Mind Matters

It doesn't matter
If you are old
It doesn't matter
If you are young

What matters is if
You've kept up
With the times

And not kept shut
The windows of
Your mind

A Spherical Symmetry

Man's first invention
May have been
A pair of wheels
A device that he used
To earn his daily
Two square meals

Meals that in turn
Build muscle and sinew
Strong enough to pull
This cart meant for two

Heart Pangs

What is a heart
If its fate is not
To love

What is Love
If its destiny
Is not to be
Torn Apart

Toying Around

Don't worry about me
Cos I'm a lonely boy

I've run away to
This quiet corner

Because I don't want
To share my
New-found toy

A Study In Browns

A rust-red box
In muddy land

In this bleak and
Inanimate landscape

It's a relief to
Spot a human hand
 

Rubble of the Mind

I've demolished 

My memories

I've erased all the

Feelings from

My mind
 

Now only one

Question remains

How do I clear 

The rubble they've

Left behind
 

Spinning Circles

When the winds
Of fate
Spin us in circles
Round and around

Go with the flow
And show within you
Just how many
Colours abound

Barrenness in Brrr Major

Just how cold
Do you think
It must be

When the trees
Have all lost
Their blanket of leaves

Sunlit Lanterns

Who says lanterns
Are meant only
For the night

Here are a bunch
Showing off their glory
In broad daylight

In God's Name

When people of one religion
Kill humans from another
In God's name
Then they should keep in mind
That it is their own God
Who hangs his head
In shame

Festival of Lights

Glittering lights
That shimmer all night
Here's to the day
When they'll spread
The warmth in
All of our lives

Mango Crates

Here I sit atop
Loads of crates
The mind full of
Tunes and crazy
Hip hop

A natural phenomenon
When your farm
Has been rewarded
With a bumper crop

Colonial Cousins

Two cousins
Unrelated in form
Are not so unrelated
In functions divine

For while one belts out
Musical scores
The other is busy
Marking time 

Firecracker Fantasy

Sparklers and flowerpots
Rockets and bombs
How I wish I could light
All these firecrackers

But since they are all
So horribly out of reach
It is best to remind myself
It's dangerous to play with fire

A Flower's Secret

Why is it that I can
Stare at a flower
All the time

Could it be because
Whatever a flower says
It says it with a smile

The Free Bird

I am glad to be
As ugly as I look
Please do take me
For my words

That's because it is
So simple and logical
That cages aren't made
For ugly birds

Whirring Fans

Even before the start
Of the election year
A load of hot heads
Have begun to lose
Their cool

And we'll have to
Work overtime
To ensure the crowd
Isn't take in by
A bunch of fools

The Egg Seller

This is not a job
Where I am expected
To be very agile

It's an unexpected perk
Just because the goods I ply
Are extraordinarily fragile

Frames within frames

Life maybe a
Relentless grind
Out to frame you
In a setting of
Sweat and toil

No matter where
It pictures you
You can do it with
A positive frame
Of mind
 

Beads on a String

Some of us beads suffer
From a chronic case of
Stage fright

Others look for the time
When day will turn
Into night

Then there are the rare ones
Who are busy shunning the
Limelight

A Culture Of Consumerism

After one has
Renounced the sex
Denounced the drugs
The rock n roll
Life becomes quite
A drag

Then one can
Be forgiven for
Giving in to
The lure of the
Shopping bag 

Corporate Fuel

Yes, corporate life
Can be a quite bitch
Force fed as it is on
The humble sandwich

All Consuming Fire

Whether it is the stomach
Or whether it is the heart
It needs an all-consuming fire
To fuel the initial spark

Chequered Shore

In this shoreline
Bathed by the most
Resplendent heat

It's no surprise that
It's been converted
Into a washerman's
Spread sheet

A Child's Wish List

None of my toys
Will stand the test
Of time

But thanks to the
Small attention span
Of a child

My bottom line
Will be
Just fine

Sitar Cacophony

No matter how well tuned the sitar
No matter how much
The hands have weathered

It's an undisputed fact
That on stage
Not all sitars and hands
Belong together

Photographer's Envy

Nice to see somebody
With the same passion
A shared thirst

But on location
The only thought to
Cross the mind is
"Why didn't I see it first?"

Working for Peanuts

 Nuts are good 

They say

Good for the heart

Good for the brain

And certainly good

At the end of the month

When one has run out of

All his pay

Shallow Waters

Till the high tide
Comes along to lift me
I am not destined
To taste the salt of the sea

Warmth V/s Food

On a cold, winter morning
Food is not a pressing need
Maybe it's a cup of piping hot tea

But until that comes along
Getting warmth from the fire
Is certainly a priority

Air Guitar

Looks like the strings
Of a giant guitar
Are being strummed
By the leaves of
Blossoming star

Shared Hobby

Friends don't need
A time, a place or
A reason

It's fun to do
Things together
 Even something
As mundane
As staring
Into oblivion

Gaudy Pots

A gaudy earthen pot
Is not a thing that lingers
That's because its owner
Always hires maids
With very slippery fingers

Textures In The Sand

Wild flowers don't complain
About infertile ground
They are just thankful
For the sustenance
From the sand

For it gives them
The strength to stick around

Life Lessons

How awesome is it
That when you sit on stairs
You have no option
But to look at
Where you came from

It's a gentle reminder
To always remember
That what goes up
Simply has to come down

God's Visiting Card

There are men who lead us astray
With promises of temples
In stone, concrete and clay

Little do they know that
The finest temples
Reside in hearts and minds
They don't get in another's way

Solitary Confinement

Right now I am
All alone in this
Bleak landscape

But the moment
Another drop
Joins me

We'll have made
Our great escape

Opposing Views

You don't agree with me
Nor do I with you

But we can still exist
Side by side

Each entitled to his
Own point of view

Shining Through

No matter how dense
The forest of opposition
That's out to block you 

You just be like the rising sun
For sooner or later
Its rays just come
Shining through

No Onions Today!

Don't think of me as
Any other ordinary vegetable
For while I may be sold
On the humble pavement

I have the power to bring
Tears to the eyes
Of any incumbent government

Republic Day Musing

How ironic is it?
One person's freedom
From the shackles of dependence

Depends on another person
Loosening his purse strings
To celebrate his own independence

Seeing Red

Two glorious shades of red
Compete for eyeballs
In the afternoon

Little do they know that
While one is about
To be plastered over
The other will reach the
Junkyard soon

Fleeting Legacies

Handing down an empire
To his son may be
Every father's desire

Even though the
Inevitable truth is
The sun sets on every empire