ಮೊನಚುಮಾರಿ!

 

ಕಣೆ, ಕತ್ತಿ, ಕಠಾರಿ, ಚೂರಿ 

ಹೃದಯ ಇರಿವಲ್ಲಿ 

ನಾ ಮುಂದು, 

ತಾ ಮುಂದೆಂದು 

ನಡೆಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದವು ಮಾರಾಮಾರಿ! 

ಕಂಡು ಈ ಬಡಾಯಿ ಬಾರಿ ಬಾರಿ 

ಹಿಂಬದಿಯಲ್ಲಿ 

ನಿಂತು ತನ್ನೊಳಗೇ 

ಮುಗುಳ್ನಗುತಿತ್ತು 

ಮಾತೆಂಬ ಮೊನಚುಮಾರಿ!

ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ್ಯದ ಸಂಭ್ರಮಾಚರಣೆ!

PC: Myself!

ये दाग़ दाग़ उजाला, ये शबगज़ीदा सहर
वो इन्तज़ार था जिस का, ये वो सहर तो नहीं

- ಫೈಜ್ ಅಹ್ಮದ್ 'ಫೈಜ್' ('ಆಗಸ್ಟ್ 1947' ಎಂಬ ಕವಿತೆಯಲ್ಲಿ) 

(ಈ ಕಲೆ ಕಲೆಕಟ್ಟಿದ ಬೆಳಕು, ಈ ಇರುಳು ನುಂಗಿದಂತಿಹ ಮುಂಜಾನೆ 

ಯಾವುದರ ನಿರೀಕ್ಷೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾದಿದ್ದೆವೋ, ಇದು ಆ ಬೆಳಗಂತೂ ಅಲ್ಲ)

ಆಚರಣೆಯಂತೆ

ಸಂಭ್ರಮಾಚರಣೆಯಂತೆ 

ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ್ಯದ ಸಂಭ್ರಮಾಚರಣೆಯಂತೆ!

ರಸ್ತೆ ತಡೆಯಂತೆ,

ಏಕೆಂದರೆ ಮೆರವಣಿಗೆಯಂತೆ. 

ಹೆರಿಗೆ ಬೇನೆಯ ತಾಯಿಯೂ 

ನೋವು ತಡೆದು ಕಾಯಬೇಕಂತೆ 

ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ್ಯದ ಸಂಭ್ರಮಾಚರಣೆಯಂತೆ!

ಗಾಂಧಿಯ ಪುತ್ಥಳಿಯಂತೆ 

ಅದಕೆ ಜರಿಯ ಶಾಲು ಹೊದಿಸಬೇಕಂತೆ 

ಶಾಲಿನ ಅಂಚು ಹಸಿರೋ ಕೇಸರಿಯೋ 

ಎಂಬುದೇ ಒಂದು ಕಂತೆ 

ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ್ಯದ ಸಂಭ್ರಮಾಚರಣೆಯಂತೆ!

ನೆಹರು, ಸುಭಾಷರಂತೆ 

ಅವರನು ಕೊಂಡಾಡುವ ಇತಿಹಾಸವಂತೆ 

ಆದರ್ಶಗಳ ಆರಾಧಿಸುವ ಕುರುಡುಕೂಪ 

ಇಲ್ಲಿ ವಿಮರ್ಶೆಗೆ ಜಾಗವಿಲ್ಲವಂತೆ 

ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ್ಯದ ಸಂಭ್ರಮಾಚರಣೆಯಂತೆ!

ಇತಿಹಾಸದ 'ಪರಿಶುದ್ಧ' ಪಾಠವಂತೆ
ಫೇಸ್ಬುಕ್ಕಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಪರ್ಯಾಯ ಪೋಸ್ಟ್ಗಳಂತೆ
ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರಧ್ವಜವ ವಾಟ್ಸಾಪ್ಪಿನಲ್ಲಿ
'ಡಿಪಿ' ಮಾಡುವುದೇ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರಪ್ರೇಮವಂತೆ
ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ್ಯದ ಸಂಭ್ರಮಾಚರಣೆಯಂತೆ!

Walking in the rain...

 

"I no longer love her, that's certain, 

but maybe I love her.

  Love is so short, forgetting is so long. "

- Pablo Neruda

I walk into the downpour 

Hoping it will wash away 

Those memories of you and me 

Running down the hill of ecstasy. 

Damn this rain! It reminds me 

Of that promise I made to you - 

Every time a drop kisses the earth 

I too would kiss you with all fervor.

Dark desert battles!

Original Painting by Auguste Glaize (1807-1893)
"The Women of Gaul" - An episode during the Roman invasion of Gaul, Painting done in 1851

       It was a dark night. A stormy one. Desert storms are bad, they are brutal too. I struggled my way to the high moral ground and preached to my fellow warriors. Some cheered, some booed. That is how it is, I thought. Energized by the assumption that I had fuelled their spirits, I bravely battled the enemy all through the night.

       As the Sun came above the horizon in the early hours, I saw the landscape. A freaking sight! The moral high ground I supposed in the night was only a heap of corpses of my own men! The ground in the desert is all fleeting. As my own men stare at me and their stare terrifies me more than that of the enemy forces, it feels as if the sand flows and where I thought was the high ground in the night, now seems to be the pit of my downfall.

River of life

 

PC: Myself

There flows the river of life, 

All the way to the ocean - ripe. 

To watch her flow is a sight to behold!

At places she is absolutely silent, 

And at places she roars exuberant. 

At places she meanders through curves, 

And at places she diligently swerves.

If one day she drains herself completely 

All into the ocean, not a drop in flow

Only the silent trail of dust to show;

The gut wrenching shock of sudden loss

He is willing to bear it as this too shall pass.

He says he will miss, but not brood over her.

The splendour with which she once flowed,

The grandeur with which she once roared. 

Nor shall he sit by what was once the river,

And over her demise moan in pain or shiver.

Hardened at heart, he will continue with his life.

He will brave the unpredictability of the seasons,

Even if to negotiate despite the many treasons.

He will as always struggle to raise plant and bud,

Even if to water them through his sweat and blood.

Humans!

Human beings: Contradictory ideas and Individual character??
PC: Myself!

"What makes human beings interesting is that they continue to hold contradictory ideas together at the same time, and that mix is what constitutes the individual character." 

- Orhan Pamuk

Rare was this moment! Very rare indeed. As if it was a blue moon night! The angel and the devil were on the same page on this issue.
"An idealist, a romantic, a poet - far far away from reality!"
"An opportunist, a realist, a politician - scheming to get things done!"
"At times so courageous and bold; at times so timid and meek"
"Inconsistent. Simple in certain tastes, lavish in others."
"Kind and cruel"
"Mind and heart"
"Unreasonable, yet at times pragmatic!"
"Foolish, yet at times the spark of brilliance!"
"Why aren't they what they are?"
"Why can't we predict their behaviour?"
Taking a deep breath of exasperation, the angel and the devil in this extremely rare moment of agreement said in unison - " Probably, because they are humans!"

A step and a leap!!

To my mom,

What have been small steps to me,

Have always been giant leaps to her!

PC: Myself

Captured at the HortPark, Singapore