Mother Earth

My good friend Shweta Soni writes this gem of a poem on the condition of our planet. Very well written, but more importantly the point is made loud and clear.

Mother Earth

Once there lived a beautiful woman
A beautiful woman, the Mother Earth
But today she is in misery
All alone with her sufferings and dearth

And who is responsible for her condition
All her own sons
A mother who gave them so much
has to her rescue none

In place of her green forests
she sees today the forests of stone
and the cold blooded inhabitants
they have no heart, only bone

There is no water to be found
only blood flowing everywhere
'coz if look for violence
you can easily find it anywhere

The word 'Love' is forgotten
by all and sundry
The streets are full of
people who are hungry

But it's not hunger, it's greed
driving everyone mad
Greed for money, greed for power
through a means good or bad

But her sons are all indifferent
They care no more for their mother
A mother who is hurt but hopes
they'll wake up some day or other

Let that day be today itself
Let us all fulfill our duty
And pledge together one and all
To return the mother her lost beauty.

Searching within Confined Spaces

This is a guest blog from Shweta. I tried highlighting your name and attaching your blog's URL to it, but sadly you refuse to keep one! But for you're 25th b'day, this is the least i can do :-)

This one's called Searching within Confined Spaces

For sometime, I knew I had misplaced something. I didn’t exactly know how or when or what exactly I had misplaced. I was sure it wasn’t an old diary or a faded photo album either. All I knew that that it was somewhere waiting to be rediscovered in my room.

Take a quick peek into my room. This room will tell you nothing about me. Usual bare essentials of a table, chair, phone, lights, ceiling fan, an a/c, a clock, bed stacked with pillows, couple of open book racks and a closed wardrobe exists. Yet, everything in this room will tell you about me. I’m a modern day minimalist. I claim to be organized. To tell you the truth, in this tribe of 'minimalist', we are trained to shove all 'unwanted' things into lofts placed close to the ceiling. So, I thought that this confined space high above may get me to the stuff that I had misplaced.

Perched on a ladder and armed with a duster, I decided to examine this mysterious corner of my room. Out came the rightful occupants i.e. some sleepy and annoyed cockroaches. A little further, was a mass of odds and ends either waiting be disposed, sold, scrapped or just waiting for something. Yep… Dog-eared books, accounts ledger notebooks, School and College annual year books were all stacked. I'm sure I had good reason for retaining some question papers, rusted geometry boxes with cracked protractors and Reynolds pens with no refills. My erstwhile favorite 28 inch faded Lee jeans was sitting pretty in between this mess. I seem to have an amazing collection of R.D. Burman cassettes that I had wanted to convert into CDs. Oh, of course… school bags, college t-shirts, ties, belts, bags, cheap jewelry, friendship bands, key chains, study guides, old photo albums, some signed t-shirts, a tennis racquet, a dice…too many things…

My attention soon went toward a Philips music cardboard box. I opened that to find a box full of old greeting cards that I had received and treasured carefully over the last two decades without allowing my parents to throw it. The variety of shapes, sizes, and colors of greeting cards across occasions were amazing.

In that heady jumble, out came cards in no particular order. I found cards received on birthdays gone by, on getting my first period, on wishes for exams to be written, congratulatory cards on surviving exams written, becoming a teen, on completing my teen-hood, on recovery wishes for some sickness or the other. I even found couple of cards that was sent only because some one remembered me! In between card covers bearing foreign stamps, I found the first ever valentine card received by me. Out came a crumpled disjointed heart shaped piece of paper. It had the golden words “If roses are meant to be red, and violets are meant to be blue...' Now, the sad part is, the other part of the heart seems to have disappeared under the weight of time and other cards. I searched hard for the missing piece of paper. It was of no use. I tried hard remembering who the sender was...I'm sorry. I just couldn’t.

Yet, I smiled. I discovered what I was in search of… MEMORIES...amazing ones...In these greeting cards, I found trails of time celebrating some of the best and the worst moments gone by. Over the years, each card had some kind of personal note that acknowledged the trials and tribulations in my life time from various well wishers. In this confined space, did my search end...In these greeting cards, did I find what I craved for…Memories that made me realize that my 25th year of existence on planet Earth has not been all that uneventful… It’s been good…Damn good! Happy Birthday to me!

Brad Pitt and I share a special bond

Greetings Arjun's readers! I come in peace.

My name is Sridevi and I will be guest posting here today. Arjun and I have been friends for a long time now. But that's not what I am here to talk about today.

Wait a minute, what was I planning to talk about today?!!

(frustrated expression)

Sorry friends, you see, since last couple of weeks, I have been working on a paper on Sanitation, so that all that comes to my mind when I try to think up a decent blog posts is toilets, water supply and proper waste disposal.

Anyway, to distract you from the beautiful images and thoughts that I just inserted in your head, I will talk about Brad Pitt for a brief moment.

(If you have already read my blog, then you have been clearly forewarned that I usually lead you into believing that my post is about others and finally it ends up being about me, because it is fun to be self-centered)

I assume that all of you have seen that particular episode in Friends where Brad Pitt makes a guest appearance. Therefore, I also assume you found it especially entertaining that his character in that episode hated Rachel (played by his then wife - Jennifer Aniston), to the extent of taking revenge by starting an I-hate-Rachel Club that spread rumors about her.

Well, neither am I a female Brad Pitt, nor is the object of my wrath even remotely like Jennifer Aniston, but I too dislike (to the point of hate) a woman and have already proceeded with my path of revenge!

(witch-like cackles in the background)

So until last month, I used to take a daily bus pass of Rs. 30/- on my way to work, which lets me board how many ever buses I want for that particular day. It is a convenient system for those who cover long distances daily.

Cast: Me, Evil Woman who sells daily passes, Random people nearby

Me (thrusting 3 bunched up 10 rupee notes into her hand): "One pass"
(Me slightly distracted by the disgusting kid trying to wipe his snot on the person near him, meanwhile sees out of the corner of the eye that Evil Woman dropped a note deftly into her shoulder money bag)
(Me also slightly impressed at her precision of throwing the money correctly into her bag, without letting it flutter down to the ground)
Evil Woman: "You have given me only 20 rupees, the pass costs 30"
Me (completely shocked): "But you just threw a note into your bag"
Evil Woman (obviously well experienced in handling these situations): "What? Why would I do that?"
Me (in my head): "Because you can keep the extra money, Evil Woman"
Me (stupidly slow and stubborn): "But I saw you do it"
Evil Woman (opens her bag to reveal a pile of 10 rupee notes and hastily shuts it before I could look clearly): "See, I didn't throw your money in the bag!"
Me (clearly not Sherlock Holmes): "But.....but...."
Evil Woman (loudly to other people nearby who couldn't care less as to what she is saying): "She lost her money on the way, and is saying I took it" (fake laugh) "why would I put the money in my bag?"
(Onlookers totally not reacting)
(Me fuming, angry with myself for not being the usually clever person that I am)

(Curtains close)

But the story isn't over yet Evil Woman!

Because now (April 2009), whenever I board your bus, I will give you the cold stare, which you might not understand (remember) why, but will make you lose your sleep at nights.

Now, whenever I board your bus, I will haughtily ignore your requests to buy tickets.

Now, whenever I board your bus, you will no longer be able to cheat me out of 10 rupees.

Because now, I have the power of the monthly pass, that will let me travel in any bus I want for the whole month.

Now I shall no longer carry any money with me, to "lose" it.

And now, there shall be JUSTICE.

(Immature you say? Well, if Brad Pitt can do it, then so can I)

PS: I know I should give her the benefit of doubt, but what are the odds that the moment I happened to IMAGINE that she dropped the note into her bag, she tells me that I have not given her the correct amount??!

Apples, Traffic Signals, and the Male Species

I’m guest blogging here for a change.