All That is Gold

At dusk sat the great Aragorn

Sword sheathed, and countenance forlorn

But at dawn the sun shone bright over the iron hill

As did he, with fiery will

To fight for the freedom of Gondor

We marched forth on to war

The harbingers of death flew above us all

But determined, we waited for the clarions call.

There would be no need for sacrifice and bravery

Were we to submit to the Sauron’s slavery

Yet we unite under our glorious King

To thwart the power of the Ring

For Isildurs folly can never be forgot

Good cannot exist merely in thought

The adage that paves the hero’s road

Death before dishonour is a worthy code

As the kings and wizards bloodied the lands

We knew our fates were not in our hands

But writing off martyrs amidst the tears

We knew we were conquering our worst fears

Because perhaps when there is an end to this story

And the King is restored to his glory

What we must know in our heart

Is that we mattered, that we played our part

We may be forgotten amongst the hobbits and the elves

But we won’t be forgotten by ourselves

When the tale is told, we won’t be bitter

For we know, all that is gold does not glitter

Crack The Sky

Oh great lords of wisdom
Teach me what you've learnt
Make me another victim of
The bridges that you've burnt

Out of the rubble, out of the dirt
Come the saviours of my being
The dirt is washed off them
It's a miracle that I'm seeing

Momentary illusions of truth
Bewitch my mind's views
With experience I see clear
These illusions I refuse

In darkness I wandered
Condemned path and bewitched road
Until the epiphany fit to arise
The way back home it showed

Home remained not constant
Far ahead in time it went
At its doorstep I realised
How much time I'd spent

Through the dirt comes the miracle
Through the fire comes the home
The bridges in darkness perish
The land of wisdom free to roam

A new land thus created
With wisdom and the objects of love
No enemy follows, nor can he
And there is only the sky above

A Lifetime of Hope

Well-trained and bred from a high caste
The beast was born to be fast
His master looked at him with pride
Full of high hopes inside

Over the years he was prepared
And no expense was spared
He worked hard and shone amongst his peers
And struck many an enemy with instant fears

He started slowly and learnt the game
Gained success and rose to fame
The time came for the ultimate showdown
Where he longed to earn his rightful crown

Closely the race was fought
And many tickets were bought
Bets were placed here and there
And to him, none would compare

He did not win the race
And disappointment was writ on his face
He finished second best
No different from the rest

Well-trained and bred from a high caste
The beast was born to be fast
Different from the rest
He still finished second best. 

Maya

I had a dream
A dream
Magical, beautiful
Perfect
A vision
A utopia
All that I wanted
My achievement, to be

Real
In my head
Real
In my world
I had to make it

Through the elements
Through the will
Through the door
And the windowsill

So I did
brick by brick
So I built
stick by stick

And at last
the castle of cards
stood on its own
the ace of spades
waiting to be placed

And then it was.

And so the phenomenal
was phenomenal no more
The dream
was dream no more

Reality, as it were
was thus like a dream
a utopia
Magical ,beautiful

I woke up
From reality 
And I realised
I was in a dream
The impossible utopia 
Achieved, had stolen
the magic
the beauty
the perfection

My dream was
All that it was
And so it was
a dream

So I regressed
Or did I
And I returned
Or did I reach
To reality as I knew it once
Or as I know it now 
And I thought
Home

And wiser now I hoped
for more
sweet dreams
And I wouldn't be deceived
A spade is a spade
And nacre is not silver
Not in my head
And not in my world

Playing God

Seer of visions, ascertain my guilt
By my hands the blood I've spilt
Condemn the future I will create
Then bless me with a clean slate 

 So I have written, so I will do
I will tempt fate and I will taunt you
These lives are mine to take
Will you shine forth for their sake

Chaos shall commence at my word 
Your command will go unheard
Unaffected by your countenance unseen
The slaughter shall rage on serene

You may mourn the loss of your creation
And I shall revel in the glory of mine
For I rule this world of nations
And you, only the kingdom divine

The State of the Union

Controversy has struck the capital yet again as activist Anna Hazare was publicly arrested on the mere grounds that he broke the law. A shocked Anna said, “People who ignore the law to achieve their ends are not supposed to be arrested”; creating ripples in the media. “But isn’t that what your campaign was all about?” asked a visibly perplexed (more than usual) NDTV reporter. “Exactly”, replied Anna mysteriously.

Thousands gathered in protest in Connaught Place (Anna was being held at Civil Lines) , shouting slogans and waving banners. I saw a man energetically working a mob into a frenzy and asked him, “Do you think this will get Anna out of jail?”. He fixed me with a stare and asked me, “Anna is in jail?!”. I affirmed this news and walked on, reflecting on the state of the union.

The Diary of Anna Hazare

I walked into Tihar with a good deal of trepidation.  As I was being escorted to my cell, I tried bribing several officers but was pleasantly surprised when none of them took up my offer. Perhaps there is hope after all. I was greeted at my barred and walled destination by a man who has been a huge inspiration in my life, and a driving force behind my recent struggles. I could hardly believe my eyes – indeed, I wiped my glasses- that I was looking upon the one and only Suresh Kalmadi. That I was sharing a cell with him took a few minutes to sink in. After I settled in and pasted several pictures of food items on the wall, he finally spoke. Our conversation ran thus;

SK: So...Who are you ? 

AH: Ha, you obviously don’t have TV access like they claim you do.

SK: They make me watch Commonwealth Games reruns. You don’t look like an athlete... (He narrowed his eyes at me)

AH: My name is Anna Hazare (I adjusted my glasses stylishly)

At this point, a demented look really did come on to the man’s face. 

SK: 16 Annas make a Rupee. A thousand Annas then, are about 60 Rupees. I’m sure my accountant can make that look like Rs. 432 crores... 

AH: Sir, I am not a coin. And your corrupt ways are a disgrace to India. The west laughs at us ! It is the reason I shall fast unto death !

Loath as  I was to lose my cool, I still did not expect Kalmadi to laugh at my outburst in a paternal manner.

SK: My dear Anna, what is common between hygiene and corruption ? 

AH: What? I don’t see the connection... (And I wiped my glasses just to make sure)

SK: For someone who likes to fast, you’re kinda slow. The west, you see, have different standards of corruption

AH: Can I have a cup of tea please?

"Pulled Under at 2000 Metres a Second"

First it is the mind

Deceived by illusion

Then calmness you will find

Replaced with confusion

Honesty does not last long

Neither does ambition

The band plays a different song

Encouraged by the false vision

Habits are discarded

And old friends too

No secret remains guarded

And no defence true

Fortunes are lost

And pride is swallowed

At self-interest's cost

A blind lead is followed

Dead horses are beaten

In vain hope of progress

But bitter pills are eaten

And you settle for less

What once was may never be now

In view of all the above

And that indeed is how

One falls in love