When all the frenzy's died down,
And I get some time alone,
I think of what life would have been,
If you hadn't left home.
There in the bunk bed with me,
I know you'd understand,
When the rest of the world refused,
You'd be there to hold my hand.
There in the bunk bed with me,
We would together decipher life,
And find the courage to face the world,
Together- in good, and times of strife.
There in the bunk bed with me,
I knew I'd be myself.
It's because I trust myself to be more honest with you,
Than even with my own self.
There in the bunk bed with me,
The beds were two- but soul one,
The sorrows divided, the joys multiplied,
Our race against life was won.
Everything was such a dream,
And we were stradling the highs...
...But destiny is a cruel thing,
And it willed otherwise.
Now, the distances separate us,
And the unfortunate circumstances,
But I pray you'll be there to help me match step again,
With life, in its many dances.
Until then I will miss...
Those late-night cathartic masterpieces,
Those numerous assuring smiles,
Those laughs, those tears- so unapologetic,
Those giggles that could be heard for miles...
The world is kinda blurry now,
I search for sense somewhere,
And at the end of every disillusioning day,
I find myself wishing you were there...
There in the bunk bed with me,
A mere thought apart,
I close my eyes, reach out to your bed,
And feel you in my heart.
The bed next to me may be empty,
But your presence in my life will never,
Because a lot of who I am today is because of you,
And that'll be true forever...
Monday, December 10, 2007
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Haunting Questions
Sometimes at the end of a tiring day,
I feel the good and the bad, the happy and the sad,
Blurring into a single question:
What is the purpose of my life? Why am I here? Why now?
And suddenly, the recent drama,
the heartbreaks, the victories,
are reduced to miniscule moments.
I feel small, compared to the enormity of my task.
A mere tool for life to achieve its purpose.
Will I succeed? Will I fail?
Do I have it in me to carry the flame of humanity?
The numerous successors before me,
Seem to have left no clue.
It's still all opaque.
But there still seems like a cosmic conspiracy is forever brewing,
Like everything is staged.
Like somebody's forgotten to give me the script,
But everyone else is on perfect cue.
My biggest fear continues to be...
Will I go through life without even knowing the real purpose?
Or worse still...
Will I live my purpose without even knowing it?
Haunting questions, indeed!
I feel the good and the bad, the happy and the sad,
Blurring into a single question:
What is the purpose of my life? Why am I here? Why now?
And suddenly, the recent drama,
the heartbreaks, the victories,
are reduced to miniscule moments.
I feel small, compared to the enormity of my task.
A mere tool for life to achieve its purpose.
Will I succeed? Will I fail?
Do I have it in me to carry the flame of humanity?
The numerous successors before me,
Seem to have left no clue.
It's still all opaque.
But there still seems like a cosmic conspiracy is forever brewing,
Like everything is staged.
Like somebody's forgotten to give me the script,
But everyone else is on perfect cue.
My biggest fear continues to be...
Will I go through life without even knowing the real purpose?
Or worse still...
Will I live my purpose without even knowing it?
Haunting questions, indeed!
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Language- a Reflection of our Attitudes
In our house, we speak six languages. And more often than not, we speak a language that is a mix of a few, if not all of them. To us, its perfectly normal, but imagine the plight of the outsider! Even if they know half the languages, chances are they won’t understand the conversation. Now, imagine the confusion if this happened across the country- or worse- across the world!
Language today, I believe, is an honest reflection of our complacent attitudes. We like short-cuts, we don’t care a tuppence for perfection. We learn a language to communicate with those who speak it, but we rarely strive to know every bit of it. Our easy fall-back excuse is that Hinglish is hip, its cool. Just how universal it is, we don’t care! You don’t need to step out of India to realize that, just go a little south of this very peninsula, or into the heartlands of our country: the villages- and you’ll find lesser takers for your new-found ‘cool’ language.
Another favourite fact that people harp endlessly about is the inclusion of Hindi words into the English dictionary. Now, if you enter an English speaking country and start using those words and nobody understands, are they at fault for not having read every word in the English dictionary, or are you the stupid one for expecting them to?
According to me, there are few better ways of exercising one’s intellect than learning a new language. And there are few things more beautiful than listening to someone who has mastered a language speak. Today, there are so many things lost in translation. And the only cure is to know the different languages as well as we can. For different as they are, they- quite ironically- help in breaking all barriers!
Language today, I believe, is an honest reflection of our complacent attitudes. We like short-cuts, we don’t care a tuppence for perfection. We learn a language to communicate with those who speak it, but we rarely strive to know every bit of it. Our easy fall-back excuse is that Hinglish is hip, its cool. Just how universal it is, we don’t care! You don’t need to step out of India to realize that, just go a little south of this very peninsula, or into the heartlands of our country: the villages- and you’ll find lesser takers for your new-found ‘cool’ language.
Another favourite fact that people harp endlessly about is the inclusion of Hindi words into the English dictionary. Now, if you enter an English speaking country and start using those words and nobody understands, are they at fault for not having read every word in the English dictionary, or are you the stupid one for expecting them to?
According to me, there are few better ways of exercising one’s intellect than learning a new language. And there are few things more beautiful than listening to someone who has mastered a language speak. Today, there are so many things lost in translation. And the only cure is to know the different languages as well as we can. For different as they are, they- quite ironically- help in breaking all barriers!
A Myopic Epidemic!
A certain Richard Gere plants a kiss on an unsuspecting Shilpa Shetty and has a warrant issued against him for the oh-so-sacrilegious act; a designer-sari-clad Aishwarya gushes over hubby AB as he talks to the thousands of TV cameras in font; a look-at-me-I’m-not-dressed-as-a-police-inspector Jackie Shroff talks about… dabba-walas of Amchi Mumbai. “And oh yeah, we’re here only to spread awareness about AIDS- that deadly, deadly… (what is it again?!). And it’s not about us, it’s only about them- the poor victims. The whole world needs to hear their inspiring stories…” Right! When they get a break from your desperate publicity seeking stunts maybe?
Another World AIDS Day gone by with the same celebrity tamashas. What is the best way to get noticed if you don’t have any films lined up in the next few months? What’s the best way to make a place for yourself in the hearts of the public after a series of duds? What’s the best way to go from a nobody to a somebody? Go support AIDS! (Read: Go to a mega-glamorous function with half the media persons in the entire country present, kiss a few kids, dance with a few of ‘em- since your last movie didn’t have an item number, and talk at length about how much better a place the world will be if we together eradicate AIDS)….Yeah I know. It sounds like a cynical rant, but it couldn’t be more true.
They did get a few facts right. AIDS is a dangerous, incurable, life-threatening disease that needs attention- because prevention is the only known cure to date. But what has made the celebrity support so nauseating is that it has made AIDS almost glamorous, and certainly sounding like the last disease left on earth! What happened to killer diseases like TB, Polio, Hepatitis, Malaria that plague India to this date, and to which we haven’t found any solutions either? Oh wait, they’re not so important coz half the world doesn’t even know about them! Right? Wrong! Listen to this: More people die of these four diseases in India, than the number that succumb to AIDS globally every year. And a lot of it is thanks to the age-old problem of lack of awareness. Maybe the celebrities need to take off their blinkers and take a look around.
To face the truth, the search for a cure to the deadly illness has come to a grinding halt. There are the condoms, and… what else? Stories of new contraceptives being invented grab a select few moments in the spotlight and disappear into oblivion. In contrast, diseases like Malaria, Hepatitis and TB can be cured if detected in time. Our fervent Polio Campaign has also taken not one, but several steps backward. We have over 720 cases of polio detected this year, a record enough to dislodge Nigeria- the earlier top ranker. And we complain we’re not the best at anything!
The only hope now is that these myopic celebrities get a new pair of spectacles- or take a back seat. They have the power to attract the crowds, only wish they would exercise some discretion, and some much needed sympathy.
Another World AIDS Day gone by with the same celebrity tamashas. What is the best way to get noticed if you don’t have any films lined up in the next few months? What’s the best way to make a place for yourself in the hearts of the public after a series of duds? What’s the best way to go from a nobody to a somebody? Go support AIDS! (Read: Go to a mega-glamorous function with half the media persons in the entire country present, kiss a few kids, dance with a few of ‘em- since your last movie didn’t have an item number, and talk at length about how much better a place the world will be if we together eradicate AIDS)….Yeah I know. It sounds like a cynical rant, but it couldn’t be more true.
They did get a few facts right. AIDS is a dangerous, incurable, life-threatening disease that needs attention- because prevention is the only known cure to date. But what has made the celebrity support so nauseating is that it has made AIDS almost glamorous, and certainly sounding like the last disease left on earth! What happened to killer diseases like TB, Polio, Hepatitis, Malaria that plague India to this date, and to which we haven’t found any solutions either? Oh wait, they’re not so important coz half the world doesn’t even know about them! Right? Wrong! Listen to this: More people die of these four diseases in India, than the number that succumb to AIDS globally every year. And a lot of it is thanks to the age-old problem of lack of awareness. Maybe the celebrities need to take off their blinkers and take a look around.
To face the truth, the search for a cure to the deadly illness has come to a grinding halt. There are the condoms, and… what else? Stories of new contraceptives being invented grab a select few moments in the spotlight and disappear into oblivion. In contrast, diseases like Malaria, Hepatitis and TB can be cured if detected in time. Our fervent Polio Campaign has also taken not one, but several steps backward. We have over 720 cases of polio detected this year, a record enough to dislodge Nigeria- the earlier top ranker. And we complain we’re not the best at anything!
The only hope now is that these myopic celebrities get a new pair of spectacles- or take a back seat. They have the power to attract the crowds, only wish they would exercise some discretion, and some much needed sympathy.
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