Conversations with a Roadesian-2

He met me again today. Nose held high, tail swaying gently, there was a spring in his step.

Wassup? I asked.
Can’t you breathe the fresh air? he said.
I can only smell fear, I replied.
Yaar, you humans are such idiots. You’re scared of anything new. Fresh air for you is something not experienced in ages.

I was getting sick of his taunts.
Change of subject was called for.

Hey, do you know we have started social distancing. Not to talk of quarantine, testing, washing hands, work from home. The way we collectively respond to emergencies is something you guys can never understand. You dogs always keep fighting, I taunted.

He looked at me with pity.
Emergencies? Paah! You and your human arrogance.
So an earthquake would be an emergency for you, yes?
Of course, I replied.
Ok so you start rebuilding, yes?
Yes indeed. We join hands to build houses.
Aah! So whose houses do you build as your human social commitment, my friend?
For those whose houses have been destroyed, I said.

Did everyone have a house before the quake?
He asked looking at me intently.
Of course not. I replied.
So there were some who were houseless before the quake and some who became houseless after the quake.
Of course you oaf. Can’t you understand?
I was getting impatient.

So my dear great, evolved, developed human, who was first in queue?
Obviously the one who was houseless before the quake!
And yet your great, noble, generous, philanthropic, social work ignores them, and looks after the ones who joined the houseless queue, later.
You call that fair?

And yes one more thing, he said slowly.
What now? I was squirming now.

Just some 5000 guys die over a couple of months and you call it an emergency.
In the same two months almost 100,000 children died of malnutrition related causes in India alone. And you call 5000 deaths an emergency? Give me a break boss!

Your priorities are zany, your actions and response most unfair. You guys are the most selfish species on earth.
Ah to be a dog! At least I don’t carry the ignominy of being unfair and a cheat.
And yes please change the idiom from ‘dog eat dog’ to ‘human eat human’. You guys do it on a daily basis.

Grinding my toes on the ground, unable to face him, I wanted the earth to swallow me.

Conversations with a Roadesian.

I see him often in my morning walks. Usually morose with one ear drooping, he looks sheepishly at me, fearing a rebuke, which he gets from most.
Today he was grinning from ear to ear.
Surprised, I tarried and gazed.
Finally breaking the silence I asked him ‘Kya hua?’
He stopped grinning and said ‘finally we have managed to stop you guys’.
We? Who is we?
‘Us dogs and cats and birds and Corona.’
WHAT?

‘Yup mon ami, it’s nature’s reply to your shenanigans. You guys had crossed all limits in exploiting resources. This thing called wealth and money. I wouldn’t even raise my leg to do, you know what, on it. You guys kill each other for it. Make others of your kind into slaves. And die empty handed.
Ever seen a dog holding another in chains?You guys are the limit.
And you call each other kutta?
Well, we tell pet dogs-It’s a mans life.
Anyway Corona, my friend has immobilised you and all your exploitative stupidity.
All activities have slowed down and we find the air better to breathe.
You guys are mad if you feel you can make the world spin faster.
Corona has slammed the brakes and now you will find time to rediscover your family, friends and children.
We’re not your enemies. We’re doing you all a favour by making you pause.
And yes Corona my friend, kills only 2 out of 100 of you jokers. Yet kaisi phati hai sabki.
You guys are real cowards. Kicking weaker beings, and seeking strength from imaginary gods.
That’s why I grin.’

I stared stupefied.
A talking dog was a wonder, but talking rationally, intelligently was something I hadn’t seen anyone do in years.
I touched my fingers to my forehead in a silent salute, and left him smiling.

Puzzle pieces reveal the picture

Visits to two places in Delhi revealed a strong undercurrent which can be felt, but not seen; simply because the so called mainstream will neither accept, nor talk about it.

The first was the World Book Fair in Delhi.
Among the very many stalls of publishers, societies, authors, what surprises; is the crowd thronging the stalls having literature of Dr. Ambedkar, Phule, Periyar, Bhagat Singh et al. These stalls are having what is commonly called DBA (Dalit Bahujan Adivasi) literature. Having got used to sparse interest towards such stalls in similar exhibitions earlier, the crowds and the brisk purchases being made there, was an eye opener.

The message of Dr. Ambedkar was "Educate, Agitate, Organise". What can be seen now is that his advice of 'Educate' has started showing results. The youth among the DBA has got educated in huge numbers. They have focussed on the rational and scientific thoughts of Phule, Ambedkar, Periyar instead of  romantic and imaginary thoughts dished out by the so called mainstream. Slowly and steadily India has seen a rise in the  number of the educated & enlightened DBA all over, in all states, more so in the Ambedkarite segments, who are fuelled by the self respect accorded by his philosophy.

In sheer numbers, the educated and enlightened DBA, seem to outnumber the entire population of the so called mainstream, which consists mainly of members from 15% of the elite upper caste population.This 'mainstream' survives on a binding force of hereditary privileges, and always seeks to keep all narratives within its fold. Any and every movement in society is sought to be appropriated by this group, which has representatives of different hues, from Left to Right, from enforcer to agitator, from soft to hard... a system of mix and match exists where the appropriate representative takes over and tells the affected- 'Bhai logo ab aap ghar jao, mai sab dekh leta hoon'!(Hindi) Loosely meaning, return home my brothers, for I have arrived to fight your battles for you.

The second visit was to Shaheen Bagh.
It's the location of an unprecedented sit-in movement, in India, with predominantly Muslim women (many with children) occupying an arterial road for the last 25 days. They are protesting against the CAA-NRC combination. The energy was immense and infectious. The participants were well aware of the provisions of the CAA, and had an astonishing level of determination. The power of citizens dawns gradually upon you, as one moves and talks to the members of the crowd.

The three traps of Pad, Paisha & Pratishtha (Marathi) loosely meaning High post, Money & Fame, usually employed by the system to defuse any confrontation, if force doesnt work, does not seem to be deployable here. And the same seems to be the case in all anti CAA-NRC protests. Force by itself is not proving to be a deterrent, and the protests have become pan-India.

The reason for the three traps not working, appears to be hidden in the composition of the protesting groups. Minorities, Muslims and DBA are in high numbers, and the initiative is not being yielded to the members of the 'mainstream', as is wont, in similar cases hitherto. There appears to be a surge of distrust towards the media, Govt., and other institutions. As such there is no negotiator or representative who appears to be acceptable by the protestors.

A distinction is being made here between Minorities and Muslim, terms which are generally taken to mean the same. The largest minority in India are the women. The attitude of the 'mainstream' has ranged from very patronising to demeaning towards women. Caste based society has striven to keep caste purity intact by controlling women. Even today they don't have complete control over their mind and body.  Successful and ideal women portrayed by literature, films, media etc are predominantly either those who are servile to the men in their lives, or those who appear to demean their womanhood and act as men.

The presence of larger numbers of women, than men, in protests from Assam to Shaheen Bagh does indicate something. Women have greater patience, greater love & concern for their home & hearth, and greater resilience. They reacted with alacrity when the question of the future of their children, security of their home & families, in fact their locus itself; arose. They seem to have abandoned the role of the traditional Sati Savitri and accepted the role of the modern Savitribai who fought doggedly for womens' education and succeeded.

As such the 'mainstream' is flabbergasted and having failed to defuse the agitation by use of force or diversion by employing tactics like the JNU attack, it seems to be clutching at straws. What appears to be in the offing; is that a few more attempts to use force or to divert attention will be employed. If the emerging new mainstream of the majority of Indians; digs its heels in, then yielding to it, will be the only option available.

India is awakening to the participation of this vast majority, who were hitherto never actively involved in the process of nation building.

The real mainstream is asserting itself.

In Nov 1949, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar had declared that social democracy would have to be the bedrock for the success of political democracy. 

He said -“...If we wish to preserve the Constitution in which we have sought to enshrine the principle of Government of the people, for the people and by the people, let us resolve not to be tardy in the recognition of the evils that lie across our path and which induce people to prefer Government for the people to Government by the people, nor to be weak in our initiative to remove them.”

He emphasised in having a Govt. "by" the people as against a Govt. "for" the people, and to remove the evils which induce people to prefer a Govt. for the people.

Since Independence, have we had a Govt. by the people or did we always have a ‘Sarkar mai baap’ Govt. for the people? If we had  the latter, then what are the evils that have induced people to prefer a Govt. for the people over a Govt. by the people? Can we view the present uprising from this perspective? 

The process of 'first past the post' elections always threw up a Govt. supported by merely 30-35% of the electorate which voted. This means that almost 60% of the electorate was against the Govt. of the day.

Nation building requires the participation of all sections of society, not merely of the elite. From farm labourers, to craftsmen, from judges to peddlers, from bureaucrats to mechanics, from ministers to housewives, from businessmen to farmers, from journalists to nurses, from tycoons to the unemployed, it has to be all inclusive. 

During the last 70 years, we have witnessed that only the elite has controlled the five pivotal pillars  of democracy- Politics, Bureaucracy, Judiciary, Business and Media. This was because of the hereditary factor, as entry was strictly restricted by birth. Only the upper castes gained entry, excepting in the legislature and bureaucracy where reserved seats ensured a minimal participation of the lower castes.  It was aristocracy in disguise. The difference between a democracy and a monarchy/aristocracy is that there is a genuine level playing field in a democracy and anyone can reach any level in any sector by virtue of his efforts. In the last 70 years, we see a denial of this level field, as the hereditary concept of caste barricaded all elite sectors.

The present caste composition in Judiciary, Media and Business is so lopsided that the upper castes (merely 15% of the population), control these three sectors by virtue of heredity. 90-95% of these posts are manned by only upper castes. Thus, 85% of the population has minimal or nil representation in these three sectors, even after 70 years of Independence. Even in the sectors of Legislatures and Bureaucracy; where representation is ensured by reservations, the upper castes manage to keep all important posts to themselves.

The present uprising stems from this denial, as the youth today are aware of their rights and want to take part in nation building. It appears that the attempts of major opposition party/leaders to join the protests, are being stonewalled silently. The angst of the populace is against all the established parties of the past 70 years. The composition of the protestors, mainly consists of those; who have been denied a role in nation building. Students, unemployed youth, women, lower castes, minorities, have come together and made it their common cause.

The past few years have shown us how a de jure parliamentary system can be made de facto into a presidential system. All this was done, without the backing of law. So you have a handful people running a de facto monarchical system, which is designed to be a parliamentary democracy.

Indians are by and large tolerant and accommodating by nature. The immediate spark may be the CAA-NRC, but the angst runs deeper. It is the feeling of having been taken for a ride. The state’s turning a blind eye towards  the crumbling economy, rising unemployment,  brutal and cruel response to complaints and protests, are adding fuel to the fire. The biggest insult to a student, is to be named as a misguided ignoramus.

The casteist, chauvinistic, elitist "so called" mainstream, treated the masses as morons, all along.  In fact the real mainstream of women, students, OBCs, SCs, STs, Minorities, is now reclaiming its position on the streets of India.

Merely repealing the CAA may not stop the uprising.

Some  suggestions:

1) The hereditary system will have to be abandoned, and the doors of the palaces will have to be opened to all sections of society in real terms, for participation in nation building. 

2) Practice of discriminatory Caste system along with Scriptures propagating the same, will have to be declared as illegal, and deterrent punishment for proclamation of caste will have to be imposed.  

3) Women will have to be given complete freedom as individuals, having complete control over their own mind and body.

4) Primary education will have to be strengthened and  teachers will have to be given high salaries to draw excellent talent.

5) Govt. will have to be a real service provider to the citizens.

6) Media will have to be with the citizen and not with the state.

7) Citizens will have to be treated with respect not suspicion. 

8) Reform instead of punishment will have to be emphasised.

9) Revenge cannot be treated as justice.

The list goes on...

We face a long winter!

Good parenting for Business.

If you have taken years of pain to grow your business right from its infancy, till the time it gets matured; and have instilled your righteous values and ethics in it, protected it from getting exposed to the roots of dishonesty, then it is bound to act and function the way you have structured it to be.

Often, during teens, when there are sporadic clashes between you and your child, do you simply cut off your ties with it and choose to give up on "parenting"?

If your connection is built on the basis of truthfulness, you can surely reach a positive agreement between the two of you.

The same way, if you have maintained a transparency in your business and with the people associated with it, then you can handle it well enough during your downturns.

Many of us believe that, in this money grabbing world, there is no way to go from rags to riches in a whirlwind, without gluing in a little chicanery.

However, believe you me, when you attach your business with the strings of dishonesty, you would not only hit pay dirt faster, but also face an equally fast and early deprivation.

When your business walks on the path of authenticity and patience, there might be a negligibly slow growth, but never a defeat.

Entrepreneurship is all about experiencing recurrent success and failure, but is often wrongly juxtaposed with ‘Winning and Losing’. And this is the root cause of depression, aggressive behaviour, even suicides, that happen after a business pitfall.

You may fail many a times, but that doesn't mean you’ve lost the game of life.

Failure is not defeat.

The problem is not when an entrepreneur faces bankruptcy, but when he builds a pyramid of false wealth and can't hold onto it for a longer time.

It all starts when a child steals a five-rupee coin for the very first time to buy a toffee and enjoys the trick. When you take no action against it and allow it to happen, it becomes his habit.

So, 5 rupees multiply by 365 days! And well, your stealing value in business reach lakhs and crores. And in this process of enjoying easy money, you forget the pile of risks that you have been building up all this time.

A better scheme is to religiously focus on your business with utmost diligence and veracity, because only then will you sustain yourself in the business for a longer duration, without having the fear of losing yourself completely in the game. Think of your business as your son, as a separate entity. You don’t steal from your son! And you always want your son to tread the path of honesty.  

While a business where the resources are honestly earned by you, might not necessarily bring you 100% superlative outcome; but will ensure a seemingly undisturbed sleep at night.

And well, during the pitfalls, simply channel your grief in a professionally meaningful way and make peace with your mind. Because, only your voice from within will give you answers for everything.

Including the solution.

The need to kill

Evolution has ordained that each living being has a relationship with nature; and all other beings, in a delicate balance. As time passes, the DNA of those who survive get passed on, and the traits of the parent DNA get replicated. Each of us have a great common feature. We can trace our lineage to the earliest living organisms. The line is uninterrupted; and the evidence is that you, who are reading this, is alive. The others simply couldn’t make it.

The traits you carry, are those that enabled your ancestors to survive, and these have got passed on to your DNA. The only mismatch is that while evolution of physical traits happens slowly over millennia, development in the human mind has been much more rapid. The instincts we have may hark back to the stone age, but our surroundings no more contain the source for the instinctive reaction. For instance, the fear of predators may have made our ancestors behave in a certain way upon hearing a loud sound. While we are no more faced with predators in our cities, yet we cringe and feel afraid if a loud sound is hard. We get startled and start looking around to understand the source of the sound, similar to how our ancestors would have done.

Having said that, I must take you back; to the early days of existence of our Homo Sapiens’ ancestors. It was a time when everything was in harmony, with each living being taking only what he required, from nature. There was abundance of everything. And then, one of our ancestors killed a bird/animal for the fun of it. This was the original earth shattering event. It was from then onwards that imbalance in nature stared. This event led to fear in the minds of others, that there is likelihood of shortage. Hoarding and accumulation became the insurance against such shortages.

The lives of people moved from the present to the future.

Violence is a part of existence. Every living being has to devour someone, whether of plant or animal origin, to survive. Is violence the way of life? The Buddha comes to our rescue and answers the question. He says that we must understand the difference between” Need to kill” and “Will to kill”. While the first is essential, the second is needless and creates sorrow.

In an expanding Universe, resources are increasing, so we have to set our fears at rest and live happy, healthy and peaceful lives. The negativity created by the first act of needless killing has led us to this state, where our fears have led to exploitation, which carries on to this day.

The unfinished agenda

Reactions to the Pulwama event made me think that we seem to have lost the plot since 1987.

Allegations of widespread rigging in the elections in 1987, created massive disaffection in the Kashmiri populace against the Government.

This was exploited to the hilt by Pakistan, wherein the same Kashmiri people who supported India in 1947, 1965 and 1971, were brainwashed against India. 

This was a carefully played card wherein infiltration was not by armed men, but by soothsayers who infiltrated the mind. Money for this came from Pak and the seasonal infiltration by armed terrorists was a decoy to give cover to the real infiltration- the infiltration of the minds of the youth.

We could have played the same game by isolating such elements and counter infiltration of the mind, by creating a love for India.

The opening up of the road to PoK was one such move by the Vajpayee Govt.

I recall that during my tenure as Election Observer in Kashmir in 2008, all those who had visited PoK were massively disappointed and said “We are much better off in India. Life is hell in PoK”.

The hard line adopted by the Govt against disturbance was not accompanied by a soft parallel approach to win over the populace sitting on the fence.

The Army did conduct some great outreach programs. Some students were taken to visit other parts of India. But the vigour with which we rallied against attacks was missing.

The covert game played by Pak should have been met with equally well funded counter measures. But this requires painstaking efforts by nameless, faceless people. It’s a thankless job with no glamour attached.

Harsh vigorous josh wala battles may be glamorous but are passé now. 

We have to defeat the enemy in the mind game he is playing.

Such battles are not fought with swords or guns or fighter jets.

They are fought with brains.

Hysteria will lead us to further alienate the Kashmiri which is what the Pakis want.

After the punishment which our Armed forces are definitely going to mete out; to avenge Pulwama, we have an unfinished agenda - to win over the Kashmiri Indians, who stay in PoK; by offering them a better life  in India, than the hell in which they live presently. 

Think

Organisations are different from individuals. The moment two individuals get together and organise themselves into one unit, say a family; each individual loses something which is given to the unit. In hunter gatherer societies, it was necessary and efficient to join hands to get food security.

As they started off, each organisation was created to serve human needs. An individual was willing to forgo some of his individuality to get better returns. As history progressed, the organisations started getting bigger and stronger. The individual now had to part with more and more of his individuality.

Life is all about give and take. For every piece of extra security, the individual gave a bit of his freedom.

In any cycle there is a range of optimum level where one gets a good mix of two alternatives. Here the two ends of the pendulum have freedom on one side and security on the other. As one moves towards security, one loses freedom and vice versa. Each person makes his place somewhere along this pendulum path with his own mix of this much security and this much freedom.

As history progressed, organisations started developing their own personalities. They consisted of individual humans, but these humans had to convert themselves into a rank or a position from their own personalities. Organisations insisted that one dissolves individual personality and assume the one ordained by the system.

By definition, organisations will always be against individuals.

The need for security will always create the need for organisations.

Once the organisations developed their own personalities, they started creating the need for their raison d'être. They created more and more need for security. Fear is the key.

The situation has now reached a stage where the fear has reached such proportions that organisations have made humans subservient rather than them serving humans.

We don’t have to look for aliens. They are amongst us.

The organisations we created to serve us have become the monster aliens.

Restrictions are increasing, CCTV surveillance, Gated communities, Id cards…

Where does one go from here?

We need to pause. We need to review. We need to rethink.

But will it be possible?

Our minds have been overpowered so much, that it seems well nigh impossible for us to think independently.

As always. there will be some of us who will rise above their fears. Others will continue harping on the greatness of the organisations.

It is necessary that organisations are kept at a level that they serve us instead of us serving them.

THINK

Extinction, the bright future.

We are at the beginning of a new era.

The dinosaurs are getting extinct.

The new age entails:

Reduction of one way media like television and newspapers. Gone are the days when one way information was king. From the newspaper barons, the Pulitzers and the Hearsts, we went on to TV as the chief source of infotainment. What next?

The signs of decay are evident. With more and more interactivity in the hands of the individual, the last desperate gasp of TV can be seen in the way news channels in India are screaming aloud, throwing all decorum to the winds, totally biased and unbalanced, they are desperate for eyeballs which simply are not there.

Ad spends will vanish on these screaming monkeys, as they will swing towards state patronage as a last-ditch effort to stay alive. They will grovel, they will scream, they will crawl, but won’t survive. Already the intelligentsia has give up on them. The masses will soon get over the hypnosis created out of bogeys and crying wolf.

With rise in interactive media, an entire industry is on the brink of collapse.

This is a mere indication of what is coming. And its coming sooner than you think.

This is what according to me is what the future entails:

1.       The good old ways of governance will change.

2.       The shape will change from the leader of the pack system to a bee swarm system.

3.       Focus will shift away from the Executors to the Prey.

4.       Development will shift from infrastructure to micro level.

5.       The focus will shift from the cities to the villages.

6.       Large business will yield to the small and micro level units.

7.       Economies of scale will assume a new meaning.

8.       Linkages will become important and these will cease to be in control of a few.

9.       Ethics and honesty will rule.

10.       The dishonest and unethical will be eliminated not by law enforcement but by denial of  opportunity.

11.   Social systems will change. Merit will mean not just caste, but actual quality of product determined by the consumer.

12.   The state will lose importance.

13.   Political boundaries will lose importance.

14.   Barriers of language, religion, will become extinct.

15.   Stealing and loot of resources will cease as digital currency and blockchain will ensure complete transparency and accountability. Those not adhering will cease to be operative.

Lets welcome the extinction. Lets plan for the future.

The fault lies within

We brace for the shock,
As we take stock.
For soon the fangs will be revealed,
Blood splattered all over the killing field.
It is a wolf not grandma on the bed,
Red Riding Hood stunned when all was done and said.
Twas never gentle the real intention
Forever fooled was the nation.
Divided were we by philosophy so old,
Father the saint was himself caste in the mould.
Privileged were some and shall forever be,
Condemned were they who wanted to be free.
How dare Oliver ask for some more,
We'll teach him a lesson with blood and gore.
He carries a lethal weapon they say,
Snatching the blindman's stick away.
Privileges are theirs till humanity will last,
Any attempt otherwise is "dividing on caste".
All watch with glee and hope as the mock fight goes on,
The suitors to the throne all promise a new morn.
Diverting attention by singing a tune,
We stand in a cesspool while aiming for the moon.
An ignorant society with belief in poison,
Changing heads instead of antidotal solution.
Each one of us, a beast cloaked in colors fair,
Searching for demons to vanquish in our lair.
Kicking the fallen is now to be called an act so brave,
Beheaded Marie lies squirming in her grave.

Life in a pen

The sheep were all gathered

A worried look on their face

For if what they heard was true

Wiped out would be their race

Their race

Now that was a joke

For among them they had

Differences that forever kept them broke

They looked all alike

Yet the equality was misleading

Some were superior & born twice

While the remaining did their bidding

Herbivores and harmless they seemed

Yet in cruelty they surpassed the worst

Darwin would turn in his grave

As his theory they simply bust

The fittest gene no more survived

For the twice born used the meme

Enslave the minds was what they did

And the unfit could do as they deem

The sheep multiplied and rapidly expanded

Their bleats turning into thunderous roar

Ravaging the countryside of all it had

Scaring everyone from canine to boar

Their strength came not from numbers

But from the captivity of their mind

The safe cocoon of categories did the trick

Each sheep having pride in their kind

Like zombies they believed and behaved

Ne'er one could from the path stray

A fully disjointed group yet a large one

In differences, their unity lay

As is wont of every safe haven

The pioneering risk was absent

Anyone could come and rule

So long as the status quo was present

Everyone waited for the lion to come

Who would provide the leadership needed

For the fear of the wolf kept them trembling

In nightmares they often bleated

Ne'er trusting anyone amongst them

To combat fear they sought information

Learning and growing while among them they fought

Their eyes turned upwards, pregnant with expectation

Any pioneer, anyone who could take risk

Was condemned to be the wolf in sheep's clothing

Buccaneers who'd often provide directions

Were treated with scorned loathing

Nipping in the bud any potential lion

While their populace got a bloating

They looked askance for guidance but alas

All they got were sheep in wolf's clothing

Demons and Beasts

The demons stand towering over others
The regalia, the pomp, the arrogance of power
The ones who have partaken the wolf's milk
The forbidding look for those not of their ilk

In a spherical habitat, no boundaries, no permanence
They for sure defined their physical dominance
They made borders in all known directions
But that was the least of their machinations

And the beasts, they struggled for life with all their grit
However, they failed to see, the bottomless pit
Having walls of glass they could not scrape
Trapped they were, with no escape

They huffed and puffed and they did shove
These wretched creatures devoid of love
Snapping and growling to just declare
This is my territory watch out, beware

But obesience was never lost
The demons had planned this heavy cost
The beast would fight but always bow
Facing fear, their eyes would forever be low

The beast would grunt and they would bray
But before the concept they would pray
Thinking this alone will bring salvation
Not knowing, the concept was a virtual creation

The unseen, the unknown always creates fear
Keep ignorance alive, keep everyone in terror
The creator of fear holds all the keys
Let the beasts keep snarling, as the demons enjoy peace

Surronding themselves with menacing warriors
They create a cocoon of meritorius barriers
No beast could reach the demons so far
If any beast tried, they raised the bar

But yes, the clouds, they are clearing
The sun breaks free bright and shining
The strong looking statues look in a haze
As they melt and crumble in knowledge's gaze

The pipes used by the demons to suck the beasts' blood
Sent down info which soon became a flood
Armed with this brilliance, using all tact
The beasts looked up to see the fact

The demon was a mere caricature full of fear
Empty, powerless was what he called holy and dear
The beast had a difficult climb full of pain
Reading, knowing led to an inch of gain

They looked at the glass walls and what did they see
They were not beasts but innocents like you and me
The demons gazed in horror as the holy fell
Fragile false creators who could not even yell

The demons shot aiming low
The so called beasts deflected the blow
Twas a losing battle as is every fight 
No one wins however the might

The weapon of knowledge is the best one yet
It shows the futility of the lost bet
Life has to win, peace has to reign
That way humanity, not its creation, will gain

The saviours have arrived

The cynic in me is growing old
It is weak now, once it was so bold
The shrug of the shoulder, the helpless emotion
That smirk on the face, indicating my negation

The nostalgic look, of faraway times
Nothing is right, living has become a crime
Life it seems has gone from bad to worse
Living and moving as if under a curse

The stupid pride, see I know best
It was I who topped every test
What do you youngsters know about anything
Gone are the days, when I was the king

The daily news, full of misery and gore
Creating chasms, fighting and lure
Gladiators of both sides doing their ops
Blood dripping from their lips, they lick their chops

Then one day suddenly on me it dawned
As the sun came up shining in the morn
I saw them running with heavy perspiration
I was thrilled to see, this was a new generation

Not the oversized slobs I dreaded to see
But younger and much more fit and yes, free
They inspired confidence, rather than create despair
To be wonderstruck, the world has to prepare

Now here was something which spelled hope 
I felt my cynicism appearing like a joke
Wired and yet unwired, these rascals were
By Angstrom level devices, powered everywhere

Knowledge made them into sharp lancers
They knew from where to source all the answers
Gone are the days when the teacher taught
The only fountain from whom info was sought

My pride in my knowledge did get hurt
As they searched and gave replies curt
Faster than what my mind could recover
Faster than my own recalling power

That's unfair I did say then
For this much info I collected in ten
What takes you just a second to hunt
Took me hardwork of over a month

You're stupid, to meself I said
What good is knowledge if it cant be spread
Oh how great life has become
Kids are solving the mighty sum

The clouds they are clearing
Illumination is heavily bearing
Upon the unchanging unjust lords
Who have used others in the name of gods

I see the toddlers walking 
Barefoot towards the hall of learning 
Emaciated, hungry, in the run down construction
They share with dogs, as they swallow the concoction

A smile replaces what earlier was grim
My face explodes in a toothy grin
Soon my child very soon
Technology will take you to the moon

I am needed, yes indeed I am
Why like a fool I was so glum
Who else but me in this minefield of quarks
To guide these bright little twinkling sparks

Creating creators

Truth is never proved
For once proved it becomes a fact
Facts are outcomes of satisfaction
Of our Pentasensory perception

Waves they dance on different tunes
Some we observe and some we control
What makes our thinking ah so very blurred
Is that most are beyond our sensory world

Humans strive to convert everything
To comprehension which makes us comfortable
The quest is unending my friend
Yet we all try to buck the trend

We reach what we think is the ultimate truth
Only to realise that its only an illusion
We make rock solid idols dressed in finest livery
To see them shattered with every new discovery

Is there nothing which is our anchor
If everything moves how can we be steady
Forever and ever we seek stability
Cursing the drunkard for his disability

We create creators in our image
Bestowing powers as we perceive
Some harsh and some so loving a spectre
We bow before them and give them the sceptre

Our fear of the unknown, this gripping fear
We make creators who love us and are dear
Even if unwanted we put them in our locker
We say he loves us what otherwise we'd call a stalker

Illusions mere illusions these are my friend
You are the creator of all you survey
You not only created what you can perceive
But also that which your senses cant receive

Reverse order

Life passes through phases three
We move from joy to stress to an absence of glee
Is the journey in reverse I ask
Is becoming unhappy our only task?

Happily we begin with nothing at hand
Then accumulate sorrow feeling so grand
We strive and struggle and never relax
To move foolishly towards a sad climax

Should we not move from sorrow to joy
Why should we move towards a life sans a toy
Are we travelling faster than light
That events have reversed with all their might

Remember its not by taking or giving
Rather the joy in merely doing
Do things about which you have a passion
Not because its just a fashion

Touching others heart is just a start
Essential is to touch your own heart
Reverse the order my friend, do not fret
There is a chance and enough time as yet

Child's Play

Eyes wide in wonder
I gazed at the toys
Nose pressed on the show window
Jeeps, Tanks, Guns wow

His eyes were also wide in awe
As he saw the men in fatigues
The swiftness of their moves
As they combed his village

The Jeep with the Star on the bonnet
My tiny hands holding the dinky toy
It moved on the shop counter
As I stood on my toes driving it up and down

His mother clutched him tightly
No sound to be made, she said
Why cant I see mom, the big Tanks, the Jeeps
He was full of rage as he thought

I collected them
The fighters, the frigates, the missiles
Mine was the largest collection
In the entire colony

He couldnt have the small toys
But he saw the real ones
The guns were real, the tanks fired
The guys shot would actually die

I still love them
For they make me feel strong
Even though imaginary, I cant deny
The power of it all

His mother lay motionless
As he gazed in horror
The wonderful tank had fired
Silencing her forever

Oh the games we play
The vile shenanigans of our cunning
Selling these toys to both sides
After making them fight

He clutched at her body
Staring emptily at the blood and entrails
As we entered the Mall
To spend our hard earned blood money

Who Rules?

Who rules the world?
The hand that rocks the cradle?
The hand that holds the purse strings?
The one that holds the sceptre or the one that weilds the pen?

The question begets another
What pray do you mean by rule?
The power over others isn't it?
The glee one feels when the puppets dance

The desire to break free
The wish to fly
Unshackle the manacles
And just be myself

The grim reality
The sad realisation
That however much I try
I can never be free

Life depends on breath and food
It depends on give and take
My freedom surely is when I can take more than I give
So I need power, which will make it happen

So my wish to rule
To ride roughshod over others
To see them cringe
To see them bow

And yet freedom looms far away
The lure of the siren drives me crazy
Salivating, I run after the crown
I totter as if in spirits I drown

The summit yes it is in sight
Just that last heave and all is mine
Tarry a while what do I see
The summit eludes for it was supine

All along I was in the flat
The mirage of the challenge was just a trap
I try to see through the haze
So many like me trapped in the maze

Undecided to laugh or to have rage
I look around if anyone saw my chase
The fox going after his tail
In endless circles, efforts doomed to fail

So the conquest is like old wine
The more you drink, the more you shine
But it is mere drunken stupor
This chase for the elusive power

The chase was bad
For there was nothing to be had
Yet it was fun while it lasted
Even though it was all futile

So who rules the world, tell me my friend
The jester for he makes me smile
He hides his wickedness behind his jokes
And makes me dance in quests of the new

The jester, yes the jester sir
He makes you believe what he says is true
He plants those memes that make you think
Needless beliefs that make your head shrink

Freedom comes when you learn to give
Simply because you love yourself true
Chase not power, thinking it makes you secure
For security like power, is always within you

Two Kings

He sat on the tusker high above everyone
Gazing at all below him
He had heard of the challenger
The conqueror of the world they called him

He too sat above others
On a throne withered by time
The days of glory fading away
At the mercy of the invader white

The tusker paused beside the river
The rider surveyed the field
Across he saw the tents with pennants
Soldiers sharpening their swords

They rushed to him, seeking his lead
The gap they made had to be widened
He was frail, he was weak
Why did you rebel, was all he said

They made contact at the break of dawn
Macedonians thrust from the left flank
They stiffened seeing Tuskers for the first time
The Indian element of surprise

He lost the war before he began
For in his mind he had already lost
A poet at heart he loved pathos
Not the crown that he was forced to wear

The tides turned, the tuskers fled
Soon all was lost, as soldiers bled
The king was caught, shackled and tied
Stood proudly as all his nobles cried

His sons slaughtered, his kingdom lost
He was banished to a land he had only heard of
They took him on a cart on a painful journey
One from which he would never return

The conquerer looked long at the monarch
Taken aback at his steadfast gaze
His words rang clear in his mind
I am a king so treat me as one

He sat down hunched over by age
Wrote those lines which are remembered even now
Oh my misfortune that
Even two yards I was denied in my land

Two kings both mighty
One looked at the bright the other at the dark
One lost and really lost
One lost but actually won

Among Roman ruins

Look at the arena said he

The Romans had an auditorium here

Lovely plays, music, theater

All the visages of a glorius culture

But they soon got bored

Sick of their life of plenty

They turned this into an arena

To get their high on blood and gore

Gladiators replaced the actors

The drama became lifelike

The crowds roared in delight

Men and beast were slain alike

The decadence was a sign

For soon the empire fell

All the glory, all the pomp

Reduced to rubble, a worthless pile

I felt the pulse beating

I heard them baying for blood

I saw them show their thumbs down

A sign which said kill kill kill

As I turn the page of my daily dose

I hear them baying for blood

Every day a new villain is shown

For the crowds to tear apart

Is it a sign, an ominous one, that

Our auditoria have also become arenas

We seek to see blood spilt

Where once we had quiet ballerinas

Off with his head said the queen of hearts

Off with his head we all say

This one is dead, all bloody and mangled

Tomorrow we need another prey

The time has come to introspect

Reduce our speed and quietly reflect

Forgiveness has to replace revenge

For we need peace, not violence to survive

Security Check

We shuffle slowly in the endless queue
A horde of cattle waiting for our turn
Hawk like eyes look up and down
Am I the one who could slash and burn

My small possessions, my little memories
The hazy pair of glasses, the bits of paper
My fingers touch, as I seek to hide
The dull photo, the smell of laughter

I reach the altar
Slowly with utmost care
Touching the memories of the past
I lay them bare

They peep inside, their eyes wary
Glancing at whatever I proffer
Stern disapproval writ large
Their faces reminding me of lucipher

Why oh why do they have to strip me
Who is responsible for this mess
My toes dig into the ground
As they leer at my nakedness

Vile serpent you
I suffer 'cause of your offer
Your one action, only one
Has condemned me to always suffer

You came upon the scene unseen
You killed without the slightest remorse
Devoid of feelings that we call human
You were not just cruel, but an animal force

The pain, the cries have now subsided
Time can heal they always say
But what about the ignominy of being a suspect
That I have to suffer every day