S P A C E

Eggs avacado, sunny side up
Like words in a song,
Be pop, buppity, de pop,
Toast on marmalade,
Sprigs of green,
A meal, fodder, fullment supreme,
Fill up, eat up, tank up and store,
If breakfast be the meal of the day
Embrace it with the Force,
May they fuel you, inspire you,
Eggs avacado, sprigs of green,
Toast on marmlade, & a day full of wins

Based on the short story "VISARJAN: The Immersion" now a short film

Film: KAI PO CHE

Lyrics : Swanand Kirkire

Music : Amit Trivedi

Roothe khaabon ko mana lenge Kati patango ko thaamenge Haa haa hai jazba Ho ho hai jazba Suljha lenge uljhe rishton ka manjha Hmm ka manjha, hmm ka manjha… Soyi taqdeere jaga denge Kal ko ambar jhuka denge Haa haa, hai jazba Ho ho, hai jazba Suljha lenge uljhe rishton ka manjha Hmm manjha… Ho ho barfeeli, aankhon mein Pighla sa dekhenge hum kal ka chehra Ho ho pathreele, seene mein Ubla sa dekhenge hum lawa gehra Agan lagi, Lagan lagi Toote na, toote na jazba ye toote na Magan lagi, Lagan lagi Kal hoga kya keh do Kis ko hai parwah Parwah… parwah… Roothe khaabon ko mana lenge Kati patango ko thaamenge Haa haa hai jazba Ho ho hai jazba Suljha lenge uljhe rishton ka manjha Hmm manja, hmm manja…

We’ll appease our sulking dreams Steady the flutter of vagrant kites Yes, yes the passion Oh yes the passion Disentangle the relationship cords the entangled chords, yes the cords A slumbering fate we'll awaken And enslave the sky crimson Oh yes the passion Yes yes the passion Disentangle the relationship cords the entangled chords, yes the cords Deep within our icy sights Etched is a vision of the next From within our stony hearts Gushes a lava of desires A fire engulfs and consumes Yet unbreakable this passion Dizzy makes us its spin Care not a whit anymore ‘Bout what’s tomorrow No more…no more Appease our sulking dreams Steady the flutter of vagrant kites Yes, yes the passion Oh yes the passion Disentangle the relationship cords the entangled chords, yes the cords

Movie : ROCK ON

Lyrics : Javed Akthar

Music : Shankar Ehsaan Loy

Yeh Tumhari Meri Baatein Hamesha yunhi chalti rahen Yeh Hamari mulakatein Hamesh Yunhi chalti rahen Beeetein yunhi apne sare Din raat Baaton se nikalti rahe Nai Baat Phir wohi Baatein leke Geet koi hum likhe Jo Dil ko Haan sab ki dil ko chu le Baatein Suron mein yunhi Peeghalti rahe Baatein geeton mein yunhi Dhalti rahe Geeton mein hi har gum ko Khushiyon se hum saza de Jo sune humse wo kaho na

These tete-a-tetes amidst us Forever forward, lets carry-on Arbitrary sundry, meet-ons, Forever forward, lets carry-on Nights & days shall pass Such as Newer chats emerge from within Turn this chatter Into hummable songs Touching hearts, of those that heed Melting these mutterings into Merry tunes Let them merge into Songs aplenty Let no grief go unpunished, With happiness unseized Those that heed shall sing along

The Aftermath

This was a poem written onboard a plane that I travelled from the Midwest to the East Coast, on Sep 16th, not 5 days after that terrible incident on 9/11. I couldnt but help think of that one incident that rocked everyone in the world. 

Watching bewitched from within a cockpit,

Two eyes, The Towers twin approached,

While t’was murder & mayhem to most,

Was it liberation they sought?

Metal mangled with cured concrete,

Confined within a conference room of deals,

Jet fuel gushed in an orange ball of flame,

Mocking the shocked gaze of the Liberty Dame.

Those eyes they partook it all,

As souls vanished vanquished,

Yet they also did witness,

Twice over a heroic deed.

Stone crumbled to acrid debris,

Steel melted to a lava of dust,

Those bedeviled eyes beheld a sight,

A phenomenon so far unbeknownst.

Lives of fear, terror and tear,

Despair, grief, and lack of hope.

Suddenly snuffed, they now travelled,

Uplifted through a gilded door.

“Will they these scared lives”,

Asked the eyes, “Sinful and unpunished go?”

Atleast in life after will they learn,

How in excess they had erred?

As one after another, the Doorman,

Ushered in those charred souls,

Soon as they passed the Golden Gate,

Cheerful turned their candor.

Those eyes, shocked now, beyond belief,

Wide and confused they protested,

“Leaving us lag far behind”,

“T’isn’t justice they move ahead”.

They tried a bustle and jostle ahead,

Forcing forward through the line,

To be rudely shown their place,

For this now was an act Divine.

They pleaded, begged and asked to know,

What the reason was, behind this fate?

Having only done, as upon them bade,

Surely they deserved to go through the gate?

The Doorman sighed, paused and pondered,

Finished with the last of the many thousand.

Turning towards them with great sadness,

He said words that were to hound.

“You are cursed” said He, “My wretched ones”,

“For you are the ones who have wronged”,

“Taken away what was not yours”,

“Can you ever be pardoned?”.

“Go forth now, you are doomed to haunt”,

“The dark nights of all your kind”,

“Wake them unto a world of peace”,

“If you wish repentance from this bind”.

“Till then you shall dwell in places”,

“Of pain, torture and gore”,

“You are banished from this day on”,

“To tasks difficult and dour chores”.

So those eyes they gathered together,

It’s other withered companions,

And the Doorman He walked far away,

Wiping away an uncontrollable tear.

He hoped those grieving left behind,

Realized for the ones that had left,

Justice to them, though unsaid & unseen,

Had surely and certainly been served.

Perspectives

inspired by an original drawing by Akshara Kulkarni

A stony cement structure,

A sullen corridor corner,

Here I thought I was, 

The only confused teenager!

No footfalls pounding on the floors

No shadows racing towards class doors

A flickering light in a dim corner

Threatening to quit 

The illumination business

I sat huddled for inspiration

Seeking a perspective for its namesake

Angles and curves jostled and jutted!

Made all practical sense, 

But my creativity failed!

Those silences add a gravitas,

They make you delve deep within,

In that moment of idealogical fission

A mushroom cloud of clarity blooms!

Elevator banks, notice boards,

Steps and half-opened doors,

They all have their place, 

Even the winking light,

Including me in my sullen plight!

Pen rushes to paper, to ink away

Capture, capture, capture the moment,

Its mine, mine, mine to make,

As with every one from now forever!