Evening on Marine Drive

Crackling shells

of a roasted groundnut

fell

as we walked

on the shore at sunset.

Brushing aside

that willful strand of hair

off my face

I stood and stared

at those passing unknown faces

flashing through my

lens' screen...

I wonder how

that child of four

or five

is happy with his running nose

and patchy clothes...

Where does he go

when the darkness falls?

Is there a place

that he calls his home?

And a chaiwala 

succeeds in selling me

an over priced, under-boiled

hot cup of tea

While the chipswala

grumbled softly

at my refusal

for his fare...

There are couples here

and there

and some more too far

finding the comforting embrace

of a crowded place

Where holding hands

or a spontaneous kiss

is no disgrace...
i see their smile

made me forget

the destitute's pain...

For fitness' sake

or just a break

you see them walk

and run and pace

With music on

or dogs in chains

the lifeline here

is on its shore...

And darkness falls

into the sea

Cool cars whizz by

the star struck eyes

trying to find 

the city of their dreams

As they stand and stare

for just that little more:

a house opening on to the sea,

a car that guzzles the petroleum

resources of the world

and a few thousands crisp Gandhi face

in their back pockets...

The stars lit up the sky

and the necklace was shining bright

our conversation continued

as we walked back to the junction

and back to our

race against time

an evening spent

in the heart of my Mumbai...

Choking on you...

How do i explain how i feel?

i feel...
like i am drowning in the deep deep sea
far away from the shore
with no hands to pull me back,
back to the shore...

i feel...
the sting of my burning soles
as if they were walking on coals of fire
with the stench of my burnt flesh
all pervading the air
and i can't breathe...

i feel...
the pricks of innumerable
invisible, everlasting needles
hurting the insides of my soul
and i can't cry
or utter a word...

i feel...
the shame of a slave
all tied up
and nothing and no one
to save it from the shame
not even death
the elusive escape...

A goodbye note...

Can't say a word.
But i lived my part with you.
Now we part on a note
i never knew
would come our way.

Now we are here
far from each other's view
i cry a little
sometimes laugh
at a joke we shared
secretly glance at the spot
that was ours
as i walk past it
in my everyday fare.

Who do i complain?
Whom to blame?
Why did i let you go
when you were the one who knew
what my words never said?

It is the way of the world
and we care too much
for the rest of them
and what they feel
should be done...

I let you go
but i want you to know
i am here
right where i was
and when the world comes to an end
We will be one.

Our Play

The curtain is
about to unveil...

All the hours of practice,
of dialogues exchanged
behind the scenes,
of emotions and drama
entwining dreams with action,
of mis-timed cues
and comic timings
sailing through...

The curtain is
about to unveil...

Jitters and prayers
to break-a-leg,
poking questions: Standing ovation-
will that greet us
or will we face
all empty chairs?

The curtain is
about to unveil...

As i sit here in the wings
and know i can do no more
than wait and watch
all my hours of toil
and biting nails
being over now...
the theatre of life
begins its refrain...

Follow you

I will follow you

like the moon around the earth
Will you be my earth?

Will you stand by me

when i wax and wane,

when i hide in the darkness

or while i shine brighter than the stars?

Will you pull me to you,

but not too close

so that my orb is around you

but i don't burn

and crash on your floor?

I will follow you

like a meter on a running cab.

Will you turn me on?

Would you manipulate

and fix the way i move

or let me move

the way i was meant to move?

Will you tamper my seal

and sell me off

for some tiny deal?

I will follow you

like i have followed you around

in the daily hours of silence.

Will you be my sound?

Will you say the words

my mouth cannot form

and read my mind

for all my concerns?

Will you know
that i have followed you

for you alone

and not for some vested gains?
And i will follow you

else my life will not remain...

Perfect Night

Just around the corner
near the old walls
of Keval Mahal
close to the imprinted footstep
the love was shared

The necklace lit up the night
and the waves were on low tide
murmuring against the rocks
as they smiled

The walls have grown older
the necklace now brighter...
barefoot she stood
watching the surging tide
crash against the rocks
her dreams
of the perfect night
now gone amuck...

and she was like the crabs
on the rock
one step ahead
two steps back
her life going in circles
that never seemed to stop...

In a wayward way...

I love you

in a wayward way.

In extreme passion for a moment

and a longer moment

later I fight you off

Your love which cares

touches me;

But sometimes suffocates

my streak of independence

and pushes the boundaries of my space…

I wait for

a sign

an instance

that would tell me again

and again

that I love you the same

or even more…

You are like a drug

in my veins

you make me live

even after a death

a thousand times more

when you are out and away…

I love you

in my wayward way...