दिवाली पर मुकरी

साँझ ढले पर वा सज जावे 

देखत ही मन हर्षावे  

अंतर्मन कर दे उजियारा 

एक उसी से सब तम हारा 

स्वर्ण सी आभा, जैसे राजन 

मन को सादो, जैसे कीप।     

का सखी, साजन? 

ना सखी, दीप! 

क्षणिका

अदल बदल कर 

कानों में डलते रहते हैं 

तेरे जुमले 

मेरे झुमकों से हैं पिया 

Excerpt from the poem - Rain and Riches by Sunil Sachdev

 In its truest sense

the rainbow should come 

before the rain 

as 

then at its end would be 

not only 

a pot of gold 

but a shower 

of rubies 

 and gems

and diamonds 

Great Indian Recipe: Parliamentary Brick - Poems by Sunil Sachdev from the book U Turn

 Carefully select one well-grown 

and thick skinned student leader 

dress him up like a chicken 

then put him in a kneader 

the purpose of the kneader 

is to make a spineless dough 

but the thick skin should remain 

to tell half truths and to bow

now put this special dough 

in a national party mould

party name is not important

provided its leaders are old 

keep the mould in a furnace 

lit by communal fires

and blow air mixed with slogans 

to brainwash and inspire 

when this hardened lout turns 

red and yellow and white 

you know he is ready to change 

colours, and wear what's right 

the 'brick' is now ready 

to lay another foundation 

to join Indian politics 

serve parliament and nation. 

क्षणिका

मैंने तुमसे नहीं सीखा 

गिर कर सम्हलना 

तुम्हारा योगदान 

बस गिराना भर था। 

कविता की ज़िद

वो जो छींक 

आधे में रुक जाती है न? 

जिसके आ जाने तक 

सांस रोकने के अलावा कुछ नहीं कर सकते? 

पूरे अधिकार से 

रोक देती है 

जो भी ज़रूरी काज या बात 

कर रहे हों। 

सर्वाधिकार संपूर्णतया सुरक्षित। 

कुछ कविताओं का मन में आना भी 

ऐसा ही है। 

You know that sneeze 

that stops midway

just to demand 

complete attention? 

Where you have to stop doing

or saying 

Whatever it is that you were

saying or doing? 

Yeah, some poems 

come to the head 

in the same way. 

My EVM journey

Yesterday was elections where we live. 

I noticed that on the Electronic Voting Machind, the candidates from the 2 main parties - BJP and Congress were placed next to each other. 

Anyway, I registered my vote but to my surprise, the button next to it lit up. 

I thought, at the time, that i had pressed the wrong button. 

But since the other button belonged to a party that is responsible for the massacre of my family members, I just could not let it go. 

All day and all evening, I kept thinking of how I could have pressed the wrong button. 

And at night, I focused the brain to go back to the moment the button was pressed. The symbol of the candidate is to the left. Which symbol was it when I was pressing the button?? 

It was the right symbol. I did press the intended button, but the machine registered my vote differently. 

I understand this is a serious accusation, and there is no way of proving it bcs there is no CCTV camera inside the booth, but I know what happened here. 

Incidentally, only one party created a ruckus saying that the EVMs can be tampered. It was the party that 'erroneously' got my vote yesterday. 

Even if no one knows, I know. 

Update: The results were announced and the party who got my vote unintentionally still lost. Surprisingly, only in my state, they started talking about an EVM malfunction. No other state where they lost, did they allege EVM malfunction. My sense is that they expected some amount of ground votes (real votes) and some amount of EVM rigging, and that would be the way to win elections. But the rigging did not quite compensate for the lack of ground votes, hence the frustration. However, after this, i will never allege that EVMs are incorruptible. I stand corrected through personal anecdotal experience. 

Book Review: U Turn by Sunil Sachdev

This book is now out of print. It came out in 1992. 

Every book belongs to an era. 2024 is not the right era for half of this book. But for the other half, it is still relevant. 

The writing is crisp and intelligent. The metaphors are well drawn. Sarcasm drips in the right dose from every line. 

One of the strangest things on earth 

is a place they call school. 

while the place is meant for learning, 

you learn out of as a rule. 

At some places, there is timeless angst: 

without a motherland to defend, 

a soldier should kill who? 

In a poem called Life Management, he presents a view that many of us will chuckle and agree with: 

The long-term objectives 

vs the short-term goals; 

the debate is endless

but the theory has holes. 

The futility of words is rued at the end of a long poem on the subject: 

Great poets, thinkers, and the like 

will come and go for ever 

they can't change a thing

but fill library shelves forever. 

It is in education and politics that his comments are most incisive. One can debate their practicality, and that is what makes them food for thought. On education: 

The whole outlook on education 

needs a revolutionary U-Turn 

each to his needs should be the aim 

not to his age as is the pattern. 

Love for nature is also very evident at more places than one. But this paragraph stands out: 

It its truest sense 

the rainbow should come

before the rain; 

as 

then at its end would be 

not only 

a pot of gold 

but a shower 

of rubies 

and gems

and diamonds. 

The poems I especially liked are Coloured Vision, and the series on Indian recipes. 

Coloured Vision: 

If green is the colour 

of leaves

It can't be the colour 

of envy. 

If blue is the colour 

of the sky 

how can I ever feel blue? 

If red is the colour 

of the glowing sunset 

how can it mean danger? 

If black is the colour of 

a starry night 

how can black bring bad luck? 

If white is the colour 

of a new born day 

how can white stand for mourning? 

Reason #142587 that I love secondhand books: I got an author signed copy of the first edition - 1992!!! 

झूठे

तुम्हारे बोल 

का क्या मोल?