A Portrait Of His Love

Shiver,

And my fists tighten.

Whisper,

And his grip strengthens.

Music,

My moans to his ears.

Playing,

His love with my fears.

Touch,

He withdraws and I crave.

Coy,

To his love, an eager slave.

Closer,

His breath, his sly grin.

Heat,

His skin on my skin.

Persistent,

His burning gaze.

Abashed,

Tender body, vulnerable face.

Deep,

In passion we fall.

Bliss,

Two bodies, one soul.

Afremov, on my blog after long.
His colors lend the best effect to my words, I feel.

Note - This poem has earlier been published in The Viewspaper, as an entry to Ode to Keats campaign. 

For You, A Thousand Times Over

No.

I do not relish the sound of those drums.

They hurt my ear, I prefer gentle strums.

But holding your hand,

I’ll learn to like this band,

If it is loudness which you prefer

For you, my dear, a thousand times over.

Yes.

I like raindrops tickling my nose

You dread the downpour, the chilly wind which blows,

I want go out and dance with you

Reluctance in your eyes gives me cue

I close the door, shut out the drizzles,

For you, my dear, a thousand times over.

No.

Cold is not my greatest friend

But your home is a snow covered land

I’ve been nourished under the scorching sun

When you went out, you came back burnt

I’m not sure how, but I will brave the winter

For you, my dear, a thousand times over.

Yes.

You love me as much as I love you

Here’s bliss aplenty, and pains very few

You’ve held my hand in every strife

And said, “Loving you is a way of life”

Not once, but from when I can remember,

Your voice has assured, always, forever,

“For you, my sweetheart, a thousand times over.”

(This  poem has been previously been published in The Viewspaper. You can find it at this link - http://theviewspaper.net/for-you-a-thousand-times-over/)

Lost Libido and other Gulp Fiction by Salil Desai - A Review

I have no idea what gulp fiction means. Is is the kind of fiction which is so awesome that it makes you gulp? Or makes you choke with excitement? Or makes your heart stop momentarily under the thrill it creates? Whatever it is, it is a potentially amazing, rather, fatally amazing genre of fiction to experiment with. And Salil Desai, in his third book, has done a marvellous job of introducing and promoting this new and curious genre of writing in the market.

I am still gasping from the effect the second last story of this compendium - called Lost Libido and other Gulp Fiction - had on me. I could talk about that one story at length, and of course, Cul-De-Sac, the name of the story I am caught under the spell of, happens to be my favorite of the lot. It is funny, innovative, creative, weird, weirder  and just so exhaustively awesome, that despite being one of the longest of this 17 story collection, I still wished it wouldn't end. I wanted it to give me more moments of hilarity. I wanted to see to what level the author's imagination could stretch. And stretch it sure can. Not so much imagination as wit and observation. Salil Desai, in this collection of short stories drawn from mundane lives of urban individuals has proven himself to be a master of both - wit, observation - and perhaps a lot more. 

Lost Libido and other gulp fiction is a book which single mindedly sets out to dwell on the darker side of humans. When Angel Lucifer was expelled from Heaven and given the unholy title of Satan, he vowed to keep extracting revenge from the most dear creation of God - Man. And he did not stop at the exit gate of Garden of Eden. He followed Man to Earth, and is almost as important an influence in Man's daily activities as God, or Goodness is. Only we seek to refute this obvious fact time and again. Salil Desai's book will not paint any heavenly pictures of human existence. It will not tell you how beautiful life is, how goodness always triumphs, how truth is consistent, or how love is the basis of existence. It will show you a mirror of your lives, our lives. It will tell you how an average individual, caught in the rigmarole of routine jobs copes up with stress which his confused existence heaps on him. People today, specifically talking of India (since this book uses urban India as a backdrop), are dealing with a life which is always in flux, where competition lurks in ugly manifestations and where desires and expectations often get the better of man. If anything, Salil Desai's book will break the image of a perfect world which you conjure, very specifically in a story interestingly titled - Our Friendly Neighbourhood Murder.

Each story, which finds a place for itself in this anthology, is worth talking about individually. Very few, if any, disappoint the reader. The only reason I had of being disappointed with a few stories was that with the first two stories, Salil establishes a high standard from himself - one that as a reader you fervently hope doesn't dip at any cost. I have said this before, and I maintain - In the mad pace of life all of us have adopted for running towards nothingness with, short stories are ideal breaks one can afford to apply when distractions are sought. Only, be careful of reading a book with as promiscuous a title as "Lost Libido" in public transport. Like I did on my daily journeys in metro. People stare. But that is also fun in a way.

So, anyway, this is a 3.5 on 5 stars book for me. My favorite of the lot were - 

1. Cul-De-Sac - Enough reasons explained above.

2. The Maths Conundrum - As a child, I had a horrendous time trying to cope up with the devil that mathematics was. I understood what little Nakul went through while being unable to cope up with the same, though I had no idea his predicament would acquire such tragic proportions. 

3. Our Friendly Neighbourhood Murder - Dark. Awesome. Brilliant. Leaves you asking for more. 

4. One Monday Morning - A whole family, spending its last happy day together. Why last? Well, read to find out. I only wish the ending gave me more. 

5. A Susceptible Conscience - This story is one in which all of us, invariably, will find an echo of ourselves in. How easily we convince ourselves, how easily we think we deceive the omnipresent powers - read this one to know. 

Quote Quintet - October

October was a hectic month. Very very hectic month. Pleasantly hectic month. Hence this post comes a little late. However, recollecting quotes is an activity I enjoy. So, I will continue with the recently begun tradition of posting here 5 of the most impactful lines I came across in the preceding month. Last month was marked with many activities and experiences. I gained professional success, and met with some personal losses too. I saw smiles shining right into my face; I saw tears falling out of tired eyes. I celebrated festivals. I mourned losses. And in the middle of all that, I managed to find some time to note down lines which I would like to remember.

Nothing extraordinary. Simple lines. Important thoughts. Here they are.

On Living

"No human being is illegal."
- Elie Wiesel
(Holocaust survivor and Nobel Prize winner.)
I read this line and I stared at it. I stared at it for minutes, and found its essence to be so profound that this line refused to leave my mind. Live and let live. How difficult is it to understand? How easily individuals, agencies, authorities fall in the pit of trying to determine the kind of existence others should/should not have. Or if they should exist at all. And who better to articulate this thought that a holocaust survivor. I look at my friends from the North-East, and I look at this line. I remember the violence perpetrated in Assam, and I remember notions of peaceful, cohesive existence. Sometimes, its all just hogwash.

On Information Explosion

"It is said that from the dawn of civilization, till 2003, humanity accumulated about 5 exabytes of data; today that much is added in two days."
Sachin Pilot
(Minister of State, Independent Charge, Corporate Affairs)
Whoa. Magnitude. Explosion of data. How much can a human mind cope with, after all. In the face of it all, I have a set of friends too, who just want to feed on knowledge and never stop. Slow down people. There is no way yo make friends with knowledge which has acquired these gigantic proportions.
(Exabytes - A billion billion bytes, just so the mammoth proportions are clear.

On (Alternate) Politics
"Politics is the centrestage of the present system, the stage where system is made or unmade..someone has to accept the challenge of stepping on this stage."
Vision Document of India Against Corruption
(Released by IAC on October 2, 2012, when they launched themselves as a political outfit)
Kejriwal is attempting big. Do his endeavours hold promise? I would be an eager spectator, but a useless speculator. Should wait this one out.

On The Pickwick Fest '12

"What a wonderful festival - superb organization! Thanks for inviting me; I enjoyed all of it."
Nilanjana Roy
(Author of The Wildings. Special Guest and Judge during TPF)
This line came in a form of a text message which celebrated the efforts of each member of the Pickwick Family and boosted their confidence. By God's grace, today, the Pickwick family is close-knit unit, which just refuses to separate. May the good times stay. Always.



On Art
"Good art should not be constrained by boundaries."
Saumya Kulshreshtha
(You know her, don't you?)
It was a happy and proud moment when a quote by me made its way to a news article on The Pickwick Fest in Hindustan Times dates 13th October, 2012. Our festival was touted as one of the most looked forward to events in Delhi during mid-October. That's how we do Jamia proud! And in the above quote, I tried to explain the rational behind bringing to great authors, from different linguistic and geographical backgrounds together in our festival - Charles Dickens and Saadat Hassan Manto. Find below an image of the article.

That'll be all for October. Last two quotes are absolutely narcissistic in essence, but, okay, I do not really mind allowing the spirit of Narcissus entering my mind once in a while.

Happy November and Festive Season to All!

Picture Perfect - October

Not all sibling relations boast of expressiveness. However, all sibling relations do have an undercurrent of love flowing richly through their invisible interiors. This love does not raise its head always; in fact, this love revels in chiding, in taking digs at each other - even in openly refuting the existence of any such love! Softer sides are not for everyone to take pride in. That said, it is also true that this soft, loving side gets activated when one sibling sees the other get threatened, vulnerable or melancholic. Somehow, troubling our brother/sister is entirely our prerogative, isn't it?

The above ranting is to give preface to the most wonderful visual which my eyes grazed on this whole month. It was a post-birthday gift for my sister - and its only once in years I get this expressive towards her. I thought I should share it on my blog.

PS - The super-cheesy lines on this poster are not mine; they belong to Hartley Coleridge.

PS 2- I think sometimes we want to make our siblings feel better so that 'we' (only we and no one else) can regain control on making their lives miserable. Especially if its a younger brother/sister we are talking about. Isn't it?