Early morning rituals

Each morning 
before I fix my cup of coffee
I walk to the litter tray. 

Scooper in one hand, plastic bag in the other, 
I sift through the gravel and deposit 
little droppings of cat scat into the bag

All this to make sure that yesterday’s shit
goes out with today’s garbage.

And while this ensues, 
the feline devils watch me
even as I gag.

What a blessed life they think, 
to not have to take out the garbage. 

Then there are the fat cats that run around my parents 
in their lovely tea estate home 
The world is their toilet.

Saturday strains...

Oh wooden chair, you're wondrous for the summer 
Thanks for not heating up my bummer

*********

The simple words... they don't come
Instead, they send their TISS-educated cousin
Talking about livelihoods and development and impact 
But is it worthwhile? 
To give others a voice
When my own has been hushed  

Kill me now! (or Two short poems dedicated to an extremely boring man)

I attended a couple of sessions that were part of Social Media Week Bangalore earlier today. The first one on making social media 'snack'able was actually rather palatable (pun intended, of course). Though it really went over those things that are commonly known (content should be simple, use videos, should be worth sharing etc), a revision of sorts never hurt anyone. And it reiterated what most social media experts that I have met have been shouting out loud - SHAMELESSLY PROMOTE! 

The second one on the other hand, was about how essential social media was to integrated marketing. This featured a man with a tri-religious name, much like Amar Akbar Antony. That was all that was remotely interesting about him. He did not speak much about social media, not did he address what it meant for integrated marketing. 

For the most part of the session, he kept talking about himself and his company. And when anyone asked him a question, he only said, "Free consulting you want? Hahahaha," before giving them a vague answer. He also had atrocious spellings and his knowledge of pop-culture was clearly from some article he had read before he put the deck together. Here are some of the gems from his session. 

• Harry Potter and the Deathly 'Hollows'
• 'Ganganam' Style
• 'Kate' Perry

Well, you get the drift... So to keep myself from dying of boredom or cracking up, I took copious notes. Here's what they look like. I also wrote two little ditties dedicated to this specimen.

Ditty no 1
This man does not stop talking
Oh, I feel like walking (away)
I probably will soon start baulking 

Ditty no 2
Vomit, vomit,vomit
Shoot me with a gun
Dammit, dammit, dammit
This man is no bloody fun 

As boring as he was, I do have him to thank for this month's post. 

Pictures from my past

Faded pictures
Pasted on a door
Talking of a time 
From sometime ago 

Bent at the edges
Falling away 
Talking of a time 
From June to May 

Faded pictures
Weary and forlorn 
Talking of a time 
Together, never alone 

I'll set them straight
The pictures from my past
Talking of a time
With memories to last

Family... the ties that bind and gag

Once there were 2 siblings
Born on the same day 5 years apart
They were as close as close could be
Each married, had a family of their own 
The families too were close

There was this piece of property 
It was never established who it belonged to
Time passed by 
Speaking about the property was taboo
As each one claimed it as their own 

The property was then put up for sale 
The siblings shared the income from the sale
Time passed by 
All could have been happy 
But speaking about the property was still taboo

A feud began
Tempers flared and ego reared its ugly head
Time passed by 
The siblings didn't speak any more
The families grew distant 

Once there were 2 siblings
Born on the same day 5 years apart
One of them is ill now
The other an alcoholic
Today is their birthday

My unfinished tribute to Himachal

I love Himachal Pradesh! Been there twice in 2012 and i have fallen in love with the state - the scenery, the terrain, the people, the food, the weather, the roads... simply everything that the state has to offer. 

So my first trip there was with the MTB Himalaya team in September 2012. MTB Himalaya is this annual mountain biking race where cyclists need to cover over 400 kms across 10 days in some of the most severest and scenic terrains of Himachal.  I was part of the Communications team whose job was to send out press reports, update FB & Twitter from time to time and for some strange reason emcee the closing ceremony. Thankfully, we pretty much covered the same distance as the cyclists in the support vehicles.  

So there was this one evening, where the comms team got off the support vehicle to make way for tired cyclists. And by the time the vehicle that would eventually take us to the campsite arrived, it was dark. The moon was brilliant - almost full, and it cast a lovely glow on the mountains. Inspiration struck and there I was typing a poem on my phone. 

So here it is my unfinished tribute to Himachal Pradesh... 

Through the whistling pines and woods
Blows a breeze: it's the song of the wind
The clouds descend, kiss the mountain tops
A love affair rekindled every sundown
Blue black sky with moonshine bright
Radiant light: it's the night at play

And this is where I either started getting car-sick from all the bouncing around or killed my phone battery, therefore rendering my tribute incomplete. I vow to complete this the next time i set foot. 

To be free, is to be me!

I want to be free..
Of responsibility.. 
Of having to live for others..
Of behaving in an acceptable manner... 
Of relationships..
Of the need to succeed... 
Of the need to please people... 
Of meeting people's expectations..
Of all things mundane... 

I wish for the future to be different... 
I wish to have all that i want to be free from now... 
I wish to make my peace with the world... 
Else, i will not be.. 

I want all of it..
And then some..
Books and music.. 
Nature and animals..
New places..  
Friends, new and old..
Love.. 

Then, i will be me! 

A Short Poem

An annoying place with the Undependables! 
I wish i could break their mandibles! 


Much love, 
Ganga