled Beauty of the Quotidian

Snow to Ice to Water to Apocalypse

Because of man-made climate change and depletion of the ozone layer, the polar ice is melting. Where has this ice/water gone? Into oceans, rivers, other water bodies, and then onto the land, continents, cities; flooding streets and homes.

But that is not all. Depletion of the ozone layer over the the poles has facilitated the penetration of ultraviolet radiation, which affects the 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, 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.

Its effect pervades the innards of the earth, creating rumbles and earthquakes, and many other natural disasters, against which Man is unable to race and win, because he is the guilty party number one.

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.

wombtomb

in the womb is light and darkness, 

gurglings, 

the movement of the thumb to the mouth, 

the need for nourishment, 

the beginning of consciousness, 

the unknown lifeline of the umbilicus,

the amniotic fluid that is home 

the tomb is the end 

of light, darkness, 

life, 

memory,

consciousness. 

it is nothing. just nothing. 

not even silence, 

no question of noise, 

no chaos of living.

Nostalgia

my journey

into time

backward through my mind

took me to

forests of clouds

which became dark

and rained

on the weeds that

indolently swayed

in the luxuriant green breeze

and as it became dusk

I heard my mother

calling out for me

from afar

before I could hurl

the last pebble in the pond

and frightening a frog away

unknowingly made ripples of music

I did not wait to comprehend

the complicated maze

clears into the transparent innocence of

my childhood

and as I think

of all the wisdom

of disillusions acquired

I recognise the unsullied past

of languid time

before I travelled into

the future of dehumanised present

and I close my weary eyes

to run back again into

the one time of my dissolute days

which I can relive without remorse:

through the dense trees

and marshy clearings

and shrill cries of excitement

of playful mischief

and endless capacity

to marvel and wonder

at every small search

and discovery

then I hear myself

calling out for me

in helpless wish

if not to be able to

retrieve my loss

to retain at least

the desire and ability for

nostalgia

In the Land of Dreams

in the land of dreams

in the shadows of clouds

come, come

struggling here

far from hope

come, come,

let's go away

Emergence

(1977)

sea goddess

or a phantom

of empowerment

hope

where and what

is the reality

laid maimed

in a pool of blood

or replacing the fan

to hang from the ceiling

where is it

where is the equality

where is the power