poem

I want to live forever

This poem is inspired by an initiative “Gift your Organ” taken by my friend Sameer Dua who has taken this initiative for promoting the cause of Organ Donation.

Gift Your Organ

I live for the bigger perspective,
Yet I enjoy the pleasure of each breath!
But when I see in the long term,
The only thing common is called death!!

I enjoy each and every moment I live,
And I like this journey to end never!
If you ask me my one wish,
I will say I want to live forever!!

To feel all the love and joy in this world,
All I have to do is open my eyes!
After death give mine to someone blind,
For I don’t want to miss the morning sunrise!!

A glance from a girl can turn on my heart,
Makes it beat and tells me I am still alive!
After death give mine to someone in need,
If not mine, another journey it will revive!!

When I die I don’t want you to shed tears,
For still alive are my eyes, heart, and liver!
Instead smile and give them to the needy,
For through others, I want to live forever!!

You can support him by joining the cause below —

Feb 24, 2011
Only if you knew!!

(As imagined by me from a lower class Indian kid, who is poor, illiterate, without a future, exploited and has no clue what to do. To the average middle class Indian who is educated, employed, and making his mark in the world)

The story of my struggles with life,
Never reaches you!
I will be glad only if you knew,
Maybe just a few!!

The numerous tears I have been shedding,
Never tells my story to you!
Only if you knew that I was the future,
Which was dreamt of by Nehru!!

That I use mud both for playing and hunger,
Never touches you!
Only if you could bring me some toys,
Red, green or blue!!

That I have to work as soon as I can,
Never jolts and scares you!
Only if you knew that millions,
Like me are waiting for a rescue!!

The distance between books and me,
Never might have bothered you!
Only if you could see my dreams,
Of going to school and having a guru!!

The jingling of the songs in my head,
Never reaches you!
Only if you could hear the music,
And dance a few steps, too!!

I am waiting for you to come,
To show me a future new!
Where I can play in colorful clothes,
Maybe even get a new hairdo!!

I jump in joy and smile when,
I believe my dreams can be true!
I am waiting for that day to come,
Only if you knew!!

Feb 11, 2011
You can Just Rust, Or…

You can just rust, or go out all guns blazing,
Maybe sing a song, or paint a painting!
Pick a new passion, or an old hobby to revive,
Just pass thru life, or really feel what it is to be alive?

You can just rust, but do you really want to?
With so many peaks waiting to be conquered by you!
Feel the wind hit you, let you be drenched by rain,
Hop on a bus to nowhere, or catch a train!!

You can just rust, but the whole world awaits you,
There are friends to cherish, and dreams to pursue!
With books to read, and music to hear,
What are you waiting for, oh my dear!!

If you rest, you rust – Helen Hayes

You can just rust, but do remember,
Time will fly by, and take what it has to offer!
You will get old, and your joints will pain,
So go get it, for this day will not come again!!

You can just rust, but this is your only life,
Open those blinds, or tear the curtains with a knife!
Let the world know, you lived to the fullest,
Let those be proud, who stood and witnessed !!

Jan 28, 2011
Trends!!

Sometimes I wonder,

How much of our lives these days,

Are lived following the trends,

Which the society follows as a craze!!

Why do when people have to talk,

It is customary to go for a drink?

We land up somewhere too loud,

Where you can do anything but talk!!

Why is the Rs 50 coffee so popular,

The only thing is you can talk for hours!

What happened to sitting and eating,

At a place which we can call ours!!

Why doesn’t it pain to tip Rs 50-100,

At a high end hotel, restaurant or bar!

Then why does it pain to contribute,

The same amount for a good cause!!

And how much do we indulge in,

Pleasing our taste buds by mindless eating!

Do we no longer care, or do we lack,

The self-power to deny anything appealing!!

Why is it ‘cool’ to spend more,

At a place which is high end!

It is time to ask ourselves,

Do we live only to follow the trend!!

Its amazing how much of our lives,

Is affected/governed by outside influence!

God knows what happened to traits like,

Self-control, discipline, and abstinence!!

Jan 6, 2011
She is a Woman

We blame her for being emotional,

And we make fun when she cry!

But we forget she is the reason,

Most times our face is lit up by a smile!!

We have never given her ,

The place in society she deserved!

Yet she makes sure that everyone,

Feels taken care of and loved!!

We often blame her,

When she gets mad for small things!

It’s only due to her knack for perfection ,

That many a men have prospered like they have wings!!

We say we don’t like it,

When she disrupts our game of soccer!

But lets be honest and acknowledge,

We love it when she growls in anger!!

We want her to love us,

Like we are Salman Khan!

While Salman has six packs to show,

Our belly resembles the sand dunes of Rajasthan!!

We often wonder,

Can’t she ever be quiet?

But to hear her voice when away,

We can keep everything aside!!

She is like the sudden rain,

Will make you wet, but with a tinge of warmth!!

We can say how much she loves us,

But can never really understand its depth!!

Because no matter how much,

We take pride in being a man!!

She is a woman my dear friend,

She is a Woman!!

Nov 23, 2010
Why screw the planet?

Lots and lots of plastic bottles lying around

We live in a developing country,

With a heavy cultural and religious bend!

Let us look at what we leave behind,

When we confidently go with the trend!!

Our economy is growing leaps and bounds,

The world watched amazed during the recession!

That growth generates a huge amount of waste,

Which when dumped looks like a big ocean!!

Our world today is driven by consumerism,

And every thing we use is disposable!

Our environment was never meant to cope with,

All the garbage that we leave on the table!!

We celebrate our festivals with grandeur,

But most have been taken over by hooliganism!!

We pollute air, water and land alike,

In this environment, can religion really blossom?

Most of the garbage end up in landfills,

Where huge amounts of greenhouse gases are released!

We do not understand the gravity of the problem,

And need to act before our planet is termed as deceased!!

We have already had a few eco-disasters,

With many more waiting to happen!

We need to wake up and act soon,

Before it is too late for any action!!

Let us realise while we can,

That we are losing time minute by minute,

Anyways we have 6 billion people around,

So why do we have to screw the planet?

Trashing our earth

To know what happens to our waste after we dump it, click here…

Nov 18, 2010
Let’s save Obama this Diwali

Fireworks during Diwali

It’s that time of the year again,
You can sense the festivities in the air!
Everybody is ready to celebrate Diwali,
With all aplomb and fanfare!!

Diwali is the festival of lights,
And it signifies the triumph of good over bad!
This year let’s light that little spark within all of us,
And be sensible, rather than going with the fad!!

Lets shun firecrackers this year,
Which have robbed many children of their childhood! (child laborers manufacture them)
Instead spend the money for their education needs,
And empower them to stand up and earn their livelihood!!

Manufacturing Firecrackers under hazardous conditions

Firecrackers indeed look good to the eye,
But they also cause noise and air pollution in the sky!
They affect ailing people and senior citizens,
And even plants and animals can’t take a sigh!!

Considering the impact to the environment,
Lets pledge to have a cracker free Diwali hereby!
Its still not too late to make a difference,
We have the choice to act and not deny!!
Or do we want our children and future generations,
To question us – Why didn’t you even try???

A typical polluted Diwali night

Firecrackers also cause many fire accidents,
Tears are shed when there should be hugs all around!
Let us light a thousand diyas and spread the light,
The light which will bring love and happiness abound!!

As India marches ahead in the 21st century,
We’ve shed our past image and began to flex our six pack!
Even the US President has chosen the Diwali night to land,
And we obviously don’t want to gift Obama an asthma attack!!

Diwali as it is meant to be – Joy and Happiness all around

Nov 3, 2010
A Poem on Indian Railways – Chuk Chuk Gaadi

Read some of my other most popular poems – Go the Extra Mile, A Ripple of Hope and Why God made Mothers?

Often called the Lifeline of the Nation,
Indian Railways runs more than 14,300 trains!
It carries over 13 million passengers daily,
Across hills, tunnels, rivers, lakes and plains!!

With 1.6 million employees under its rolls,
IR is one of the world’s largest employer!
Traveling across the country in its 63,000 kms of tracks,
You are bound to have more adventure than Tom Sawyer!!

A Train in Indian Railways

Trains run from North to South, East to West,
Across the length and breadth of the country!
Jammu to Kanyakumari is 4751kms,
Is covered by Himsagar Express in 66 hrs, albeit slowly!!

The Railways was a legacy of the British,
And we have come a long way since then!
We have new tracks, trains and coaches,
And technology’s presence is felt even in the engine!!

But while the world has zipped away,
With the high speed and maglev trains!
We continue to live in the British era,
And our trains still run as if enslaved in chains!!

The TGV in France runs at more than 250 km/hour,
Chinese high speed trains exceed speeds of more than 350 km/hour!
Maglev trains are already being tested at 450 km/hour,
With our fastest running at 90, the experience really turns sour!!

My father points out that in the 80s,
Karnataka Express used to take 36 hrs between Delhi – Bangalore!
Now 25 years later it takes 40 hrs,
Surely not something worth writing about in Indian Railways brochure!!

Most stations are outdated and overcrowded,
Trains themselves are rusted, in gross disrepair and dirty!
People hang outside the windows and even on the roof,
Which makes for nice photographs, but at the cost of safety!!

A typical sight on Indian Railways

Communication and signaling equipment is outdated,
No surprises that 83% of all accidents result from human error!
The whole infrastructure is old and crumbling,
Add to that the problems of corruption, naxalism and terror!!

There is no doubt that Indian Railways needs to be better managed,
We need solutions, problems are not going to disappear if we just duck!
Considering the size and scale of operations its not going to be easy,
The authorities needs to tighten their belts, and let us wish them “Best of Luck”!!

Jul 27, 2010
A Tribute to Women

What it is like to be a woman,
A man is perhaps incapable to understand!
It would take us a lifetime to realise,
That when compared to her, nowhere we stand!!

She has the power,
To mesmerize the world with her smile!
As daughter, wife, mother, and friend,
She makes many lives worthwhile!!

In giving birth she faces pain,
Many times more than ever experienced by man!
Still she forgets it with a smile and gets ready,
For her life as a mother just began!!

Performing the role of a wife and a mother,
She is the pillar of strength in every family!
Competing and thriving in a male centric society,
She is nothing less than a one man army!!

If we recount the impact of women in our lives,
We will realise it is nothing less than massive!
I can go on and on but eventually,
Even I will fall short of an adjective!!

As with most men, too egoistic to give her credit,
Even I was unaware of her strength and capability!
Till an amazingly wonderful woman made me realise,
That to be respected is not only her right, but also our duty!!

May 7, 2010
My take on Bangalore

The Ulsoor Lake – One of the Numerous lakes in Bangalore

Eighteen months after moving here,
I feel much better off than before!
Looking in hindsight I feel,
I am glad I came to Bangalore!!

It is a brand the world has noticed,
And come to recognize India for!
The whole software / investment boom started here,
And I am glad I live in Bangalore!!

With our cheap manpower and outsourcing,
The city is not only a noun anymore!
Bangalored is now a verb used to indicate a layoff,
When jobs are moved offshore!!

Me having come from Delhi,
I can say one thing for sure!
When it comes to how to treat women and elders,
Those from up north can learn a lot from locals in Bangalore!!

Some people stretch it too far,
And call it India’s Singapore!
But let us not forget the mess,
With traffic, pollution, and garbage galore!!

Infrastructure, or lack of it, is a big problem,
Which you will realize as soon as you step outdoor!
With the speed of urbanization in the last two decades,
A lot of catching up needs to be done, wake up Govt of Bangalore!!

Bad Traffic is one of the issues,
Which critics of B’lore point out to level score!
But then it is a common problem in all Indian cities,
And it is unfair to single out just Bangalore!!

But the weather here is like a silver lining,
When wind blows and the clouds roar!
You should forget everything,
And just be glad you are in Bangalore!!

I do miss the winters of Delhi,
And the various hangout options are difficult to ignore!
But for me, given my state of affairs,
I will anyday choose Bangalore!!

P.S. – This poem reflects my personal opinion about Bangalore and hence no offenses to other cities and people living there. I have just tried to put into words my current take on Bangalore 😉

Apr 30, 2010
The Irony of living in the Indian Society

Indian Society presents many ironical situations

Indian society is unique in itself,
With diversity in every house, street and corner!
And with so many ironic situations all around,
How our society survives is a wonder!!

We have the best malls now,
With the best brands lined up wonderfully inside!
And copies of the same brand are available,
At throw away prices at the adjacent roadside!!

To see how the poor and wealthy co-exist,
Imagine when we drive in an air-conditioned car!
It is not at all strange to witness outside,
Beggars and slum dwellers barefoot on burning tar!!

Still if they beg for money or try to sell some toys,
Standing outside in weather as hot as a furnace!
Why do we sitting inside the AC cooled car,
Get red hot angry and treat them like they are from outer space!!

“Ganga jaisi pavitra” has been used many a times in Indian cinema,
As Ganga is worshipped as a symbol of purity!
Yet 2 million daily holy bathes and tons of industrial waste,
Make it one of the most polluted rivers in the country!!

Mumbai is the financial and entertainment capital of India,
Yet it continues to have pathetic infrastructure!
It is one of the most populous cities in the world,
But 60% of them living in slums doesn’t make for a good picture!!

We have our very own moral protectors of the society,
How they suddenly appear on Valentines Day is pure magic!
Isn’t it strange that even after 60 years of independence,
It is OK to Piss in public but not to Kiss in public!!

Mar 23, 2010
Racism and Unity

It is after a long time I am writing a poem, and this is certainly my first since I started blogging. It follows below, read it and share your views as comments…

Our media say Aussies are attacking Indians,
But is racism really to blame…
In the race of getting more eyeballs and attention,
Isn’t it only a publicity game!!

Why do we forget to see,
What is happening in our own home?
When Shiv Sena hits out at fellow Indians,
It seems our unity and dignity are long gone…

Naxalites are killing policemen everyday,
Now active among 220 districts and 20 states..
Our armies might be one of the biggest,
But some problems are better solved with just opening our heart gates!

Is it not racism when we divide on caste,
Or hate a person for region or religion…
Why do we always forget that be it Biharis or Mumbaikars,
We are all part of the same legion!!

It is said every cloud has a silver lining,
And with the attacks on Indians down under…
Shiv Sena when they said would not allow Aussie players to play,
Saw the victims as Indians and not as Punjabis/Mumbaikars, which is a wonder!!

Whatever is happening to this country,
I can only pity…
We need to think that why it takes a disaster or calamity,
To bring us countrymen together in unity!!

Mar 17, 2010