graffiti

A city beautiful
inhabited by clever, sly, lifeless people,
inhaling gases, yelping talks
living furniture pieces
thinking others, poisoning self
hearing nothing
seeing nothing
not even graffiti

(pic: sanjeev sharma)

Thanx mere maula

Thanks very much my lord for associating with some songs in hindi masala movies which, I must admit, are well composed and sung and soothing. However, most of the modern hindi filmi stuff continues to be sickening and plagued with jarring and insane music. An insult to the listeners. Also, even the songs about hindu prophets, the scene continues to be wretched and disgraceful.

Period

silence might speak truth, scared she quickly killed it by inserting a cd of (unaware whose) Kishori Amonkar into the player. Amid the alaap of marwa, she raced through her day's past happenings including handling sucked-up fellow journalists day by day with despise. But.

A glimpse of another woman in another vehicle with tired eyes on the traffic signal pushed a memoir into her eyes as she saw scenes of herself being exploited from step to step to be where she was. Only her heart knew where it hurt. Period.

was that necessary ? Whatever, but happy ? she asked herself and a smile twisted her lips as she told herself - yes.

In a moment, a question but hit her like a lightening - would that woman be happy ?? as she gets lost in chaotic traffic snarls of Chandigarh.

Around the same time, in the same city, a bunch of reporters at a newspaper office, bragging with bellyfull of laughters. ``the other day, i and my friends consumed that sweeperess and her teenager daughter together. we had latched all doors from inside and had them to their bonemarrow though they kept on begging ``veerji na...., veerji na karo, haath jodati hun''. But are we not supposed to be us... the jats'', summed up one to other junior reporters with animalish smile.

Period

graffiti since 80s

The nation gave herself to the politicians
and then to film actors
Her soul, body, all what she possessed to cricketers too
They but slogged to promote their run-of-the-mill sons, daughters. Created caucus, couterie, lobbies,

partnered in newspapers, TV channels
their wards became heir of their this keep thus

of people and places

Of people we meet, places which haunt us, attract us, amuse us, sadden us. places which make us happy, people with their own worlds, big or small worlds, sad or happy or both
Huge bells of churches, temples ring, reverberate in Indore, Bhopal every evening hundreds get desperate to assemble there to outsing each other in carols or aartis
a divine aroma flows in the winds, so much unknown to many ugly cities
Lovers sit idle there for hours, platonic love they live and die with
or sob in silence, untill another passion consumes them, so naturally
Red Church, Indore, Khajrana temple, Indore
Numerous temples in Bhopal, the sole ta-ujul-masajid (mosque), Bhopal
qawallis at several dargah, assemblies in so many churches,
spiritualism is a pious potion, so unbinding a soul
places which drive people to live up, light up the life into its absence

(pic: sanjeev sharma)