Laudable Achievement

I wonder if cats laud each other,
During community meetings and social get-togethers;
That in spite of living amongst people and rats
They haven’t forgotten how to be cats?

I wonder if the dogs howling at night
Are in fact applauding each other for being so bright;
That in spite of the best efforts by humans to tame them,
Their doggy qualities they have not forgotten.

I see a few smiles, I hear a few laughs.
Is what I am saying so absurd after all?

Do we not so very often hear cries
Of how only in India all religions thrive;
Of how Hindus and Muslims are like brothers,
In spite of those who induce terror;
Of how laudable it is about our country,
That amongst a billion plus people survives humanity?

- Written on 28th December 2006
- Well this is what happens when I see stupid programmes on TV like the stupid person I am ;)

Pneumonic Plight

I sit up all night,
Coughing away all my might,
Struggling to breathe properly,
Craving sleep, craving even a moment of peace.

I wonder how a simple cold
Ballooned into a pneumonic hold.
I feel strangled inside out,
As I feverishly struggle with the lout.

At least I know I will soon be cured.
Even if it is at times death I cheer.
I wonder how other survive,
Those worse off, how do they bear to strive?

I can only salute their spirit
And pray for their strength that they may never desist.


- Written on 28th December 2006
- Well pretty much self explanatory isn’t it? I am suffering from a nice black mood of self pity and martyr syndrome ;)

The Customer

EMI is today’s catch-phrase.
Typically, the middle class have latched onto this craze.
In bygone years people believed in advance payments.
Now, the savvy know there’s more to be gained from installments.
How do I know this?!
Oh! You mean how do I prove this?
Easy! See the matrimonial classifieds:
“Wanted a bride, preferably employed…”
No dowry demands from the educated sophisticate.
Why bother when better returns are assured from a working mate?
The buyers, the sellers, everyone is happy.
Why, there is nary a quarry!
The social workers see no problems
That on Indian tradition there is this modern influence.
Money begets independence I am told,
To speak against this working tradition I am a fool.
But I want to inquire
Do the both sides’ folks get the same share?
Which folks get the most gifts?
Which folks do the couple’s home the most visit?
No dichotomy you say!?
No more dowry, hooray!?
In this age of consumer protection
The girl doesn’t even realize she is the customer – instead she serves!

- Written on 6 December 2006, Wednesday.

Yes! very cynical, very bombastic, very very one-sided but also I think a shade of truth we so easily overlook all the time that perhaps it is time it was highlighted. I am sick of the feminist jargon that does not look beyond asking that girls be given equal opportunity without looking into halving their already existing burdens they pile on more. I am very angry today as you can judge. Blame the holiday that got me seeing a debate on why women should be educated - always for the family's sake (read their husband's burden is halved with them working!) - why don't girls ask how much of house training have prospective grooms undergone when these girls are "professionally qualified" and "preferably employed" why not ask for boys "domestically trained and home loving" whatever the latter terms mean. ;)
chalo maine toh apni dil ki bhadaas nikal di. ab aap ki baari. ;)