FEET OF CLAY

My idol sat on a golden throne
Encrusted with gems and precious stones
Dressed it was, in a golden light
From head to foot it was pure white
From day to day, it used to sit
On the golden throne; I worshipped it
With gentle hands I'd clean the throne
And shine the gems and precious stones

The idol began to shake one day
I found it had feet of clay
No longer did I see a golden light
Smears of black marred the pure white
The gems and all the precious stones
No longer shone on the golden throne

Quickly I covered it with silken robes
Hid the feet from eyes that probe
But though the feet I could not see
The idol lost its charm for me

PARZANIA

Saw Parzania on Sunday. (Feb 4, 2007). What can I say about the movie? Powerful. Intense. Heart-wrenching. Truly, truly touching. Inspired by a true story, Parzania gives a true picture of the Gujarat riots and also raises some pertinent questions that many in the media never asked. Like, if the Gujarat riots were a spontaneous reaction to Godhra, how were tens of thousands of armed people mobilized? How did the attackers know exactly which homes/business establishments belonged to Muslims? Why were saffron flags distributed for Hindu businesses before the riots? The movie also reflected several findings of the NHRC Reports.

When the Intermission sign came on the screen, there was pindrop silence in the theatre. Nobody seemed to entertain the thought of snacks and soft drinks... it seemed blasphemous and trivial to think of stuff like that after the disturbing scenes that we just saw. The movie seemed to touch every heart. In fact, even after the movie ended, I saw a girl in the back row sobbing uncontrollably. It's sad that the film will never be released in Gujarat. It probably should. It should be released and seen in all those town/cities where communal riots claim thousands of lives. When will we learn? When will we stop slaughtering and butchering each other in the name of religion? When will we stop fighting with each other simply because we call our gods by different names?

The casting of Parzania was superb. And so was the acting especially of Naseeruddin Shah and Sarika, who looks as beautiful as ever. Must watch movie. Disturbinng but as one guy was telling his friend as we walked out of the theatre: "This is reality, man!"

CRY NO MORE

Cry no more
O tender heart
Cry no more
Tears will not
Change your fate
Cry no more

For long have I watched
Your trials and travails
The loneliness of your stand
The blistered feet
As you walked barefoot
On the scorching desert sand

I saw too
The pain in your heart
That gave you not
A moment’s peace
That wracked your body
With sobs and sighs
And soundless, pillow-muffled cries

Oh, don’t I know
Of the sleepless nights
That cast dark shadows
Under your eyes
The pills you pushed
Down your throat
To chase the ghosts away

And yes, a glimpse have I got
Of the Love that stirs your soul
A Love that makes the pain worthwhile
Puts wings on your feet
And on your lips a smile

This Love is sure to win
Dear Heart
This Love is sure to win
So cry no more
O tender heart
This Love is sure to win!

AN INDIAN SUMMER

The sun smiles
From cloudless skies
Beads of sweat
Form a crystal necklace

Thirsting eyes seek
The Ice Candy Man
Cold coffee spawns
An instant moustache

Streams of illusion flow
On McAdamised roads
Whirring fans stir
The lazy air

Lethargy creeps in
And snuggles on the bed
Dusty brown feet search
Cool mosaic tiles

Watermelon seeds fill
The empty bowl
Heat dissolves
In a red plastic mug

GUJARAT BURNS

A child in bandages, on a hospital bed
Confusion in his pain-filled eyes
Wondering why?

A man weeping, hands folded
Begging for help
That never came

Mother and child burnt alive
While the umbilical cord
Still bound them together

A brave young girl
Trying to smile
Through hard-to-control tears

Homes burning in flames of hatred
Terror walking the streets
With home-made swords

And as Hindus and Muslims
Fight over a Temple and a Mosque
Humanity is maimed, humanity is murdered
Humanity will never walk this land again.

(The pictures above, which appeared in Times of India during the Gujarat riots of 2002, and an interview I saw of Dr Bandukwala and his daughter, were the 'inspiration' if you can call it that, for this poem. I strongly believe that violence and terrorism should be unequivocally condemned - whether it is Islamic terrorism or Hindu militancy. When I used to read about Hitler's pogrom against the Jews, I used wonder how could the world let this happen. It's a frightening thought that such things can happen again and again, only the perpetrators change, the victims change, the spectators change... I pray that there may be no more Gujarats, no more Bombay Blasts, no more WTC bombings)

A CHILD'S WORLD

“Tell me child of the world you see
It surely is different from the world I see.
Is everybody beautiful in your world my child?
Is everybody pleasant-tempered and mild?
Is your world coloured in pastel shades?
Is it filled with hills and valleys and glades?
Is your world free of vices and sins?
Is your world a world where everybody wins?
Tell me child of the world you see
It surely is different from the world I see”.

The child answers:

“My world, it is such a beautiful place
I can see it reflected, in my mother’s face
Safe in her arms, my world I find
Free from all horrors – to sorrows blind
In my world are blue, blue skies
Rainbows and laughter and songs and smiles
The grass is so green, the roses so red
No child in my world goes hungry to bed
Everybody has a home to call their own
Nobody in my world walks alone
My world is nature’s exclusive domain
Free of hurts and aches and pains
In my world are no walls that divide
No fights, no riots, no secrets to hide
No barriers of language, caste or creed
In the name of religion, my people do not bleed
So pure and so clean is my world, my friend
My world is a world of love, my friend”.

(One of those few poems of mine that are not sad, I guess!!!)

THE BOOK EXHIBITION IS ON IN BANGALORE!

Had been to the Book Exhibition at Palace Grounds on Saturday, with Anu. It was wonderful! And what made me really happy were the crowds. (No, I don’t love crowds, in fact I hate them… but it was good to see that there are many, many serious readers out there).

We splurged on the books…Anu had her list of “must-buys” and I picked up several books that I had been reading about, like “Sacred Games” by Vikram Chandra, “Shantanu”, “The Inheritance of Loss”, by Kiran Desai (for which she won the Booker Prize), two books by Paul Coelho (author of The Alchemist), a book on Brand Building – “One Land, One Billion Minds” (by Ramunjam Sridhar… incidentally Sunil worked with him at RK Swamy-BBDO) and “The Black Book” by Orhan Pamuk, the Turkish writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature, 2006 “who in the quest for the melancholic soul of his native city has discovered new symbols for the clash and interlacing of cultures". Have started reading the last book and am really impressed by this writer’s style and the very evocative images that he paints. All the other books must wait… I am just waiting to read them. Also picked up “The Inscrutable Indian” by Anurag Mathur. Have read it before and remember how much I had enjoyed it… truly, truly hilarious – from the very first page!

Talking about books, would love to one day fulfill my childhood ambition of becoming an “author”. Only wonder if I have the self-discipline for it!