Shattered

When the pieces fall down

And break your heart

Tears well up

But refuse to trickle down

When you want to cry in anguish

Instead you smile

Your agitation hidden inside

A storm brewing up

You hope the path that has been laid down

Is the one which will bring you happiness

Black Love

Wish I was in the deep dark place

And stayed there forever

Black roses entwined

In a garden where death grows

Because I am crashing like never before

Melted Wings

You gave me wings

And now you are taking them away

I am falling down

Waiting for a hand to catch me

Looking at the stars

Hoping for the moon

I feel the cold air on my face

As I see the earth

Ready to swallow me

As darkness readies

To envelope me

The Waltz

The waltz begins again
Even before the last dance has ended
A step forward
A step backward

Sometimes in tandem
Sometimes not
At times fumbling and hesitant
At others confident and sure

She looks at him
And all the old fears rush back
As she maintains composure
There is a torrent inside

The struggles have begun
She is torn inside
And she can walk away
She assures herself

She sees the signs
The pattern starts to repeat
Will she dance again
Will she be free

And the waltz begins again
Even before the last dance has ended
A step forward
A step backward

P.S: Wishing everyone A very happy and properous Diwali

P.P.S: God... I'll do the tag after this post...

Untitled

Oh Mother! Look I killed my brother
You taught me this
When I was born
You said he was the enemy
And now they tell me – he was my friend

The hatred you taught me
And the colours – saffron and green
You said they were meant to be apart

I did it in Ayodhya
And in Bhagalpur
I went to Ghodhra
While passing through Mumbai
I did it in Benaras and Jaipur too

And now we point fingers at each other
And kill each other without blinking an eye
Oh Mother! Is this all you could teach me?

History books say we fought against each other centuries ago
But together 60 years ago
And now we are fighting against each other again
History repeats itself – some admonish me
History teaches – others say

But isn’t it a losing battle
Eye for eye makes us blind, Gandhi said
Oh Mother! Aren’t we blind enough already?

Are you waiting for the day, when in darkness we can’t see
Will you be filled with glee
Or will you be angst ridden
Are you waiting for us to learn another lesson
Or have we come too far already

--------------------------

Update

There are many people who we interact with, who don't just keep the prejudices in their hearts but systematically spread them too. Only if they were given the power to see what lies on the other side, were given unbiased information, they would be able to decide what they want to believe in and discard propaganda.

A movement called 'anti-tags' stems from that idea. It is anti-communalism, anti-extremism and anti-polarization and pro-information. Some might also call it secular, liberal or even pseudo-secular-liberal. It believes tags don't matter because it just wants to be the bridge that closes the gap between the 'real' and the 'assumed'.

How Can You Help?

Tell us your story. Did you face communal backlash? Did an incident change you? What do you think of propaganda in media and politics? How is it ruining our social fabric?Share it on 'anti-tags'. Age no bar, gender no bar, religion no bar, caste no bar. Leave you name or send it anonymously. Our email is antiDOTtagsATgmailDOTcom

Link: http://anti-tags.blogspot.com/

Reflections

As I was travelling through rural interiors of India in the past few weeks for work, long hours of travel kept me busy with musings and thoughts. Suddenly these words came in my head and kept rolling about.

J'étais enchainée,
Et maintenant je suis libre...

Translation
I was enchained,
And now I am free...

I had written these words some time ago – unfinished thoughts in an unfinished, cryptic poem. Inspired by the vast expanse of green fields of paddy, golden yellow fields of wheat and sunflower, the blue sky turning shades of orange, pink and cobalt I really wondered if I was enchained and whether I am free now.

J'étais enchainée,
Et maintenant je suis libre...
I thought so
As I lay in my bed on a hot summer night

But what are chains
Are they not meant to be broken
If they are
Would I be free

Oh! But what if it’s not a chain
It never crossed my mind
What I thought were shackles
Were maybe meant to liberate me

What if they weren’t
How am I to know
What lies on the other side
Can I find without going too far

What irony awaits me
Is it that what binds me
Tries to set me free
Or what sets me free, brings me back

Another summer is upon me,
And I wonder if
J'étais enchainée,
Et maintenant je suis libre...

Har Tasveer Kuch Kehti Hai…

A dictionary defines Photo (fo.to) as a representation of a person or scene in the form of a print or transparent slide; recorded by a camera on light-sensitive material. What it doesn’t define are the memories attached it to, the moment captured in time, intangible emotion in a tangible form.


Sepia toned pictures
Childhood captured in rare frames
Black and white pictures of a marriage
Grainy colour pictures of their children

The first fancy dress competition
The front tooth missing
The awkward teenage years
A sulking face

Five friends
One tryst with making Maggi
The convocation
The first sari

The first big party
Cheerful banter
A coffee shop
A shy smile

A lazy afternoon of reading
Carefree laughter
A lovely holiday
Wind in her hair

A chubby baby
A toothless grin
The warmth of family
Captured for eternity

Post inspired by casually traversing through my e-mail inbox and phone memory. And they say technology makes us distant. Hmmmph!

Petals of Life

Making garlands of frangipani
Laughing without a care
She ran as the wind caught her hair
What bliss childhood was

Then he came along
Tucked the flower behind her ear
They walked hand in hand
Oblivious to the world

Decades have passed
She notices the petals strewn along
The white and yellow drying
She knows the end is near