Mon monde

children of the Fall

2010-11-17T01:10:00.003+05:30

Like traces of paint,

Red,

Smeared on the fingers-

Pink,

In fall, the maple tree-

Old,

Turns a kid again-

Naughty.

dream: a haiku

2010-11-09T02:29:00.007+05:30

Frozen flames;

Put them in a cage,

With my dreams.

PS: Author does not hold copyright to the image. With due regards to the owner of the image

a wait for summer

2010-10-02T06:18:00.007+05:30

Days of fall,
Let them drift away,
Like falling leaves,
Carried away by the wind.

Winter,
You are not cold this time,
For my heart keeps warm,
A soul, unperturbed.

O' Spring, leave my wind chimes;
When you make them sing,
I long,
For those foot steps.

On a stallion of time,
I'll ride through the seasons,
In to the summer,
To sweep you off your feet.

PS: Author does not hold copyright to the image. With due regards to the owner of the image.

my striped blanket

2010-08-09T03:45:00.003+05:30

The straight lines,
Runs from head to toe,
Wrapping me.

Déjà vu

2010-07-17T00:19:00.004+05:30

Traversing a loop,
Crossing the starting point,
When start met the end,
Even the pole star,
Was shining on the south!
Lost in directions,
Even the time stood still..

the journey

2010-07-13T13:30:00.004+05:30

Born at sunrise,
I have miles to cover,
Before the day ends,
In ripples of molten gold.

Born at sunrise,
I have miles to cover,
Before I lose,
The last bit of my innocence.

I need to find,
A place secure,
Before this life,
Steals my childhood.

I need to find,
A place secure,
Before my footsteps turn heavy,
And I sink-

Mature!

watching over a sleeping angel

2010-07-02T04:54:00.003+05:30

Every time,
You close your eyes,
Every time,
You step into your dreams.

I'll stay awake,
And sit by your side,
Wading your nightmares,
Cherishing your smiles.

When you wake up,
My angel,
Before you spread your wings,
And fly away-

Take a look at me,
And grant me that smile,
Once again!

act II

2010-06-30T11:54:00.004+05:30

Dreams,
Colours,
Innocence,
All fade,
In one act-

Of becoming a man!

Based on my photographs here.

clickety click

2010-06-30T01:25:00.003+05:30

My click for the day!

View my gallery!

beyond the boundaries

2010-06-24T04:05:00.004+05:30

Daze cross,
Distances unknown,
Seeking reflections,
In each other's eyes.

Like whirlpools,
Silence thrives,
Swallowing words,
And then licking its fingers.

In time,
The night melts,
And as dews,
Mornings are born.

Distance,
Time,
And words,
They all fail-

In one eternal love!

2010-06-21T01:20:00.003+05:30

I hop away,
From hip-hop.
I hate that crap,
That is called rap.

Filthy words,
And slipping pants;
Swinging hands,
And nonsense rhymes.

You call that-
Music?

valley of flowers

2010-06-20T23:44:00.003+05:30

In my lonely road,
I feel a wind that's new.
One that carries,
The sweet scent of a flower.

I follow the smell,
With my eyes closed.
Beyond the wind,
Into the valley of flowers.

There you stood,
Tickling the wind,
In your garden of giggles,
With your fragrant touch.

I stood mesmerized
Jealous of the wind,
Yearning to be kissed,
By that sweet smile of yours.

and i wonder

2010-06-09T08:27:00.002+05:30

When you tap
To that mysterious rhythm,
I sit here and wonder,
Who must have taught you that!

When you touch,
Gently on my face,
I stare up and wonder,
Where that chill in your finger tips-
Come from!

And when you leave,
Tear marks on my window pane;
I look beyond and wonder,
What pain you hide behind.

Please,
Let it-
Never stop raining!

silent moments

2010-06-09T08:16:00.003+05:30

A thousand words unsaid,

They swirl in the silence

In the space between us.

A thousand seconds fly by,

Melting in the dim light

Of that candle

Dancing to the wind,

Love- ubiquitous.

The whiskey remain,

Half untouched..

Like words

Half unsaid.

We walk away..

Thanks for the chat Supriya leading me to this one. :)

silencing silence

2010-06-05T11:54:00.002+05:30

And I killed the silence
With a hum
Of a song,
The lyrics, I never cared about.

Like a shattered glass,
It pierced,
The stillness of silence,
In a million places.

And I found it dead,
Silence, of the lies.

random thought

2010-05-25T12:15:00.002+05:30

O Purple hair,
Know that it ain't fair;
You may not wail,
For, I love my pony tail.

No More

2010-05-23T08:24:00.004+05:30

The devil in me,
Has shed its evil.
And the fist of mine,
Now seeks no fights.

Green no more,
Is my favourite color;
For no more,
In jealousy I quiver.

Glass full of spirit,
And a soul filled with spirits;
Love no more,
I will, now, find a life!!

Dedicated to all the fools, who love to remain fools, in love- blindly.

bit of time

2010-05-16T09:01:00.001+05:30

Bit by bit,
It eats up my time-
Bit vectors!

hippie haiku

2010-05-13T13:09:00.001+05:30

Hippie life,
A trance of love; With-
Pot and peace

learning to fly

2010-04-19T02:13:00.005+05:30

Miseries and burdens,
What else do they bring?
And every time, I feel-
Why do I need to vent out?

Lies they add,
To the palette,
Of colours,
You paint from.

Wars, they wage
With your emotions.
Burdens,
I got rid of them.

Join me, fly free;
Mankind is better,
When you are there-
Far away, in the sky!!

[PS: The image is not a work of the author. With due credits to the original artist @ http://ccomis.com/]

untitled

2010-04-13T08:10:00.002+05:30

The dawn always broke,
Before the story ended.

The nights always heard,
Strides of her foot steps.

In mesmerizing voice she told,
A new story, yet again.

Myths and legends,
Heroes and demons,

Shook the silence,
Of many moonlit nights.

Death clung,
Like a bud;
Waiting to blossom-
To every dawn that passed by.

The dawn always broke,
Before the story ended.

Thousand and one nights went by,
Before,
A story was told,
The world- about her!

A Change of Season

2010-03-21T07:51:00.006+05:30

Days growing longer,
Shadows living longer;
Spring is here.
The air around,
Proclaims its arrival.

Wind sheds its chill,
Still,
On a fiery horse,
It rides.

Shaking the trees,
Showering the flowers,
Stealing their fragrance,
The way it rides.

Children play
On the mattress of flowers,
Chasing one,
Stepping on another.

Oh! Beautiful nature,
You never fail,
In letting us know,
The birth of a new season.

symphony

2010-01-31T06:00:00.003+05:30

Steps on to the podium,
Takes his bow.
In thin air, his baton draws,
Invisible patterns.

To the first swing,
A breeze plays,
Prelude,
Shivering the leaves.

A brisk move of his baton,
Waves catch up with
A grandeur note,
And then going silent

The prelude over,
Through adagios,
Allegros and allegrissimos
Symphony plays.

Rain comes down,
Playing solo,
To its receding tone,
Birds chirping.

Symphony mesmerizes,
Then as a fugue it plays
Notes of destruction.
Where everything comes to an end.

Alas
When silence plays,
Nothing is heard,
But men, silently weeping.

everything and nothing

2010-01-17T02:45:00.003+05:30

Between everything,
And nothing,
There lies,
A silver braid.

Near the horizon, fragile-
Like a crystal bird,
On a thread,
Everything hangs.

All it takes,
Is a sharp edge,
And everything will be lost,
Leaving us with nothing.

Fire

2010-01-04T07:14:00.002+05:30

I keep staring
At its unending trance,

Sheets
Of gold,
Cladded
With red beads

Feeling the hug
Of a passion so warm;
Filling my soul
With a million thoughts.

Greed-
I know it lingers,
Behind the golden face;
An appetite, insatiable.

a different waltz

2009-11-28T13:20:00.002+05:30

I waltz,
With my shadow,
When they are long,
To hold my hand;
Twilight,
Into the night.

I dance to the whispers
Of wind passing by.
I hum notes of joy,
For having you close by.

Twilight ends,
And comes a time,
When I part with you again,
Silently, into the night.

random thought - haiku

2009-11-28T13:20:00.001+05:30

Little box,
Where numbers, they live,
Matrices.

infinite nothing

2009-11-28T13:17:00.002+05:30

Time and space
Oh, from an endless reservoir,
Yet we cry
The dearth of it all.

Time,
Beyond what we can reach
Space,
Beyond what we can see.

How can it be,
Something so vast,
Can be,
So scarce?

--
29/10/2009

lazy mornings - haiku

2009-11-28T13:17:00.001+05:30

Here comes the morning,
Please let me stay a bit more,
Under my blanket!
--
25/10/2009

lost time - haiku

2009-11-28T13:16:00.001+05:30

Pity me,
My basket of time,
Got stolen!

--
24/10/2009

crossing the line

2009-09-23T08:58:00.000+05:30

One last line,
To cross
It's the edge,
There I stand.

Of walking
Beyond everything
Into nothing,
Crossing the edge.

A moment of thought
A momentary feeling
Eternal fall into the vortex,
Of freedom!

like a memory

2009-09-23T08:55:00.000+05:30

Ripples,
Of memories;

Memories,
That chases words;

Words,
That cast shadows;

Shadows,
I have always feared;

Fears,
Keeping me alive!

A life,
So full of memories!!

Divine Feelings

2009-08-20T12:01:00.000+05:30

Of a relation,
I'll sing;
Of a curtain,
I'll sing.

A curtain,
That caught fire.
One part burning,
And one part waiting.

Part,
Yet to burn;
Fell in love,
With the one on fire.

Eternity of longing,
Minutes of whispers,
Seconds of silence,
It all ends-

In just one divine kiss!

a day like today

2009-07-31T11:57:00.003+05:30

On a sunny day like today
Clouds came,
And filled the sky from nowhere;
On a happy day like today
Despair came
And filled the mind from nowhere.

She looked at the skies,
Wishing that it would rain.
She looked at the my face,
Wishing that I'd never cry!

But when it rained,
When I did cry,
I sought her face,
Among the crowds, of my loneliness;
Drenched in despair!

chamber of tears

2009-07-16T08:59:00.004+05:30

Grant me
An instant death,
For I am the sinner
Held by these walls.

I can stand,
No more screams;
I can stand,
No more tears.

First I lost religion,
Then I lost soul,
I lost my foot hold,
Finally, I'll choke

I wait,
Eternities
Till they steal
My breath away!

volatility

2009-06-01T21:47:00.001+05:30

Words are etched,
In the sands,
Of my mind.

Emotions come,
Riding their waves,
Washing them away.

I sit and sing,
Between the tides,
With those words;

Uneffaced!

Dallas Diaries, Part 1 - Blunders and Wonders

2009-05-29T22:09:00.007+05:30

[Day 0 - 16th Saturday, 2009]
More packing. Looks like I purchased one cabin baggage trolley, which was of the same size of the one I already had.
I went for a haircut first thing in the morning. Possibly, this would be the last haircut for the next one month.
Then went around looking for sugar cubes. Looks like the vending machine in Dallas is one of the kind - drink it once, dont even think about it again type.

The cab to pick me up was booked at 330PM. But finally it arrived at 4PM and I was out of the home (after a series of packing-closing-opening-rechecking exercises, which my roomie can tell about better) by around 430PM.

BIAL
At the Bangalore airport, the Jet Airways lady took my money and gave me false info - moey and upgrade to a first class flight (I thought, why not, also) and then she said the baggage will be collected from JFK and will be transferred to the AA bounded to DFW by them. On Clarification with Nishant, I got to know that it was wrong, and the baggage has to be collected from Jet Airways at the Point of Entry for me, that is JFK, and do the customs check before I can check it in to the AA airlines.

The flight from BIAL to MAA (Chennai) was on time. Flying premiere class for the first time. Everything has its first time, and looks like, my series of firsts just started there. Straight when I got in I was served with some mango juice, fresh, and not in a carton. Then I was given a fragrant cold towels (more about this later, too, which I confirmed was just a face wipe, looking at my nearest co-seater.

Menu was provided soon, and then came the food, served in a visually appealing platter. A sandwich, pieces of cake, sliced mangoes, apple and orange, with a cup for coffee. Food was tasty, so I started taking it slow. Before I finished everything and reached the cake, air hostess reached back asking if she can clear the tray. I nodded not thinking about it, and there it went off, my first first class meal, half unfinished. With a mixed feeling of guilt, I let it go.

Chennai

I reached Chennai airport around 815PM. Chennai airport is a mess, this I have noticed on my last visit here, two days before, for the visa interview. I deplaned the exuberant and exotic Jet Airways Premiere class, thus. The privilege members were allowed to deplane first, and were picked up in a seperate bus - 8 folks in a bus, what a waste of fuel. I guess, economy and ecology is the last thing on the mind when you are in the "high" society!

I checked at the airport how to get to the international departure, and I was asked to take a separate gate outside the domestic arrival exit. I walked with my trolley and bag, and got my passport and boarding pass ready, just like a shield from the Indian red tag procedures. I walked past the domestic arrival exit, a hundred meters and saw a board - entry. I walked in, a security, like in the usual way checked my ticket and my photo ID - passport. Only after getting in I got to know that I had entered the international terminal, and passport was not checked as an ID purpose, but for the first time, the passport was used for its own, real good reason!

There were flocks of people, like sheeps. Most of them looked Tamilians (probably to Malaysia or Singapore) and a lot of Malayalees (to Dubai). There were bustles of people filling up some form, which I failed to understand what. I checked around for Jet Airways counter and no one was there. I found the nearest person with a Jet Airways print on the T-shirt and he said the counters will be open by 9.15PM, which was another good 15 minutes. So I waited. Finally two ladies, with laptops came and took up the post before entering the checkin counter, like the "kavada palakar". They took my boarding pass for MAA to JFK flight, which I got from BIAL. They verified the passport and ticket and asked me what reason I was flying, I said 'business'. She scanned my passport and sticked something on the back of my passport. Then I went ahead in the queue and got the emmigration clearance form (aha, now I know what these people were filling).

Pouring flesh and blood to the form was pretty straight forward, albeit I made some mistakes. Most of the DDMMYY entries had two boxes of larger size, which got me confused. So I went ahead and got another form. This one, I had a concern about my port of final destination whether to be written as JFK or DFW. Jet Airways crew said JFK, which made me even more confused. So called up Nishant, yet again, and he said it doesn't really matter. Finally, I wrote it as DFW (Dallas airport) and proceeded to the immigration clearance queue.

I landed in front of the immigration clearance officer, a lady. She scourged through my passport and visa, and asked me for what reason I was flying. I said business. She asked me what business. I said I am an engineer with Texas Instruments, and I am going there to attend customer meetings. Looks like she was not convinced. May be she was wondering, what a school kid was doing about business and that too customer meetings. She anyways asked me for my invitation letter. I had to unlock my briefcase and take all the documents and hand it over to her. She, finally stamped it, and still I guess, for her the suspicion had not gone away completely.

Next step. Customs declaration. I went to the customs officer and said that I have to declare stuff that I am carrying, and he said not needed. I said I have more than 20,000 rs worth of stuff, and he asked me what all, and I said laptop, camera, media player, headphones.. He said its all allowed. He even said there is a board outside immigration clearance which said these things are allowed, but I was wondering why it was not put at the customs facilitation desk. When I insisted, he said I have to produce the bills for the same. I had for the laptop and he said he needs customs clearance letter, which I did have, from my company. He said I just need to show the same letter at customs when I get back. What ever be the case he wouldn't just give me the certificate. I did clarify with Anand and Vibhore amidst and found out that infact they are entitled to give me the form and signed, and there was no clause about original bills anywhere in their website. Its all about how to get bribes at the customs while returning, I guess, was the deal.

So the round about way, I wanted to try once again. An hour after this initial "hungama" I went back to the customs facilitation counter, expecting that the previous officer would have been off duty and another chap would have come in. But, unsurprisingly, they were all birds of the same feather. I said that I read through the website and all, and still they were not giving me the letter. I asked what if i carry a second laptop (which is allowed by customs norms), they said I'll have to pay duty on it. What the f***K.

Finally I decided to chuck it, walk through the green line, undeclaring all items that I have. And see how it goes. Looks like, better option is to avoid chennai while returning and making it via Bangalore.

I was tired and sick of the fight with the customs folks. I waited in "thrishanku's heaven" for some time, after immigration, before security check for a while. I saw there was a Le Meridian in there, and could recognize a few faces in there, by the window as the same high society people who were there in the premiere class from BIAL to MAA. I moved on.

I was in the security queue, just like that . Queue was long enough, with the same flock of people that I saw at the entry to the international terminal. Security check was brief, as my friend said, they really don't care much about security till the point they can cash it in as bribes, is what I really felt.

The point beyond security check, I thought, would be better. Bad guess! It was just the same, dirty and crowded. I walked around book shops, where books were bounded by a rubber band across them, and a board haning from the roof, which said "No Free Reading". So I decided it was not an option to spend time. I gave into a seat and started battling the buttons with the PSP.

The departure was finally announced, initially asking people with disabilities and infants to board, which was (supposed to be) followed by calls for initial seat numbers and so on. What I heard finally was a boarding call for just everyone, and not just that, the queue was the same for another flight to Singapore. After the boarding check, queue parted into two, one going into the Singapore Airways bridge and one into the Jet Airways 9W 0226 to JFK via Brussels.

9W 0226 is an airbus 350-220, about which I had done a google before hand. It was a big flight. Two storied. I crossed through the luxurious busniess class, thinking when would be the the time I fly a busniess class in an international flight. Then comes the economy class, not much better than a bus full of people. With a 2-4-2 seat arrangement, it was fully packed. I even had trouble to find space to put my cabin baggage near me. Many were asked to deposit the bags far away from the seats. But luckily for me, it didn't come to that.

I reclined into my seat 27A, a window one. I waited for my co-passenger, hoping if not a good looking girl, never a snoring old man. But luckily or unluckily I didnt get both. Seat next to me was empty.

My seat was just behind the wing, the span of which amazed me. It seemed very delicate, rattling and shaking all the while during take off. Finally, the flight did take off.

The entertainment system in Jet Airways is good. I went through the movie guide and found movies like Benjamin Button, Reader and Milk among the list. I found Rock On and Fashion in the Bollywood movie lists.

A while after take off, refreshments were served. I ordered for an Italian pizza from the menu and a cognac with ice and soda as a drink. Finishing that, and asking and re-asking for a blinds, I finally got one. I watched Fashion the while I was eating and drinking, and then changed it to some music, hooked in my Bose headphone with its airplane dual jack pin. I really wanted to be awake when the plane really left India, and so me as well, for the first time.

It was flying over Karachi, and before I got to feel that, I slept off. When I woke up around 530AM, I was some where over Azerbaijan, after crossing over Dubai and Esfahan (Iran). I was awake for a while, and looked down at the blinking lights down below. Lights, unlike in Bangalore, and MAA, I found them to be very segregated and widely dispersed. Probably its the perspective, flying at 30000ft. I again fell asleep.

In a while I could see the Caucasus mountain range, cladded in snow, passing which we were over the Black Sea. I could see where the land ended, with a brief golden yellow line showing me the beaches, finally transitioning to the placid, deep, disinteresting blue of the Black Sea.

I got one of the cabin crew members to fix up my laptop charger so that I could do all this blogging and now I am flying over Bucharest, after getting to the land, after Black Sea, just after Constanta. I guess that's it for a while. I have a juice to finish, and a few movies to watch. I do feel bad of not having a tooth brush. Should I ask for it to the cabin crew, again?

At around 11AM (730AM Brussels) time, the flight landed in Brussels, after flying over Rome. The Belgian countryside is amazingly green. Just the view of the same, during landing made me love it so much, that I said, this is one place I want to live for some time in my life. While descending, instructions were given that everyone, even the ones to continue further to JFK, needs to deplane at Brussels. It also announced specialties of Brussels Airport. Looks like if Belgium is famous for chocolates, Brussels airport is the biggest chocolate seller in the whole of Belgium.

While getting down, I got acquainted with a fellow traveller, an Indian expat to the US. The security queue at Brussels was very long. You had to go through the whole deal of baggage scans, taking laptops out and so forth. Now, at the point when I was crossing the scanner, it didn't beep at all. A Belgian lady at the security started shouting around. I was surprised why. She asked me to collect my baggage and follow her. I did so. She got me to a man, a security personnel. He said this was a random pick for security check. How unsurprising. He checked me thoroughly, then asked me to open my baggage. He checked through everything and finally he kept them back in, in proper order (I don't think Indian version of the security wouldn't even think about it). He wished me a happy journey and I moved on.

Brussels

Lounge at Brussels International Airport

The flight was in Brussels for 2 hours, approximately. I walked into the lounge of the airport - a big, and thoroughly clean one. Walking across a supermarket sort of store, I remembered about the toothbrush. I picked up one and a paste for some 10euros (600rs), and paid it by the company credit card. In between an old lady came and asked me if I speak Hindi, and I said yes. She wanted to buy a toy, and know if they shop accepts Indian Rupee. She wanted me to ask them in English and let her know. They said they do not. Then the old lady wanted to know the price in Canadian Dollars, and I got the information from the shopkeeper. But I could not convert 17 into Hindi. Fumbling, I said 'bees se teen kum'. The man next to me said, 'satrah'. The shopkeeper thanked me for the translation task and asked me to brush and go back to them, so that they can put it in a sealed envelope. I got back and waited at the 'side' of the counter, thinking they would just give me the cover for it, showing the Indian habit of jumping the queue. Then I realized, stood in line, and got my cover, and they sealed it inside, finally.

Another one hour of waiting at the airport, i thought of calling home, and finally thought not to do so, since it might be expensive. Finally, I got back into the flight, and we are now off into the air, another 7 hours flight. Now the flight is over London. Bright sunlight and I can not see anything on the ground.

After crossing over Ireland, it was all Atlantic ocean for a long time. Because of the radiant sun shining over my window, I had to keep the shades down. I finished watching a Tamil movie - 'Abhium Naanum' in between. After boarding from Brussels, there was someone in my next seat, a good looking girl. My lucky day?

New York

A view from JFK Airport

Just an hour before touching down at JFK, the breakfast (or lunch or even snacks depending on your time zone) was served. It was kebab, a pretty good one. My co-seater after the 6.5 hours of the 7 hours flight finally broke the ice. She asked me if NY was my final destination, and I said it was not. She was flying to LA. We talked quite a lot, and found out that she was a undergraduate student at UCI. She is an American born Gujrati, brought up in Coimbatore. Her name was Pooja. She even dropped me her email id. Upon exiting the aircraft we took the way out together. We walked out together quite a distance, and finally parted at the immigration clearance counter, where there were different lines for US citizens and visitors.

The immigration clearance was simple - the officer took my I94 form and stamped it for my entire 90 days, upon me answering that I am in the US for a business purpose.

I was supposed to meet Pooja at the baggage clearance counter. But she wasn't there. Looks like she had moved ahead for her next flight to CA, sooner. I walked out, took my bags, got a trolley paying it via AMEX. At the lounge, I met my cousin Varun. He looked no different than what he looked 1.5yrs back when he left for NY.

We both found our way out, and decided to take the air train out to the NY Subway station at Howard Beach. The air train was free for airport transit people. It was clean and well maintained. At Howard Beach, I finally touched a tarmac outside India. I took some photographs and then got a 20$ metro card for the subway transit. This was for 7$ to get out of the air train station, and another 5$ to board the train. The subway station was an okay one. Train was wretched. It was far worser than the Guwahati-Yashwantpur train I had travelled some time back. In the train there were huge and intimidating blacks, and two black girls playing all circuses. We went over a bridge that spanned over the sea, saw many housing lanes, and got back at one station. That station reminded me of the bleak, dirty, gloomy subway stations of NY depicted in Max Payne the game, and many a movies. I took some photographs of that anticlimactic incident.

Airtrain of NY

NY's subway

NY was cold. I had to wear my sweat shirt. Then we boarded the train again. At Howard Beach, we went out looking for food, but could not find and decent restaurant, other than a meek looking Chinese one, and a pub. So we decided to move on without taking any food.

A street at Queens, N Y

There, I said good bye to Varun, and boarded the air train once again, to terminal 8. While asking for the way to one person who looked very much Indian, I found out that he was in fact Spanish. Then I got into the right train and got down at the right terminal by around 3.30PM NY Time. I went to the reception, and asked how to change my Jet Airways issued boarding pass to a real boarding pass from AA. I was given the way to the counter, and I got it done, finally. Then again I went back to the reception, and asked where I should go next. She said the flight is at gate 1, and asked me to proceed to the security check.

In US, security check is very stringent. You have to even take off the shoe. I had put laptop, my jacket and shoes in one basket, and the security officer told me I have to put it back for check once again, keeping laptop in a separate tray. I did that, and finally I was inside the NY airport. I saw that there was no distinction between international and domestic terminals.

I walked around looking for Gate 1. Amidst got a coffee again on my AMEX card. I also bought a $10 t-shirt that said NY, just as a souvenir. I checked if my Clay connection was finally active, and was able to make a call to Praneeth. He said after me reaching the hotel, I can call him up, and go for a dinner together. Veera was there with him.

My flight to DFW (Dallas Fort Worth) is at NY time 6PM. It should reach Dallas in around 4.5 hours.

Dallas

DFW Airport

I reached Dallas at 9.15PM Dallas (Central) Time. DFW Airport is big. It is the third busiest airport in the world. I had to wait for a long time to get my baggage. Finally, after walking around for a cab, I got one. The driver did not know the address of the hotel where I had to go, but he called up their number and got it clarified. That was a $50 ride.

Hilton Homewood at Markville

My accommodation was arranged in Hilton Homewood Suites. The hotel is good. It is full of people from my same office.

Room at Homewood Suites

The hotel room was exotic, more like a house with a drawing room-dining room-kitchen, a bedroom with an attached bath, and a changing room. It has all the necessities from TV, to refrigerator, to microwave to iron box!

I called up my friend Praneeth, as soon as I checked in the hotel. He came out to pick me up and we went out for the dinner together, and finally I got to travel in an Audi! The restaurant we went for dinner was a nice place. I ordered coffee and omlette. The omlette was so big that I couldn't finish it. It was omlette, filled with chicken and lot of vegetables. Praneeth, my friend, dropped me back at the hotel by around 12 in the night. Without much effort, and jet lag, I fell asleep, just like that.

supernatural

2009-04-07T09:57:00.002+05:30

I'd give up,
Walking on the water,
Just to feel,
How it feels to get the feet wet.

I'll stop flying,
Just to be normal,
Sitting under the blue blue sky,
Wishing if I were a bird.

Make me stop breathing fire,
To feel the warmth,
Of the hand,
That hugs me tight.

Its tough,
To be supernatural,
Tougher,
To be normal!!

things to do

2009-04-07T09:51:00.001+05:30

Let's paint,
The blue sky blue;
Splash,
Black on the night skies;
Whisper,
Among the shouts;
Tickle,
The laughing man.
Let's do all these,
And get away,
Unnoticed.

Quoting My Quotes

2009-04-02T14:22:00.003+05:30

At times the world is crazy, and other times you are. There are times when both are crazy, but there rarely is a time when both are not.

Walk the line, mind the space between the words.

Hidden meanings are like pepper, keeping your tongue burning even long after eating it.

The best joke in the world is life, but you rarely get a chance to laugh at it.

It doesn't need a genius to say, the more you do the more work you get. But what you might need is a genie to finish it off.

Sleep is like a stubborn child. You can only keep the door open.

Call it serendipity when the stupidity you say, becomes philosophical; vice versa, call it bad luck.

drops of same emotion

2009-04-01T08:10:00.003+05:30

When the sky
Is washed of its blue,
It cries,
Rain drops fall down.

When happiness,
Is washed of its smiles,
It rains,
Tear drops fall down.

No one knows,
You are crying;
So cry,
Like you never have before.

Every one loves,
When its raining,
Standing under the rain,
Even your tears are washed away!

fleet of dreams

2009-02-06T12:23:00.000+05:30

The last moment,
Before I fall asleep,
Dreams come,
Knocking at my door.

All that I wanted,
I am granted.
Yet again the next day comes,
When I think,
I should have dreamt more.

The last moment,
Before I fall dead,
Past come,
Knocking at my door.

All that I'd done,
And all that I should have.
But this time there is no tomorrow,
To think or to act.

So I die dreaming,
I should have done more.

rare sense - a haiku

2009-01-28T20:22:00.001+05:30

Common sense-
It ain't so common
Anymore!

simple emotions..

2009-01-24T01:48:00.001+05:30

A smile concealed,
Will never hide the lie.

A fake tear,
Will never cause floods.

Anger, bitten and swallowed,
Will never take away my hunger.

For a minimalist,
A point becomes God.

And in a simple world,
One always can leave without a word.

--
Jagadeesh
24/o1/2oo9

freed freedom

2009-01-21T23:05:00.001+05:30

An untied shoe string,
Freedom unsolicited
Will it be a trap?

chasing shadow

2009-01-21T22:59:00.001+05:30

One day,
When I went through the book,
I fell in love,
With a single word.

Every day,
I go to the book,
Just to be sure,
The word's still there.

One day I saw,
The book burnt,
The word charred,
Along with it.

The word remains,
In my mind,
Casting a shadow-
The meaning of it all.

it had rained..

2009-01-21T22:58:00.001+05:30

Last drop of the rain,
Has landed on my window pane.
Clouds part, sky clears,
Sun shines through my window pane.
Last drop of the rain,
Sparkles in a golden hue,
Of the setting sun;
Evening of a rainy day.
With my fingers,
I touch the drop,
And it rolls down,
Delicately, down the window pane.
With the last drop gone,
I fail to prove,
To my soul who just woke up,
That it had rained!!

wanted to..

2009-01-20T18:05:00.003+05:30

When I was,
A little boy,
I wanted to be,
An astronaut.

When I knew,
Moon wasn't white,
I left the moon,
Alone in its sky.

When I was,
A teenage boy,
I wanted to be,
A charming prince.

When I knew,
Princes' were frogs,
I wanted to be,
Nothing but a knight.

Then someone told,
Knights were fools,
Fighting battles
For someone else.

So I wanted,
Just to be,
The perfect human,
That one should be.

Then again,
I failed when I knew,
No one was perfect,
In this lil' world.

That's when,
I became

'me'.

a love song..

2009-01-19T21:30:00.003+05:30

In this love,
I become a teen again.
Growing younger,
Shedding grays of maturity.

A love filled with,
Teensy weensy misunderstandings,
Of blushes,
That made me wear pinks.

Crossing yesterdays of fights,
Today of love,
We live for ever,
With the immortal love in our hearts.

untitled

2009-01-19T20:28:00.000+05:30

Made of a fabric of nonexistence,
I am a thought,
That none,
Has ever thought of.

I've fallen off,
Many a mind,
With nothing,
That I could hold on to.

Like a feather I've fallen,
Trying to give stones wings,
Ending up flying,
Successfully downwards.

hurricane time..

2009-01-19T15:18:00.003+05:30

I lay asleep,
Way away from the world,
At the bottom of an ocean,
Undisturbed.

All of a sudden,
The calm ocean,
Turns turbulent,
With violent waves.

The ripples spread,
In breadth and depth,
Waking me,
From my slumber.

From under the ocean of blankets,
I arise,
To my mother's hand,
Pulling the blankets with all her might.

heaven is..

2009-01-19T11:47:00.008+05:30

Heaven is,
The house up above;
Way to which,
I do not know!

Some say,
Its right up above;
And fate,
Will lead you there.

Some say,
You'll need to cross,
A battle field,
Of rights and wrongs.

To cross the door,
Some say,
You will need,
Beard, beads and a book.

Heaven is, but, a false hope,
For the blind men of the world,
Forgetting the heaven,
They are living in!

long drives..

2009-01-05T16:08:00.005+05:30

I love,
Going on a long lone drive,
Pulling up the windows,
Searching for a lost brain.

Then at times,
I pull them down,
Let the wind,
Play with my hair
(though not much is there, left).

I turn on the radio,
Listening what my radio farts,
Or put on that CD,
That has been scratched out of words.

I love,
Going on a long lone drive,
Chasing cars,
And the girls who drive them.

Long long drives,
Oh, I love them.

They never last long,
When it all just ends,
With an unsolicited lift,
That a cop grants me!

untitled

2009-01-05T16:00:00.000+05:30

The loose strand,
Of hair that I fell in love with.
I tuck it away,
Behind her ears;
Drawing my face
Close to hers;
Falling in,
To almost a kiss.

That loose strand,
Of dark brown hair,
At a will of its own;
Rolls down her face,
To grant me a kiss,
All on its own.

--
02/01/2008

melody of mornings

2009-01-05T15:55:00.001+05:30

Drops of rain,
Jumps down the leaves,
To the wind that sings,
A howling song.

Cries the mouth,
Of a restless alarm,
That wants to shout,
Time, out to the world.

The tap fizzes,
Its soul out a nozzle,
With dried up veins,
That long has caught rust.

Clings and clangs,
The trings and trangs,
The chorus of morning
Has started,

Yet another day!

freedom

2009-01-05T15:52:00.001+05:30

Freedom, is when I fly,
Into the starless skies
And sprinkle the white paint,
Drawing my own stars!

Freedom, when I sit,
By the river side,
Stirring its silence,
Making the moon in her
Dance to my ripples.

Freedom is when I am mesmerized,
In the smile of a kid,
The innocent, greedless smile,
Clad in his torn clothes.

Freedom is when I am lost,
Looking in your eyes.
In the world of love,
For us, to be together,
For ever and always!!

--
11/08/2008

crazy thought

2008-11-26T09:56:00.001+05:30

Some crazy little people,
Lived in my head.
The crazy little people,
They wanted to fight.

On the table,
They laid,
A cloth-
Made of thought.

Sat around the table,
Crazy little people,
Tearing and pulling,
Spraying spots of million hues.

And there I sat,
Laughing and crying;
Tormented
By the same thought.

random thought

2008-11-17T19:00:00.001+05:30

My first bicycle;
Excited I climb on!
My feet,
Barely reaching the ground.

A fear creeps in,
What if I fall.
Still I try,
To ride my first bicycle.

Two steps,
The bicycle tilts,
Oh, I am going to fall,
So says my mind.

Miracle!
It doesn't,
For my dad's hand,
Catches me before I fall.

silence of the pen

2008-11-17T18:59:00.000+05:30

The pen,
It lies in the corner,
Away from paper,
With a broken nib.

There were days,
It never did rest;
Pouring my thoughts,
Scarring through sheaves.

Gone are the days,
It had ink to its brim,
Falsifying truth,
And transmuting lies.

Thoughts still sail,
And words does flow,
But the pen remain,
Tongueless and dumb.

Bangalore Ultra Marathon 2008

2008-11-17T13:56:00.004+05:30

Pre Marathon Thoughts:

It has not been six months since I've started having an obsession for running. Before that, I could hardly run more than 3kms. So with these experiences tucked into the past, I decided to run my first official race- the Bangalore Ultra Marathon 2008.

I registered for 50kms. You should be thinking I am mad. Anyone will. After registration, even I thought the same. So the last-to-last weekend, I decided to do my regular training run, and decided how much I can push myself. I did 36kms in a time of 4 hours 9 minutes. Not bad a time, but, I could not push myself to the distance of 42kms, that I wanted to run. I was defeated. That too, badly.

End of the run, I started developing shivers and what-not. I had a hard time driving back home. I was almost going to throw up, and I decided to go and sleep with an empty stomach. I finally managed to sleep, for 5 hours straight.

It is after this realization that I pondered, if 50km will be a bit too much on me. Especially remembering the fact that I'll not be able to reach back home as and when I want. And the result: I boldly chickened out to 25km category.

D-Day:
Bangalore Ultra Marathon happens at a resort called Our Native Village (ONV), approximately 50kms away from Bangalore, near to Hasserghata. The organization of the whole event was very good. They had a bus service from Cubbon Park to the resort, and back.

The buses for 25km category runners were stipulated to start at 4.30AM. That meant I had to get up at 2.30AM, pack my stuff, and get ready. I then had to find a "safe" place to park my car, in that, at the end of the gruelling race, I did not have to tackle another race of hunting for a towed away car. I decided to leave the car at Church St, adjacent to Brigade road, and walk till Cubbon park.

I parked my car, walked up, and reached the bus. The time was 3.45AM. Another 45 minutes left. There were few many runners there already. Most of them were for the 50km category, whose running will start earlier. So also, they had their bus leaving early- 4AM.

Many of the runners left in the first bus, and many joined in with us for the second bus at 4.30AM. Finally the bus took off at 4.35AM. On the way, they distributed oranges, biscuits and such. But I declined all of them, as I can run only on my empty stomach. (Yes, thinking of the food at the end of it is one good motivation to run).

At 6AM, we reached the ONV resort. The only small glitch, that I found in the organization of the event, was that there were only two toilets, and no bath rooms to take bath, or extra changing rooms. I felt, this is the only thing they could have taken care of.

There was no other runner from my running group who was participating for the event. I thought that I'd be stranded alone in the whole pack of runners. Luckily, I found Ashok, a pleasing chap who we used to keep bumping onto during our weekend runs, and had even run with our group once. Now, I had company.

By 6.15AM I was all ready for the run- in my running shorts, shirt and my favourite running shoes. Me and Ashok, marched out to the start-and-finish point of the race.

The 50km runners were already near the start line, waiting for their gun fire, commencing their run at 6.30AM. Aravind, the organizer of the event, and a offical of Run-For-Life running club was dispensing information on the running track, aid posts and such.

The running track is 6.25km one way, making it a 12.5km loop. And 25km meant 2 loops. Sounded easy enough. There were 4 aid posts on the way, serving electerolytes, oranges, bananas, water, and even peanut butter sandwiches (OMG, whose gonna eat that between the run is the first thought I had hearing this).

50km runners already started. Now time was approaching for the start of our race. Just a few minutes before our run, one runner from 50km category came to the finishing point, finishing his first loop- this means he is running at a speed greater than 12.5km/hr. And, no prizes for guessing, he was the winner of the race.

6.30AM: Gun fires. Our race starts. Seeing the pack of people, bumping on to each other, I started getting nervous. All I was thinking of is how to get out of the pack. Just as soon as the race started, the adrenaline rush, along with the urge to get out of the pack, made me sprint out. Couple of minutes, I was in a comfortable position, but, already feeling that I shouldn't have done that sprinting exercise. What I forgot is that the runners is going to get spread across this whole track of 6.25km in a matter of minutes. Early aggression, I knew, is bad. But I couldn't control it.

I had already set my watch to 9minutes count down- to run at 8:1 ratio, running for 8minutes, recuperating the next 1 minute with a walk.

The track is a red mud track. Music had already started pumping me the energy. And minutes passed by with seemingly no change, except the amount of gatorade in the bottle.

I must have finished the first 6.25km in a matter of 30 minutes. I kept running at the same pace. By the end of 10km, I started feeling it. I began realizing I was pusing it harder, and if I did that I might not even finish the 25km.

Lap one ended. Time should be approximately 7.40AM. Pace was okay. I changed my gatorade bottle and had a bite of chocolate. I took a sip of the drink I had in my sipper, synthetic caffeine with lemonade flavour. It just did magic, and I literally sprinted on my way out of the first lap.

Few minutes later, tiredness started kicking in. By the 4km mark, I was doing 7minutes run and 2 minutes walk. I finished the 6.25. I was tired that I didn't even notice the time. At the aid post, I picked a few pieces of orange, ate a few, and dropped a few in my pocket.

By this time, my play list had started its second loop. I tried Linkin Park for some time, and it was too heavy, I felt, it was draining energy out of me. I decided to switch back to the first playing list, my favourite.

The last 6.25km lap was extruciating. I started feeling tired, growing afraid if I'll drop out. But I believed in myself, told myself that I've done more distances than these, in better times. I just kept pusing. The trance had set in my mind. Running was the only thing happening. I was not even listening to the music that was playing.

Two aid posts and a couple of orange pieces later, I was at the last 2km mark. There was a person almost 2-3 meters infront of me. I wasnted to catch up to him, badly. Started pushing harder, and I began realizing he is a better runner than I.

Last 100meters, 50, 20.. 10 meters. The last turn and I can see the finishing line. Yes. I finished it in 2hours 37minutes and 30seconds. I'd have been happier if the time was below 2hr 30minutes. But, I am still satisfied with my results.

Athul announced the finishing of bib number '026', that is me. I felt happy hearing the clap from the spectators. I should be in the top 20 runners to finish, among the 170 runners who participated in the 25km category.

I stretched my legs and arms. Kept some ice on the knee, took off the bib from my chest. And joined the spectator crowd. I talked to few other runners who had finished already. And finally I caught a glimpse of Ashok. He had finished in 2hr 51 minutes, but I missed him finish.

There was a photobooth to take some memories of the event along with you. I went there gave my name to see what they give. They said, they'll be mailing me when the photos are available, over email.

In between, a runner passed us, and an announcement came from the stage: he is running 200km; and had started running 6pm on the Saturday evening. This meant he has already been running for more than 16 hours, continuously. Probably he'll finish in another 5-6 more hours- in 20-24 hours of time. Now, that is what I call endurance.

There was a good lunch provided for the runners. I finished that by around 12.30PM and moved out of the crowd. Made a few calls- announcing my achievement, and by 1.45PM, I was in the bus. The bus, back to Bangalore, took off at 2PM.

The back seat journey was tough on my back. Finally 2hours, a dozen jumps, a seat change, and a few pleasant talks later, I was back at Cubbon park. I walked (or rather dragged myself) back to the car in the Church street. And unsurprisingly, the car was still there and was not towed away.

I thought of getting some books on the way back, but ditched the plan. Got back home. Finally after a bath, some food, and a movie (you'll call me crazy, yet again, if I said, I watched "Silence of the Lambs" to relax myself) I was back in shape. Night came in early for me, and I still can't figure out when I slept. :-)

Post Marathon Thoughts:
Marathon is tough. It is more about endurance than fitness. I was surprised to see people running 75km, 100km and inevitably 200km. It took a lot of guts to do that. What surprised me even more was that there were women running in 50 and 75km categories. Some of them should be in their 40s or 50s.

Indians were less into running for quite some time. Just like any other western habit, I guess running is also getting accepted in the Indian society. And luckily, this time what we have acquired out of westernization is not an evil, probably just a minor madness. :-)

simplicity

2008-11-03T15:44:00.000+05:30

A million laughs,
And you still may not get the joke;
Just a single tear,
And you know the pain behind.

A million smiles,
You may not remember;
But the moment of pain,
You will never forget.

Simple,
Pain is,
But, simpler-
Are the tears!

missing spaces

2008-11-03T11:12:00.001+05:30

Unread,
Are the spaces between,
Yet they are the meaning,
Between the words.

Missing,
Thespacesbetween,
Through the knitted words,
The meaning; it drain out!

--
31/10/2008

half moon

2008-10-31T15:33:00.000+05:30

The man
Who painted my night sky,
Left before,
The moon was a full circle.

So the moon,
Stays in my night,
Incomplete;
Like a cynical smile.

light tower

2008-10-23T21:33:00.001+05:30

Life,
On the lonely tower,
Living,
With lights of solitude.

Lights,
That beckon the ships;
And words,
Shouted in silence.

Life,
Has set sail,
Guided,
By the lights, unknown!

random thought

2008-09-26T14:14:00.000+05:30

When dreams end,
Before life does;
When rain stops pouring,
Before the land is wet.

Earth will look up,
To the sky,
Just like the life,
Counting stars,
In a blue noon sky.

eternal demarcations

2008-09-01T13:15:00.001+05:30

Four men started the journey-
East, West, North and South:
Duly named they were,
For, on nothing, they ever did agree.

At the first ray of dawn,
They reached a seamless plain,
Undivided and undisputed;
"Perfect" they said in ironic synchrony.

East had the chains, to mark the land,
West had the tape, to measure it all.
A piece of charcoal, North did carry,
And from a stair's top, South saw it all.

Tore apart, land and its waters.
Island of thoughts, they spawned off.
And left it to men,
To fight over it and die.

"How boring, life has become!"
Said they all, in the same note,
Ironic synchrony strikes again.
Time to divide, it is again.

"Oh the air, is not split",
Said the North, and all did agree.
Set to work they, once again,
With tools of eternal demarcations.

East was in trouble,
To pin the chains in air.
West was worried,
What he will measure.

North had the charcoal,
Drawing lines in air;
And South fell off the stair,
Kept leaning against the air.

"Failure"
They said in synchrony.
"For how will we divide,
That we can could never touch"!!

first blossom

2008-09-01T12:11:00.000+05:30

12:09 pm (1 minute ago)

jagadeesh

first blossom..

The first blossom-
A flower so beautiful;
Like a proud mother,
The plant, shows the world.

Swaying,
In the cradle of wind,
Dancing,
To the drops of the rain.

Oh flower,
How beautiful you are!

The blind man's path
Crosses the flower's life,
Petals stuck to the sandal's sole,
Walks the man, into the unknown.

Oh flower,
How fragile you are!!

mellifluous rainbow

2008-09-01T11:38:00.000+05:30

The bird which had no name,
Comes and sits by my window;
The bird with colourful feathers,
I wake up to see it everyday.

Melodious its song is,
So says the words I've read;
For me who is deaf,
Song is a ripple, waiting for the stone!

When came voice, into my life,
I waited for the rainbow;
For the seven notes of music,
That never my sky had painted.

I sat by the window,
Hours and days,
But the bird I've never heard,
Never again came to my window!!

--
29/08/2008

hide and seek

2008-09-01T11:37:00.000+05:30

Life hides behind time,
And death follows in silent foot steps.
In this game of hide and seek,
You are destined to be found.

Death with its long fingers,
Will reach the dark corner of life.
From behind the veil of time,
Oh life, You are destined to be found!!

--
29/08/2008

a no-twist-in-tale story

2008-09-01T11:35:00.000+05:30

I know,
Here,
The story ends.

The story of self,
Drama of life.
Thespian art,
I play, but not for a living.

I keep waiting,
To take my final bow,
Your august presence,
In a front row seat.

I'll bow,
To none but you.
And till you are here,
The curtain will not fall.

Isn't it life,
What we all live for?

--
15/08/2008

Freedom

2008-08-14T15:12:00.002+05:30

Blue turtle's dream

2008-08-14T15:12:00.001+05:30

The ripples;
A bubble,
Rises from the deep,
Dancing to it.

The blue turtle dreams,
In the shadow of the bubble;
Colourful dreams,
Dancing to its hues.

A sway to the left,
A sway to the right,
But there is no way,
Than the way up.

Bubble of life,
Shines in the turtle's eyes.
And will disappear,
In the span of a dream!!

--
Jagadeesh
o2/o8/2oo8

Tongues of Flame

2008-08-14T15:11:00.001+05:30

Flame of the fire,
Is like a desire,
Dancing to the whims,
Just like a wind-chime.

Close your fingers around,
For it may blow out,
To that gush of wind;
So fragile it is!

Touch not the flames,
As it could burn,
For you do not know,
The power it with-holds.

Desires are like flames,
Following to your death bed;
And can still keep dancing,
Even when you are not alive to see it!!

--
Jagadeesh
o4/o8/2oo8

the man who cried

2008-07-19T20:13:00.004+05:30

A burning heart,
Inside the man,
A fatherly glance,
Across the street.

There he stood,
Looking across,
His son walking away,
Leaving the grip.

The two days have gone,
In the blink of an eye.
Two days of rights,
To hold his child.

Moments of joy,
Moments of tears,
And all the answers,
To a thousand questions!

And now there he stood,
Across the road,
With a million emotions,
Answering, his own!!

Fear of losing,
His only child;
Of being misread,
By his only son!

Walking away,
Is his ray of hope,
Like the evanescent rays,
Of the evening sun.

Cubed

2008-07-15T14:38:00.004+05:30

One of the first puzzles that I got as a gift in my life (*and the one that I did not solve for the longest time) remains the Rubik's cube. To all who knows what that six faced, not so easily tamable beast is, they know how much they appreciate one who can solve it.

I got the gift in fifth grade. I knew the formulas also. But that time, the only problem was to know what formula to apply where. Then gradually my cubic itch just subsided.

It is recently that I started looking at it once again. Thanks to Douglas Hofstadter's Metamagical Themas. All that group theory and stuff behind, got me motivated again to do fiddle with it. There started my cubic itch again.

I sought out various ways of solving it (*at least got to know the names of those algorithms). But my timing remained very very bad, around 30 minutes or so, compared to the world record of around 10-15 "seconds".

Then came the deus-ex-machisma of cubism, one of my colleague. As by serendipity my cube got to meet him. With his easy to remember moves (* which even a dumbo like me could learn in one day) and his amazing teaching skills, here I am, always finishing a cube (*unless I confuse the moves) in less than 5-10 minutes. Now the road beyond is of practice, and my upper limit, will remain a mark of my dumbness.

But yes a cube solved means, no more fear of someone destroying that perfectly set cube, kept in the shelf!!

swapping sides

2008-07-08T10:18:00.001+05:30

Being neutral,
I had no left and right.
So I wore my shoe,
The wrong side right.

People stared,
Some laughed,
But no one said,
What was right!

A small kid with blue eyes,
Walks to me and says
"The shoe is not right"
And I say-
"It is my right".

The girl waves good bye,
And walks away from me,
And I remain,
On the wrong side of right!!

Me, Zeno, Life and the Unattainable

2008-07-07T15:13:00.001+05:30

Mastering the impossible motion,
Walking to the unreachable goal,
Pacing- faster, to cross the tortoise,
Zeno's shadow, falls on the ethereal mind.

The arrow in flight,
Is where it is,
And is not,
Where it will not be.

Series of frames,
Feeling of motion,
But nothing moves,
Cartoon of life!

I run to the goal,
Stepping over each word,
Isolated-
They do not mean the sentence!!

Solving the paradox,
Chopping its meaning,
Life remains,
Hysterical as ever!!

loners..

2008-07-07T15:12:00.001+05:30

The treeless leaf,
That lies on the floor,
Like a loner it rebels,
To the barbarian storm.

The soundless word,
At the back of my mind,
Like a loner it rebels,
To my unyielding thoughts!!

Last drop of the rain,
Carried by the wind,
It clings to the leaf,
And holds the sun in its mold!

Unthought thoughts,
Unsaid words,
Flameless fires;
And with an unkindled spirit,

Loner, I tread my roads..

across the sky

2008-07-07T15:10:00.000+05:30

Lost in thoughts
Sailing across the sky,
I sit on the cloud,
Smiling at the moon.

The invisible oars,
Tickle the sky,
And ripples form,
Like heavenly giggles!

I round my lips,
To kiss the moon,
But moon- the naughty one,
Blows my cloud back.

I wake from my dream,
And rush to the window,
Parting the curtain,
I see the moon,

And his naughty smile..

My telescope

2008-07-04T17:56:00.003+05:30

To the other Earth,
I discovered yesterday,
I turn my telescope,
And I see me.

Another time,
At another place,
Another me,
Is looking at me!

I see twinkles,
More and more of them,
All the 'me's of the world,
Flashing in rhythm.

The 'me's and 'I's
Of the known and unknown,
Stretching the souls,
In circle they step

To an eternal cosmic dance!!

a customer's plea

2008-06-27T16:22:00.004+05:30

A recent event at a restaurant coerced me to react to it at the best way possible. And what could I managed to do was to get the mail id of the VP of the hotel chain, and mail her. Here it goes, the snippet served from my mail..

Respected madam,

Being a true connoisseur of food, it is not less than a dozen times that I have visited the Indijoe restaurant on Airport Road here in Bangalore, in the last one to two year span of time. The food, ambience, service and just about everything: the whole experience, I felt, was no less than excellent. And, it was a happy news for me to know that a new Indijoe has opened up on the Old Madras Rd, at a walk-able distance from my home. And last week I decided to give it a try.

At the first look the ambience was at par with the other Indijoe. And the man in charge there, came and asked if he can help me. I said I wanted a table for a person. He pointed me over to the bar table counter, and when I said I was there to have food also, not just drinks, he said they don't have tables for individuals. Pardon me, but I just wondered if I had walked into a road side dhaba! If he had told me that there is no two-seater table available, and I'd have to wait for a while, I would have understood. But this was way too much for me.

I have traveled across a lot of places, dined right from the road side restaurants to the five and seven star hotels like Taj and Leela. This was the first time I had come across an experience of this sort- literally, getting thrown out of a restaurant, for being single. I have seen hotels saying 'dogs not allowed', but, 'singles not allowed'- this has to be a new trend! If it had been a discotheque or a place like that, allowing no stag entry, I could have understood. All this man wanted was, me to have one more person, if I need a table; and what was I to do- wait outside the restaurant, for some unlucky customer like me who gets thrown out eventually, and pair up with him for a table?

I am not flaming, or even trying to play a blame game here. All I want to put across is, how a customer like me who "used to" adore Indijoe, gets totally annoyed and irritated by an incident like this, and having to walk out and search for another place to eat(luckily here in Bangalore, good restaurants are, for your kind information, not hard to find). Every time we friends had parties, treats and such get-together occasions, I used to suggest Indijoe as the best place to go for. What this person, who threw me out forgot is that an individual coming to a restaurant one time, is the one who is going to bring along a whole family the next time, provided the atmosphere is enchanting and not annoying!!

Sorry for such a long mail. But I was just trying to point out the feeling of a customer without loosing on the emotions behind the words. I believe you value each and every customer (over a pack of them who might be shelling in a couple of more bucks) and keep Indijoe as nice as it used to be, keeping with the reputation of the BJN group. I request you to do the needful. And just in case, if there is any need to contact me over a phone, my number would be: xxxxxxx

Thank you for you time.

To my surprise, she responded, the same day. And here it goes..

Dear Mr. Jagadeesh,

Thank you for taking the trouble of writing this mail.

It is very distressing and disturbing for me to hear that one of our manager's has behaved in such an unprofessional manner.

Please accept my sincere apologies and be rest assured, I will personally take this matter up very strongly with the team. Please do not hold this one incident against us. I assure you, you will not be disappointed.

My number is xxxxxx. Please feel free to call me for any assistance.

Regards,
xxxx
Vice President (Operations)
BJN HOTELS LIMITED
Bangalore

If you ask me what did I gain from spending my time on this behalf is expressing the power of a customer. And I do respect every concern and company that do take care of customers, they are, people who really knows how to handle the business. And the gist of the post is not a black mark in any way against Indijoe, or the BJN group, but on the contrary, my respect for a VP who finds time to come down to a customer's level to address an issue.

For me, it is a rebellion sought (not exactly, but for the rhyme), fought and got!

Ah, Poetry! -- Innocence Lost

2008-06-19T14:30:00.004+05:30

Where has the charm gone, I ask, when I visit the "Ah, Poetry..." community on Orkut now-a-days. It used to be one community of budding and veteran poets, having poetic exchanges, comments and criticisms and so forth.

I still remember the day I joined the community; almost a year back. It was very addictive. Poetry became an indispensable part of my life, fired by the inspiration- of knowing that there are readers who take time and read your poem.

Now what remains is petty fights, egoism and a once-in-a-while appearing gem of poems. "Why?" my mind asks. Here is the ten commandments of "Ah, Poetry..." (*and many of them, I live with it, knowing nothing can be done).

Give more to get more (comments).
To get maximum comments (*but most of them nothing but a half read, or rather not-read comment saying 'nice', 'great' and all such) you have to be a female.
To get more comments (*to top up on 1.) you need to be a female with a profile pic (*beautiful the better).
Every one has a hidden intention- satisfying an ego, snatching some fame, irritating one that gets the most comments and so on the list goes.
The best way to get a girl accept your friendship request (*proven) is to read a dozen of her poems, put in some sweet comments interspersed with some criticisms (*for that she has to write one or two poems which are understandable) and then send the request. 99% you will be accepted.
Everyone starts with a spree, that he/she got more comments than mine (*and my mind saying, that no that write is not even worthy as mine), so I need to do something about it.
Blessed- Anonymity allowed. Hide behind the veil and shout all things filthy- decent outside, indecent inside- and act, there is no fairer an angel than me!
Everyone complains, but the fact is, to a poet, nothing can be a replacement for "Ah, Poetry!".
Everyone complains, but the fact is, to a poet, nothing can be a replacement for "Ah, Poetry!".
Finally (almost) everyone reaches a stage of 'Nirvana', where no one's pranks affect you; drag you into controversies, and you remain 'selectively-blind'.

Tail Note:
I haven't written this as a finger-pointing article at anyone. Till a wordly fight becomes a fist fight, silence can be the best aegis.

Poothan and Thira

2008-06-18T11:07:00.001+05:30

In the mid summer heat,
The 'chenda's they sing.
Like the spring among seasons,
With a convivial tone.

I stand at the gate,
With effervescent joy,
The procession of lights,
For it to arrive.

I know they rhythm.
And emotions overwhelm-
Of fear, and anxiety;
'Poothan and Thira'- arriving!

Hide behind mom,
And I peep from a side,
But the poothan sees me,
The pace of his dance- growing!

War of the good,
Against the evil,
They dance to the rhythm,
So does my feet.

Memories flood,
Like tides to the sea shore,
Hearing the 'chenda'
'Pooram' is here yet again.

Sitting in a wheel chair,
Pushed by my mother,
This time when 'Poothan' comes,
Only my mind will dance!!

--
17/o6/2oo8

Tail Note:
Pooram is a festival in Kerala. It is an annual festival associated with temples. There will be a pooram for the most important temple of a region. That used to be the biggest festival for the natives of that specific region, who worship the God of that temple. The most famous one is Thrissur Pooram.

The way Pooram is celeberated varies. There is always elephants and a musical instument called Chenda, a form of drum. People can never feel nothing when they hear the rhythm of a Chenda.

Poothan and Thira is an art form, part of Pooram in the central part of Kerala, much like a minor version of Kathakali. It is a type of dance form, which travels across to each house in the specific region. Poothan has a scary dressing and tries to scare children around him with his sword and all. Thira is another dance form, but much less scary. The word Poothan comes, supposedly from Bhootam, the Malayalam word for Bhoot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pooram

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chenda

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poothan_and_Thira

Walking Away

2008-06-18T11:06:00.000+05:30

Time has come,
When I am no more a child,
Time whispers,
It is 'time' to make my flight.

I will be parting my home,
Walking away,
Bidding good bye,
And not looking back.

Walking away,
From that jasmine
That bloomed yesterday,
For the first time.

Walking across, a breeze,
That lilts the paddy,
As naughty as ever;
Ruining the hair,
That I had set.

Crossing red mud floors,
Where I took the first steps.
When the little hand
Was holding my father's fingers.

I can feel the tears,
In my mother's eyes-
A good bye-
And I keep walking away,
Not looking back!!

--
17/o6/2oo8

Surrender

2008-06-18T11:03:00.000+05:30

I genuflect.
And on my knee-
I stand;
The seventh in line.

Closing my eyes, with
Hands tied behind the back;
And wanting to close my ears,
Every time the gun cries!

Death swallows,
One by one;
And it will come,
Knocking at my door!

Every fire,
And to every final sigh,
I feel my heart,
Skipping a beat.

The bitter cold,
Behind my neck,
When the thirsty revolver,
Gives me the last tickle.

I count the moments,
Sensing a finger,
Making love with the trigger,
"Click!"

There was no fire,
An empty revolver,
He is in no hurry,
So too the heaven's door.

I hear the reload,
But I am numb,
To all that I call world,
And I wait, for the gun to fire again.

--
16/o6/2oo8

Tail Note
A brief history. During Second World War, Japanese had captured many Americans as prisoners of war, and one of the most heinous camp was at Palawan, in Philippines. After the grip tightened on Japan, sensing that America might come back to save their soldiers, Japan started executing the prisoners of war.

Burrows were dug and many were pushed in to it, then pouring petrol into it and incinerating. Then again, many were made to kneel, and a man firing bullets behind their neck.

The whole of these war crimes (*no I am not blaming just the Japanese here, it has happened to all the countries that have waged war) goes through "Bataan Death March", "Palawan Massacre" and all.

More details can be found here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bataan_Death_March

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palawan#Palawan_Massacre

Divine moves

2008-06-11T18:30:00.001+05:30

A spin,
A swirl,
Then, on the edge
A ballet dance.

Coffee mug-
Tipped,
Fell
And spilled.

My secret potion

2008-06-11T18:28:00.000+05:30

A drop of faith,
A pinch of hope,
Pour in belief -
And all into trust,

What I did not know,
Is of the never changing summer,
The concoction,
Evaporates!!

--
Jagadeesh
15/05/2oo8

Perfect trap

2008-06-11T18:27:00.000+05:30

A trap is set,
And made luring,
With rubrics,
And I hide it
Under layers of words.

My poetry waits,
With an open mouth,
For victims,
Who falls prey,
For my crazy words,
And idiosyncratic title!!

You are here, entrapped
And whom do you bring along?

--
Jagadeesh
21/o5/2oo8

Lamentation- 2 haikus

2008-06-11T18:26:00.000+05:30

Season turns autumn,
A wind sneaks in through my door,
And the door, laments!

--
Mournful melodies,
Mosquitoes sing for the night;
Silence takes its toll!

cosmos

2008-06-11T18:25:00.000+05:30

The little naughty kid,
Plays around the universe,
Rolling planets on the sky's floor,
And sticking stars on the dark walls.

Tired he is,
Running all around the cosmos.
Tilts and sits, he, on the moon,
Hanging his bare feet on to its side.

Feels with his fingers,
The clouds passing by,
Blows a gust of air,
And makes them fly off!

Restless,
He takes off;
To play with a new toy,
From his toy-box of cosmos.

We are all just his toys,
Still, mesmerized we stand,
At his naughtiness,
Uncertainty -

The only thing certain..

--
Jagadeesh
16/o5/2oo8

Atomic Kitchen (1) - burnishing a hidden talent

2008-06-09T08:43:00.006+05:30

Scene 1:
The day starts, just like any other. Birds chirping, zephyr flowing. Nature as always, showing its magnificent splendour.
The only catch, I woke up early (*earlier) and hungry out of the bed. Now what is the option. Get up, do all the morning poojas and get out for a breakfast? Nah! That's gonna take a tad too long.

Bulb flashes- idea!!

I'll cook. "Wow! Amazing, but what?"- my mind asks. Egg toast. Now that sounds tasty. I said why not.

Cooking, till that time, that very second, was one among my latent talents. No one, including myself had explored that facet of mine.

The stage is set. The utensils are laid. All I need to do is... to break an egg. How do I do that? Do I throw it into a cup? Or do I cut it? But where to cut? The corner or the center? "No!", nothing to worry; it is my specialty: I can cut it anywhere, and I mumbled to myself - "here goes nothing!!".

Holding the egg over the cup, with the sleight of hand, like a magician, I do it- I make the cut- or rather a half cut. Now comes the artistic part, breaking it off and pouring.

Hands perfectly placed on sides (between the words, I did cut it in the center, to break the suspense) I tear it to the sides. The raw egg flows. Not a single drop spilled, "wasn't that wonderful?"; but, into the cup. All that was there in the cup was, a few broken shells.

All said and done, even 'the best cook in the world' makes mistakes at times. It is when things go wrong- serendipity happens- that is I get a raw egg to toast!

Tail Note:
The best part was the smell of the raw egg, that prevailed, over hours, days and weeks. Now I am not sure whether the smell is gone, or I just got used to it!!

To add, this is surely not the end of my kitchen adventures; the saga has only begun.

meterosexual

2008-05-28T19:03:00.001+05:30

Wore a shirt,
That said many words.
Kept long hair,
And a goatee beard.

Waxed legs,
Threaded brows,
Studded ear,
No, I am not gay.

I am the rebel,
Who has no cause,
Going to the same saloon,
Talking of change.

Life-
Twists and turns,
I never will be,
Good, bad or ugly!!

mechanisation

2008-05-28T19:02:00.000+05:30

I fold my hands,
And beg;
To feel a drop,
My skin, craves!

Its mind denies;
When machines think,
The tap is no more,
Automatic!

I'll think and find,
A cure for thoughts,
No more it should spread,
And I'll make them-

Mindless machines!!

help in need

2008-05-26T20:01:00.000+05:30

Too short I am,
My fingers barely reaching;
I stand on my toe,
Still its too high.

I cry for help,
Victim of 'heightlessness',
There came a man,
To see the child's cry.

Took me in his arms,
Made me reach the bell,
And I ring;
And I ring.

He asks:
"Now what?"

And I whisper:
"Run...!!"

a different dance

2008-05-26T19:59:00.001+05:30

Pages waltz,
Unread, to the breeze,
And I, droop

--
25/o5/2oo8

Journey

2008-05-26T19:51:00.001+05:30

Sitting by the window,
To a destination unknown;
Nodding to the rhythm,
Of the train's clicks-and-clangs.

I can feel the touch,
Of nervousness in his glance,
Staring at robber soul,
Sitting by his luggage.

A sky so grey,
Like an over-washed rag,
I travel past places,
Glinting at faces.

Closed gates,
Long queues,
Honking cars,
And men-
With wiped off smiles.

Cradled by the motion,
Lullaby of the train,
A tranquil sets in,
And I, fly my dreams

Yet again...

PS: Image with due regards to the respective owner; not under the blog copyright.

Wet Feet

2008-05-25T20:02:00.006+05:30

Standing in the stream,
Parting ways behind my feet,
Flows past me, kissing,
A gleeful reunion
And stream flows on, unhindered!!

PS: Image with due regards to the artist, not under the blog owner's copyright

Yesterdays

2008-05-21T14:12:00.001+05:30

Coming in drenched,
I walk over to the first bench,
My shoes squishing and squashing
Drenched, just like me.

Rain is still showering,
Outside the window,
I sit there dreaming,
Of my bygone holidays!

Teacher walks in.
I dig from my bag,
And open the book,
Feeling the smell of fresh ink.

I can feel someone eying,
At my shiny new pencil.
No, I'll not lose this one,
To mom I have promised.

The ink is still wet;
Rain hasn't stopped yet.
Evergreen yesterdays-
I can feel its pull;

Still....

PS: Image with due regards to the respective owner, and is not under the blog owner's copyright.

Capturing a smile

2008-05-21T14:01:00.003+05:30

I stood,
Staring;
Numb
And worried.

I was to smile,
At this machine;
At its wide eye, knowing-
It will not smile back.

I am here,
And I'll smile,
To one that doesn't know-
Faking.

Like a white rabbit,
Lured by the lime light,
Into the wolf's den,
Behind a little black box!!

PS: Image with due regards to the artist and is not under blog owner's copy right.

2008-05-20T09:48:00.000+05:30

I:
Season turns autumn,
A wind sneaks in through my door,
And the door, laments!

II:
Mournful melodies,
Mosquitoes sing for the night;
Silence takes its toll!

--
19/o5/2oo8