katran

तुम सब से हंस कर बात करती हो न? 

हाँ। 

मुझ से हंस कर मत किया करो 

तो फिर कैसे करूं? रो कर? 

शर्मा कर. 

******** 

तुम सब से हंस कर बात करते हो न? 

हाँ.  

मुझ से हंस कर मत बात किया करो। 

तो फिर कैसे करूं? 

कुछ अचकचेपन से, कुछ अनिश्चितता से। 

************ 

   

चाहिए

"बच्चों को यूं करना चाहिए... " 

कहने वाले 

बच्चों के बारे में नहीं सोच रहे थे 

"लड़कों को ऐसा होना चाहिए" 

कहने वाले 

लड़कों की फिक्र नहीं कर रहे थे 

"लड़कियां तो ऐसी अच्छी लगती हैं" 

कहने वाले 

लड़कियों की अच्छाइयाँ नहीं सोचते 

'चाहिए' में 

'चाहत' नहीं होती 

6th December

6th December. 

This was the day, back in 2005, when I had an important surgery. For some reason, as the day approached this year, I was apprehensive, wondering whether it would bring back memories. Usually, the day passes without one even registering the date but this time, somehow, it was different. 

Well... the day came and went. 

AND, as I tucked self into bed at the end of a very happy day, I realised that 6th December is a milestone, for me to remember how far life has come. How much better it is today than it was on that day in 2005. On that day, I had a lot of faith, and no hope for the future. I had consigned myself to a funeral pyre of being the living dead. To live without happiness, hope, and joy, hanging on to that thing called faith. 

It's not an ideal life. But its much better than it was on 6th December, 2005. 

And so, I ended 6th December, not with bad memories, but a ton of gratitude. 

Book Review: In the Name of God by Ravi Subramaniam

Mystery is a favorite genre, and Ravi Subramaniam used to be a favourite author. After "Bestseller she wrote", here is another book that starts with a lot of promise and delivers at least some of it. 

The plot starts with a temple in Kerala, and the real names and incidents used in the book are a hallmark of RS's books. They make the books interesting and relatable. 

The story telling is rather gripping - gripping enough to keep you up long after bedtime, so if you have not read a book in a long time and you wonder when you will get hooked to books again, if ever, this book is definitely worth a shot. 

BUT, this book should have been at least 200 pages shorter. As a reader, I don't enjoy pointless red herrings and meaningless meandering. 

There aren't too many plotholes, but its not a tightly crafted tale either. In fact, the sheer number of themes that have been put in a single book - from Mumbai blasts and temple vaults to rich Mumbai jewelers and Chennai antiques export - makes for some distraction while reading the book. Its like we live in one world - where the valuers reach the vault every morning and then mysteriously people start getting killed, and suddenly we are moved to Mumbai, then to Chennai, then back again. One plot can and usually does have multiple connections, and the export of antiques is a relevant side thread, but Mumbai most certainly is not. 

The book is well-researched, so one is not likely to find the treatment of any of these real life events flippant or insincere. In fact, it is so well crafted that you wonder whether these events may actually be connected in this way. Most certainly appears to be plausible. 

The end appears rushed, and the connections didn't all make sense. But they were brought forth well. 

Surprisingly, we still don't know if the king was helping himself to temple riches - the question with which the book begins is not answered right till the very end. 

As a reader, I enjoyed the book, but would have enjoyed a shorter, crisper version even more. 

Rebel without cause

कविता, लाल रंग की नहीं होती 

न कागज 

न कलम, न स्याही 

पर खून टपकता है 

कुछ कविताओं से 

क्यूंकि 

हाथ सने थे 

खून में 

कविता लिखने वाले के। 

This poem is about poetry of hate, masquerading as poetry of protest. I have often criticised those who provoke but take no responsibility for the actions caused by their words. Poets, unfortunately, top that list, even above politicians. Because a politician is rarely taken at their word, and a poet is rarely doubted. 

Katran - back of my hand

He: I know you like the back of my hand. 

She: That is not a statement on how well you know me. That's proof of how little you know about the back of your hand. 

#Roasted. 

Happy Birthday, Friend! - A Birthday wish

What do I wish for thee? 

A little love, a little envy 

A little sorrow, enough joy. 

Someone to live for 

An ideal to die for 

This, I wish for thee. 

A home to call your own 

A heart that beats for ye 

Warm bread on the plate 

And a view that suits the eye. 

This, I wish for thee. 

Farsightedness to see 

life's ephemerality 

Yet to know the joy 

brought by a butterfly 

This, I wish for thee. 

What do I wish for thee, 

All eternity. 

Nataraja, Shiva, and dance

The Nataraja roopa of Shiva is considered Rudra... the angry one, and is therefore not worshipped in the homes. 

But the Shiva who dances is not angry. Shiva loves dance. Shiva is mridul (soft) in dance. 

Shiva loves to dance. Loves the soft rhythm and the flow. 

The Nataraja roopa mudra is angry, but it is not representative of the relationship between Shiva and dance. In it, as the name goes, he is the king of dancers, but not one in tune with his own inner flow. For in that, there is no raja, only vileena. (Vileen - to merge into something) 

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!