PeNNeD d0Wn...

My last post dates back to 31st January, 2014: penned down within the enchanting realms of the monsoon showers of Ranchi, somewhere in mid-July and then published a lot later.  And while I engage myself in knitting a thread of tales, owing to this languid afternoon in Bilaspur, bereft of anything that would give you the feel of a day in March... the
keyword in the above said statement was 'penned'.
... And this transports me back to an age-old English adage - The 'pen' is mightier than the sword. Honestly, I have got nothing to do with a sword... may be a bit of 'something' with rifles and pistols while I flip a few pages of the 'firearm injuries'. The keyword still remains 'penned', mind you. I don't know if the pen I mentioned is 'mightier'. I'd rather go for the humble 'more useful' phrase. Let's reframe it: The pen is more useful than the sword. And I take my hats off in reverence and awe... not to Waterman who invented the priceless, the vintage fountain pen... not to Germany for scores of seasoned gel pens and ball-point pens... but to the unsung hero, your regular spot-boy working behind the scenes who brought into market the irreplaceable, the subservient 'likho-feko' pen - as the Subhashini Storewale Bhaiya(Vidyapati Nagar's stationery capital) prefers to call it! :p ; 'Use and throw' for the more sophisticated class of gentlemen and ladies!
Yes, it deserves our gratitude for being a companion in solitude... the desks we ruin everyday without burning a hole in our pockets... the enigmatic doodles along the margins of the books... the dare-and-truth games we play - absolutely no regrets about having lost the cap of the pen..., for its love saga with a modest piece of paper which dutifully crafts out a reflection of our mind..., for being so damn comfortable and efficient sans a 'techno-grip'! Had it not been for this stuff costing a meagre 3 Rupees, a last-bench idiot would never have mustered up enough grit to lift his pen and fill up his answersheet... that too with an unmatched sense of achievement and relief!
I reiterate. We must be grateful to it. It dances, kisses, runs, leaps and wriggles across our pages... empties itself while pouring our hearts out... waits with immense patience, without leaking, for the 'stuff' in our minds to solidify and materialise into existence... kindles an explosion beneath its veneer of silence... all in exchange for those 3 Rupees! :p

P. S. : The greatest irony - this piece has not been 'penned' down actually... but typed on the Blogger's app ;)  :p And yet, the 'pen' continues to be the hero.

Story of a paintbrush

Omission -  an art
she failed to master ;
the chalice so regal,
her bristles too dull
ducked and drowned
and seized to stir.

She drank decoy
soaked in him,
deathless spell filled to brim.
Besotted she stayed
entrapped in amour ;
hesitant to emerge
modest in manner.

Omission - an art
she failed to master ;
iridescence in him
drenched her brighter.
Pops out she,
tinted with shades ;
paints her dreams
unafraid ;
dotted and flaked
with reminiscence indelible,
chances infallible,
strokes insatiable,
a picture ineffable.

Omission - an art
she failed to master ;
arrested in rapture
aeons after.

The Voice of a medico

First of all,  I raise a toast to this : India has been declared a polio-free nation this year ; no new case been detected in the past 3 years!
This  Republic Day,  it is my earnest appeal to the Aam Aadmi, the fellow citizens, the presswallahs,  the school goers... and perhaps to every other bloke across the street for that matter - to spare a thought for the doctors,  the would-be doctors and the entire medical fraternity.
I tell you very honestly, that we work harder than we sleep... we delve deep into stuff that transcends the imagination of a common man... every minute of the day,  we fight against circumstances that demand enormous persistence and an iron-will... and we do every bit possible- only to secure this nation a pink health!  There are times when we are raised to the pedestal of a God... and then there are times when no stone is left unturned to defame us. Yet we believe in being like a duck :calm on the surface and  pedalling vigorously underneath. We are thick-skinned people and tough nuts to crack because burning the midnight oil is our way of life. Despite everything,  what we expect in return is a little more decency -  in language and in demeanour when you talk to us and talk about us... a second thought and an attempt to peep behind the curtains before you decide to tarnish the image of a doctor by labelling him/her 'irresponsible' for a case not taken or 'negligent' for a case gone wrong! A bit more empathy on everyone's part shall go a long way in strengthening the doctor-patient relationship in the community...and may be secure us better working conditions in the hospitals so that the nation doesn't suffer despite all the resources and the number of working hands.
Happy Republic Day everyone! Proud to be an Indian.

A F0rTuiT0uS scRipT

A dream was doled out

cloaked in awe,

festooned with ribbons

of hope tied in bow.

Coy smiles topped with a sheepish ‘hi’

yarned a fib

in you and I.

 

Greetings dipped in flavoured hue;

palette splattered with

red, green, blue.

Day-by-day our names got etched

on benches we sat

and portraits we sketched.

Whispers, whims, wails and winks,

tears and chuckles

spilled in chinks.

 

Old snaps lie drenched with yen;

diaries chatter with ink in pen

of a glossy morrow

and perky tomorrow.

White coat and stetho-

both in place,

a rose in bun

and poise in pace.

 

A dream was doled out

cloaked in awe,

that now smells ripe,

rescued from raw.

So here I scribble my train of thoughts

with memories that ebb

and join the dots.

AN ECHO

I sail on waves;

my apparition follows.

Unstuck, unscathed

wild in chase.

 

Voice beset,

mirrors, beget.

Intent in sight,

ahead and behind;

races and sweeps

across my mind.

Falters, totters,

lurches and slips.

Upon inflicts a score of clips.

Brushes past and loops in hitches;

dips and drowns

and floats atop hitches.

The echo deepens,

frozen in frost;

hunts me down when

dazed and lost.

Smoke of chagrin melts away;

unveils the wall

bathed in trance.

The echo deepens,

frozen in frost;

takes a stance,

dead on chance.

It whacks and strikes

and returns to me.

An echo so deafening;

it coalesces into me.

THE FACADE

Borrowed skin,
Concocted grin.
Swagger in gait, 
A dainty estate.
Listless ways dot the pace
of man who feigns a beckoning face.

He dreams unsure of
aisle obscure;
entrapped in fame,
drinks allure.
Shrunken shimmers
plated with gold
blind the eyes
pretence that hold.
Flavoured breath flitted from crowd,
creeps and peeps;
shallow yet proud.

Sits inside 
a fidgety soul
astir with lies
and half-baked smiles;
wells with tears
that never were shed
for duties undone
and promises with held.

DANCE OF DESTINY : Deep inside... where 'I' reside

She swivels and moves and takes a turn;

holds my hand and makes me learn.

She takes a dip and shoots a glance;

thaws a chill

wrapped in dance.

Unseen

Amiss

Unacclaimed,

A fortune so humble and yet unnamed.

An azure dissolves

in ocean blue;

deserts the ripples

without a clue.

Tears, sweeps, delves

into pockets unearthed,

chimes unheard.

Forgotten hues and unbound shades

knitted into moods,

twirled into braids.

She leads the way and plunges in,

Eyes so wise with a chiseled chin;

stirs the light out of dim.

Uncanny, unflinching fire

set ablaze amidst heart’s desire

that gleams, glows, erupts in time

an ingenious flow

rolled in rhyme.

She shovels a reef out of den;

enthrals with smile

spills a gem.

Gem - not one - but many a count,

lay in rest in glinting amount.

Unflappable

Impeccable

depth so very immeasurable.

Aroused from slumber;

sprung to life.

Sneaks in glory;

triumphant in strife.

She sings a note;

sombre in tone.

Beckons a boat;

from shore unknown.

Then sways a little

and thrusts and heaves

above the rustle, into the breeze;

against the clutter, into the ease.

Sailing across a hundred realm,

I treasure :

a pearl in fist, a flattering beam!