6 September 2016

The Key to Happiness

Spending time and resources in its pursuit,
Seeking it everywhere, turning every stone in the hunt,
Sometimes deriving it in those little things -
On a nice morning when up, or when with an old friend,
Sometimes for reasons difficult to comprehend,
Perhaps when with family, or remembering an old lover,
It is still unexplored, its mysteries remain uncovered,

I find it as a fountain whose source hides behind the mind,
Leaking a little now and then, whenever one's spirits lift,
Oh happiness is always about going back -
Oh not in time, not to a place,
But to a state of the self -

Familiarity is indeed the key to happiness,
The search for happiness lying in its forage,
In a song, a trip long,
In a little chat or an old play toy,
It unfolds in fond recollection of long lost days,
When one not merely recounts, but goes back to that state -
A state of longing, or little joys, or even fear -

In fact it is such events that remind one,
That one truly relates to -
A movie, a story,
A song one heard when young,
A picture, a painting,
Seen with an open heart -
They must've registered within,
In a nameless language -
Sans words, sans pictures - just an inexplicable experience -
One that registers deep within - and stays there,
Until stimulated by a response unknown,

Such things awaken the heart,
Giving it a jolt -
Oh if such is the case with a few years back,
What if we dug deeper -
Perhaps the state of sleep,
Why, even the one before we were born?

Appendix:
(Stray thoughts while writing this poem - lines that have been cut out of the poem but ones that I cannot take down from this page)

Where such familiarity exists:

Of unpenned thoughts, and inexplicable emotions,
Of events perhaps not so important -
With no records in picture or word,
But registered in a dimension, known only to the heart -
Oh it surprises me to see -
How records are kept in a chaotic world -
Pictures, memories, books and biographies,
Of histories and men long forgotten.,
Facts that bother a handful, recorded in numbers and figures,
While the pain and joy of people,
Has died with their memory.

*I had written this in a half sleep state, naming it "Memories" for some reason. Publishing it, I went to sleep unsatisfied, since the title did not fit the poem. I've made a few changes and updated the title to a more befitting one. I am aware that this writeup is still substantially haphazard and has been presented in an uncanny manner, but I find that any more changes may remove the emotion from these words, and hence, I choose to leave it this way. (7.9.2016, 1:28am at C504, H13,, IIT Bombay)

3 September 2016

Give Her Wings

'Pon the edge of reality she stumbles,
Hoping she trips and tumbles,
Her bosom weak and vulnerable,
Her ribs exposing her soul,
Oh of what use are her heavy breasts,
When they fail to protect her meek heart?
Awaiting her fall, she craves surprise,
As would an addict crave his high,
Rightly so they have named each,
For the latter has redemption, not romance,

Lacking awareness, devoid of thought,
Like a flower waiting to be plucked out,
Or a herbivore at the butcher's store,
Anticipating its impending slaughter,
She hopes to be whisked away, swept off her feet,
By a handsome face she knows not,

Why narrate fables of handsome warriors,
Of princes saving girls, being men of valour,
Painting the little girl's heart with false stories,
That she cries in a corner and await a saviour,

Why colour her thoughts, denying her choice,
Separating her from the rest of the race,
Turning women to objects of treasure,
Sometimes even to those of pleasure,
To be respected, adored, owned,
Saved and protected separate from men,
Not humans with thoughts, emotions,
Skills, goals and notions?
Nay, why talk of even long hair and fair skin* as beauty?
To let her grow in her own way is your only duty,
Teach her to live, to fight,
To know and exercise her right,
You needn't give her wings, she has her own ones,
Just stand far enough to let her rise,
Call them humans, people, not merely women,
For, in truth, they are no different from men.

Written between 2nd Sep (after 7:00pm) and 3rd Sep, 2016 at C504, H13, IIT Bombay
*This line is a tribute to my cousin Yash Vardhini who has expressed beautifully, through her paintings, the fact that we humans are inherently racist when it comes to skin colour.

An alternative thought, as pointed out to me by Sivasakthya M, my junior and friend, is presented here.

While I am inclined to agree, to the points pointed out there, I do not know how many others will. It looks like a third level above chauvenism and gender equality - a mature acceptance of how things are. I have never been a woman and I shall never know what it is like to be one - I am of course intrigued by the life they lead - something that is reflected in my writing, but I admit to myself and to you, that all these will remain as speculations.

Further, I see that my notions are yet to improve, but I will embrace the process and let it happen as and when it does.

To this end, I leave this poem intact as a monument of my current thought - call it liberal or immature.