One Day

If you try to find hate in the oppressed; Even with words & abuses hurled at the oppressive; You will find an absence of hate. The hate stems from being hated on, The anguish of feeling inferior for variables beyond their control. Variables that were created by the oppressive to stay in the position of […]

The Jungle

Darkness. No sun rays on the ground. Blood. Carcass. Teeth. Sounds. Birds. Jackals. Hunger. Trees. Rain. Gorillas. Sun. Seeds. Survival is the only solution. No handouts, no absolutions “Feeling”, is a concept that does not exist. Raw. Uncensored. Relentless. Raised fists. You eat what you hunt, no knives no guns. It is not about the […]

I am You

Will there be keen ears to hear the lessons by the hair turned grey? The burning candle flickering through & beyond the pages of yesterday. Will my dear wait & anticipate another prose about her lovely smile? Or the kids rejoice to hear my stance on the historical political demise? Will the people hear about […]

9-5

“Kill your masters & run away”, Said the farmer to the slave. “Run, run till your soles cannot anymore Make, make that necessary escape. They will kill you for their empire Till you are a walking corpse, Then feast on your body till dawn, And not pay you what you are worth, exploit you like […]

HR 12

Bring me back to life to those summer times I still live here; in your head These recent times might have made me soft But I ain’t dead. When we ran on those lanes where we belonged And fell together and bled When the coffee tasted sweeter & the movies more intriguing Where waters ran […]

Sidhu Moose Wala

My thoughts I know that burn a hole Through the pages of the time And innocence can’t comprehend The dying of the light All escape to serenade The preachers of the dawn While you sit to wait and contemplate The meaning of the songs By singers long dead and gone While their echoes are still […]

When did we?

All crave & pray to the same evil That will take away their life Conqueror of thought & views Demon of the night All of us will die away Repeat the same mistakes History revisited, no rectification. Same results, same commotion. While the dead wither away from disease & hunger. The prime leader grows in […]

Do you know?

Do you know the peace when love is happy & true? Do you know when you smile at night the moonlight becomes you. The chaos, the disaster, the havoc, the wreck; All in the rear view mirror, forgotten and dead. The only moving parts are the road we are on, our lips when they meet […]

The Driver

A survey was conducted by the Central govt. of India regarding the condition of roads, with emphasis on the National and State highways, and the sample consisted of truck drivers, known to commute & shift load from one state to another. One question stated: “Which road/highway do you consider to be the best?”; this is […]

Teri wafa me daga thi

Teri wafa me daga thi jaan-e-jaan Kyu ki agar kaatil zamaana tha To bhi ishq to nibhana tha Agar nibhaati to ye bagairat zamana na hota Aur tere aashiq ka pata maikhana na hota Teri wafa me daga thi jaan-e-jaan. Kyu ki agar ishq ka paimana tha To abba kya kahenge to bahana tha Abba […]

I spoke? Naught.

I saw the burning houses on the second cross street. I heard the charred women screaming for their charred babies. I smelled the burning mortar on the road fresh beyond its melting point. I spoke? Naught. I saw the mob running to kill the distinct. I heard the scream of the pain while the clubs […]

The Drunkard’s Day

Each morning I wake to the sound and grace Of the birds chirping away innumerable days With their sound giving rise to light While the coffee simmers in the boiling pot And the aroma creates words that guide Till the day brings the gloom, usually by afternoon Pealing away the smiles & shining the pain […]

The truth’s story

True till the end of eternity Lying till the beginning of time, Crushed by the obscenity of the dying And the blood that leaked from the eyes If you wanted the wheels to fall off If you wanted an escape If you wanted the lights to flicker at night If you wanted to continue the […]

The bullets

In the eyes of the shadow of times Reflecting on the nights of contradiction Burning bright like the candle alight Partial truth, partial fiction. No one was there to take the fall I guess we had to commit after all The bombs were heard all over the city Blinding lights, flashing fire, really pretty. Maybe […]

Blue

Echoes, wails, tears, screams. A painter’s canvas, a writer’s ink, a director’s camera and a woman’s reality. If the machine is the factories’, the money is the bosses’, the land is the governments’; What do I own? The wind, the sea, the breeze? Dreams, faith, belief, trial. A young man’s doubts, an adult man’s struggles, […]

The Wrestler

Blood on the canvas The sweat drenched carnival The lights above us The 3 count and it will be over The curtain call; the passing of the torch. The ‘roids have kicked in; the veins are engorged. A career taking bumps, the lost brain cells The deathmatches, the last man standings, the hell in the […]

‘MURICA

It is hysterical that a criminal is a vestibule to the inner demons of a bloody afternoon that was created long back by a road map of kidnap of chance to those that worked hard & maintained patience by men … that will condone a woman not being able to choose whether she wants a […]

Must be her

What abysmal plot is this devious life? Lovers by day, strangers by night. Masquerade, facade & charade. Laughter, kisses, smiles & wait. Drifting words with coffee on an afternoon. Petrichor on the first day of monsoon. Eyes, scent, embrace & wait. Days going slow, but years running late. Through the cracks of the draught of […]

some other day

Hello, my dear old friend. I hope we can go back to how it began. Beyond the screens, the chimneys & the steam. Before the gourmet, buffets & ice cream. Beyond the clouds of smoke & the slavery of nine to five To a place where the only worry is that play ground with the […]

Children’s kites

On the confession stand, I ain’t the true man. Do you forgive the sins when I stagger back drunk again? Shining through the still road, comes a bike from far away. Burning the street & burning the light, he plans to not stay On the brink of utter destruction, he will fight them all. Even […]

The harmonica

Somewhere in the distance, the man in the shadows holds a play There is no depth to the circus, the old men say On their knees, arms folded, they get together & pray Sight charred, broken arms, waiting for the new day. Let it be stated & confessed, every hour is a punishment Crowded to […]

Hosh me aane do

Hosh me aane do samjha dunga Insaan ujaad veeraniyan Ankahi ansuni kahaniyan Jab aayi aakhir milne Soch ke lagi khilne Kis tarah izhaar karegi Samay lekar thi nikli Jaise ho fuul par titli Chodd ke aayi thi bandhan saare Sanket the tootte taare Jab pahochi manzil par Toh insaan nahi mazar tha Par phir bhi […]

The Last Lear

Through the paintings on wall And the tapestries made of gold Simmering on the surface Just beneath the visible layer Is the dying truth The Last Lear And the paintings were sold And the tapestries are now old But the lustre of the truth remains Though invisible to those that can’t comprehend The beginning of […]

Planet Earth. Just one.

Kings and queens bow down their heads For the light beyond the big red’s nest And on those grounds unfounded Comes that nefarious sound And the grounds rattle, breaking the shackles Of the violence caused by man And the reality dawns, from the crooked bones That all is grain of sand. And while I take […]

Her Story

Piercing the veil to the place where she hides & cries At least once in her life, a woman dies. Some stay quiet, some speak out Some are encouraged to keep silent, on others they cast doubt. She is asked to be strong; to be better equipped Sons get impunity, hence they remain pieces of […]

Freestyle

The torments that followed me I break away from. The demons that were gonna prey I eat away on. My past dies with every flickering thought of my conscience I survive as I smile on my sins and bones. I victimise the crumbling demons. I sing tunelessly and without rhythm. The spine on the pine […]

Go and See

Have you ever seen the waves at the horizon that look calm and discreet? Have you seen that shadow boxer sparring under the tree? Have you observed that boy running barefoot in the field? If you have seen them, they are me. If not, go and see. For they carry fight, and fight is me. […]

Renounce The Obvious

The principle concept of socialisation is to get more clarity and insight into one’s own mind. The best listeners that listen, listen to get insight into their psyche. The speakers speak to know more. Approval or disapproval are secondary. The process of either learning, un-learning or relearning is the ultimate goal. If your biases change, […]

again

the society swallows the reality in gossip truth disappears like tears in rain. nothing hurts, everyone goes about their day no thoughts, no feelings, no pain. the silence swallows what could have been. the truth slips away like sand from the hand. with each unsaid word, a new beginning dies i ask you to believe […]

voices

drifting sentences

An unexamined life is not worth living. Giving ‘meaning’ to life is a vital distinction between human beings & others. There is a difference between the hatred of the oppressor & the oppressed. Who knows what was the meaning of everything we lived, I am just glad I lived it. Religion ruins life. Weak men […]

reality/fantasy

i know the reality of the world but for my sanity the fantasy shall remain grieved by the hunger enshrined and the dead and rotten raised for the divine fastidious gods fed by drunken knaves solicitous and blind to the slaves corrupt lords & dead ladies crimson rivers and smothered babies i know the reality […]

R.

Repudiation. Of the reality that everything is numbered. The wrinkles on the face are increasing just like the candles on the cake. The lessons learnt many & the experiences few. The pages piling up on the desk more than the stamps on the passport. The wallet is getting thicker but the time to spend it […]

Gone By Dawn

So stereotypical of the night to play these tricks again Bullies & their targets mix again Attempting to sabotage, whatever rationality is left about With enough sentences phrased to leave no room for doubt. And the prisoners are asking him to stop. To view smoke and hear cough Deranged by the blocks, that are closing […]

BEING OUTSIDE

Stood for Life the strength of the might a rendezvous at night a secret told to a wife Stood for the Sun the hope to live as one the chance to see light and the day that begun Stood for Roads that contained serenity of a long forgotten street a lost opportunity Stood for Freedom […]

Always

This is the note I always carry in my wallet. In the time of your life, live—so that in that good time there shall be no ugliness or death for yourself or for any life your life touches. Seek goodness everywhere, and when it is found, bring it out of its hiding place and let […]