City lights dazzling bright meets success
In blinding people to the spectacle of that raw art,
Unfolding naked to meet no eyes.

An art that needed no teacher,
That which could not be contained
by society-inflicted depravations,
Not by throwing nickel on a scarf
Which by night would snarl itself into mother’s sinuous waist.

That’s no art people talked
What which exploits itself cheaply to feed hungry mouths.
Which cannot afford a stage,
But needs only a few sticks and a rope to set up a trapeze.
Not if performed by a hapless girl
Who steals a piece of bread every night to feed her starving family.

I soon moved to other books. After I purchased the books, I had a leisurely stroll in the city’s most happening street. I later made the purchase of an expensive poster. After some minutes, the irony of the situation struck me. While reading the anecdote, I thought austerity was something that was easily realizable and made into the “It” thing. But practically, it looked like one needed herculean effort to stay away from splurging on hedonistic needs. I also realized that most of us (you may raise objections if you disagree) read books only for our gratification. We do not want to learn anything from it. This is largely true. Often terms like, ‘voracious reader ‘and ‘book-club’ are over-rated and given inordinate credit, sometimes even wrongly interpreted for intellectual elitism. The proverb ‘A pen is mightier than a sword’ has not proved to be completely true. Although several books have stirred up people, have set the tone for rebellion and in the scientific world, have chronicled breakthroughs, my argument is that they’ve equally left people confused. All this, one may argue is true for an average reader only. Yet average reader is the one who gives a book ‘a million copies sold’ tag, which is no more significant than the writer’s and publisher’s pockets made a little heavier or enticing other readers into the book.

Opinions and perspectives also come with a tag. ‘A Nobel laureate’s opinion’,’ an expert’s opinion’, ‘a writer’s opinion’ …the list is endless. People are in a delirium to classify opinion as soon as it is shot off the mouth. Some opinions are over-rated. Some are taken too seriously. Some are misinterpreted. While some are thrashed into oblivion. Case in point, the long drawn battle between human rights activists and the State forces in Binayak Sen’s sentence. I’m not someone who has an opinion on who is right and who is wrong, but I do believe that it is a perfect example of Maoist sympathizer pushed behind bars. While charges were leveled against him as early as 2008, this has come into public glare only recently. The reason- we had to wait for an Indian Nobel Laureate to give his opinion and for him to campaign with 42 other Nobel Laureates for the cause of Binayak Sen. This kind of thinking smacks of reversal of evolution. We wait for Booker awardees’ to write elaborate articles in newspapers/magazines. That, we believe is the only way to understand the enormity of the situation. Their opinions are given more importance than the victims’ opinions themselves.

We don’t spare Gods out of over-rating trap either. In Hindu mythology, it is said that there are thirty three crore gods. Yet, we know only a double handful names at most. To extend Orwell, some gods are more equal than others. Populism is synonymous with over-rating. ‘Word-of-mouth’ is the veil publicists use to up their sales. It is a term used as a carrier of populist opinions around like how air mediates in the spread of harmful pollen grains. Signing up for a popular campaign on a social-networking site has become more trendy and in-vogue than taking to streets and making a public protest. A smart-ass businessman who can get Shahrukh Khan to host a quiz show at his institute becomes a youth icon. A reflection within us would bring to light our hunger for sensational news. Mainstream media has become a clean slate for corporate-controlled pen. I used to believe that journalists were the most sincere professionals. All that now seems like a blind belief. We make heroes out of zeroes and zeroes out of heroes. Our urge for bestowing martyrdom (sarcasm intended) to murdered corrupt politicians is regrettable. Can one good act wash off a thousand sins? World thrives on populist opinions. A book with blood-sucking vampires becomes an inspiration for millions of readers, while a neat auto-biography is written off. We have lost the beam balance on which we weigh good and bad to eternity.

She knew she had to come out of it.Not because she wanted to,but she had to.The only way she could stop fearing was to fear something else.This was not difficult for she feared her every step in life.She compulsively pondered,it became an obsession almost.She,however was adept at insulating her sensory organs from fear.She gave her eyes to the spiral rainbow-like iradiscent colours in the darkness which for the most part was imaginary.She lent her ears to the howls of stray dogs.The amoebas entered the cavern of her nose,she felt.She gave her mouth to ceaseless prayers to get her out of what was left of her.

The disarray of her thoughts numbed her.She shuddered in the quiteness of a place which was no bigger than a carton of her CPU.After all this,she had to lift herself for she is the protagonist of this story and she knows the story of her life has to have a safe landing.So she let the light hijack her fears and warily entered the world of endless sunshine.

Marooned I am in a ghostly night,
sounds I hear are all illusory whimpers,
for I know it is an exercise in disconcerting silence.
Is it the ghost of the past,
unremittingly digging a grave dark and deep?

I worry more and deeper the shovel pushes me in,
I become the ground for an avalanche of morbid mud.
Before the tomb is laid, the undertaker stares a deathly stare
‘Your constant worrying dug this grave, RIP! ! ‘.

As Doom’s day closes in,
Mankind swarms streets with a deafening din.
Rewind the scenes played a year back,
A frightening dragon said,
‘Mankind, you will be under my attack.
I will spare only those
who fight for both friends and foes.
This is a test of your ‘unity’,
as you proclaim its in diversity’.

The D-day strikes today
Dragon seems to be in gay,
for all it gets if it’s challenge is not met,
scores of maimed and delectable human blood.
For sure it knows human ‘unity’ is a dud.

And that did happen
sad to say.
For every man was for himself,
that dragon lapped up every dropp of blood.

PS:An apt dedication would be to the nation we call our neighbour.A place where a few men are the manifestation of the Dragon eulogized(sarcasm intended) above