Download - On a fiery flight
On a fiery
flight
masila
Thendral publishers
Chennai 91, India
On a fiery
flight
A collection of Poem
masila
26th Sep 2012
To
my wife viji
the best half
Contents
1. The Eleventh Commandment
2. Day of Judgment
3. Lots and Lots
4. Wing
5. Live ye long man
6. Under the shade of Allah
7. A kuil's melody
8. Present Continuous
9. Music of life
10 Trump card
11 A miracle of miracle
12 What do I have not yet?
12 I have thing to do
13 Chandeliers
14 A Haste less hour
15 Half and Half
16 Connoisseur
17 On a fiery flight
The Eleventh Commandment
The gaunt, grey figure of Moses
Was lying reclined on a cushion
Made of rugged rocks
Below him stretched the
Arid terrain of the Promised Land
It was a land of sand dunes
And boulders holding shades
For tiny dots of timid shrubs
The White Specter of death
Hovered around in faint steps
Moses came out of his reverie
And combed his long beard
With knurled fingers
And looked around askance
He raised his bushy brows
As he saw the specter
“Who are you …………….?”
“I am, I am …………….”
Words got stuck in throat
“I am death, a lieutenant, the left hand of God
A trusted, unfailing messenger”
“What is your mission…….?”
Moses snorted
“I have, I have come………
I am afraid, to take your life…..”
A strong stone was flung
In the face of death……..
“Fie on you, get lost, be gone
How dare are you to take my life
Do you know who I am
I am Moses
The Prophet who saw
God face to face
The only one
To whom god spoke and
Delivered Ten Commandments
To whom red sea laid red carpet
Be gone, Be gone
Don’t you ever dare to
Ring a gong of death
As you won’t to do to the rest
Be gone………..”
The Angel of Death ran
Helter skelter to God
And blurted out
God whispered a few lines
In the ears of the Angel
It hovered around Moses
Again after a few years
“Be gone, I told you
Never come back to me”
“I have come back
With a special message from God
As you are too dear to god
He wants you to be with him close….”
“You mean God wants me
To be with Him…….”
“Yes, you are right…..
“When do I meet Him?
And how long I stay with Him
For, I have to come back
To guide my people
I am ready to go with you even now”
Moses was about to
Heave his heavy body up.
“God wants you permanently ...”
Said the Angel
There was silence
An ominous silence
Moses, the wise
Knew the meaning and purport of
Those four words
“Do you mean that
I too must die……
“Ye, any born must die….
It is the law of nature
Without a grain of exception”……….
The Angle hastened to add
“Though God has given you
A certain special privilege
As you are too dear to him………”
The Angel ran in double and
Dragged a hefty bison
“Here is the full grown bull
Strike your hand and
Pluck the hair as much
As your hand could seize
You can live as many days
As the count of hair strands……….”
“It could be a few thousands days
But then………”
“Yes, you may die
After a few thousands days
Or a few scores of years
But must you die
Like any mortal…….”
There was long silence
“Well, then, if that is so
I am ready to die even now…..
I am tired of this life, tired
With this stupid set of people
They do not change
They still hunger after
Gold, women, and cold wine
Parading cows and calves as gods….
I am losing hope……”
“Then why did you want
To live long……..
Angel retorted
“I had a hope that
I will be able to change them
I had a great hope of
Taking them to lofty lives……...
Well now………I give up……..”
There was silence
A long one
For it took some time for the words
To sink into the head and heart of Death
They went deep down
“Oh, great venerable Moses,”
Death was earnest
“You must die with hopes
As much as you live with hopes….”
There was a silence
A long one, again
The message went down the spine
Percolating through the veins
Moses smiled, a wry smile
“Is it a commandment?
The eleventh one…………
From the Angel of death’’
The old man chuckled
“Yes, I agree
I will die with the hopes
As much as I had lived with hopes……..”
Angel of death smiled
And came towards him
In soft steps
Like a moist mountain cloud.
The Day of Judgment
There is only one Day of Judgment For everybody of Every hue and color
Every religion, beliefs, and non beliefs That is the Day when
Hundreds and thousands Cry desolate In muffled hot wet towels
When, the heart skips its steps Breathe seizes, and chokes And a lava of heart air Blows out, surge upon surge.
When tens and dozens Vie with each other To carry the pall
When hundreds and thousands Stream past and scream fast When thousands and thousands mumble "He lived and died well,
Exalting everyone"
This is the Verdict A pronouncement On this
Day of Judgment.
Present Continuous
There were two men in a coconut farm;
One was on the top plucking coconuts from the tall tree,
The other was on the ground gathering them into the
basket.
“My nephew is supposed to pass along us in his cart now;
But he has not come yet” the ground man was
grumbling.
“No don’t worry, he is coming……” the man on the
tree top said
After a whale, the coconuts gatherer said.
"Oh, yes, here is he………”
After some more times, the nephew passed through
the road
“Oh, my nephew came and has gone’ the gatherer said.
“No, no, don’t worry, he is going……..”
But another nephew of your is coming”
The man on the top said.
Music Of Life
Once upon a time
There was a king
He had everything to be happy
But was not happy
A strong fort, strong army
A country of milk and honey
A harem of score and more
Yet, he felt empty
He came across a monk
In one of his escapade into the wilderness
The monk was walking in ease
On a wooden pair of sandals
He had only a long piece of robe
Wound around the frail body
Yet, there was a halo around his head
Happiness and serenity brightening his face
A conspicuous absence were wrinkles on forehead
Next day, the king threw away
All his silk and taffeta
Put on a single piece of coarse cloth
And submitted to Buddha
As a monk and disciple
He walked on and on
Even without any shoe or sandal
Ate only one frugal meal
And slept on dusty doormat
He spoke a little and smiled a lot
He was in search of happiness
With fervid fingers
Groping into his head and heart
He had a wide, big, net
But happiness like water,
Eluded through, yet
He became weird rather, eccentric
Always very active, doing, nothing
His adventures on happiness
Were brought forth to Buddha
“ Do you know playing drums
Oh, my new disciple” Buddha asked
“ " No, I don’t” the king disciple replied
“Do you play flute”
“No, I don’t
“Do you know playing veena, or
Any stringed instruments”
“Oh, yes, I was an adept, once upon a time"
A veena was brought forth and
Left on the lap of the disciple
“Play on the veena…”
“I can’t play music
I can't even make a noise
Unless the strings
Are pegged on both ends "
The disciples fixed the strings well on both ends
“Now, please tighten the strings”
He did
“Tighten them, more, more, and more…”
The strings became very taut
When he plucked, the strings
Blurted out into pieces
“So, is life my son” the master said
“You cannot indulge
Head over heals
Nor can you give up in toto
Keep the strings
Tight in right measures
Tied on two ends”
“Ah, yes, I understand the
Music of life, my master……”
The disciple was about to leave
“Please, wait a while …………
You played only veena
Not flute, nor the drums
Likewise you must find your instruments
To make music of life”.
A miracle Of all miracles
It was a time when
Swords spoke words
Blood flowed more on soil than in veins;
When people woke up
To the clash of spears
Then to the chirps of birds
He came down, Jesus, like
A silver white moist cloud
Settling gently upon arid deserts
“Eye for an eye makes both eyeless
Tooth for a tooth makes both toothless
Do you want fill this arid desert
With blinds and babblers?
Mortified mortals?
“Love thy enemies
Turn the right cheek
To those who spite the left cheek
Forgive the insults of your brother
Who trespasses on you
Forgive and forget"
He spoke in gentle mercy
The voice was soft
Like the petals falling on the ground
To became humus in a hungry soil.
The crowd listened to him
In rapt attention
Someone blurted out
"I have a brother
Who boils with envy
Though my father gave us half and half
Envy has flared as hate
And he torches me, tortures me
Over and over again
What shall I do……….".
“Forgive him, forgive him, seven times
Fill him with love so that
The flame of hatred gets quenched
By the torrential rain of love”
At another time
At another mount
When Jesus spoke in parables
A voice came renting the cloud of heads
“How many time should I
Forgive my brother
I forgave him seven times
Yet he is unrepentant
And goes in romping delight of
Hurting me over and over again”
“Did I say seven times…….
It is my mistake
Forgive your brother
Seventy times seven.”
The words were clear and firm
Like breeze from the heaven
On yet another occasion
There was a large crowd of fellowmen
Close at sea
Another pack of fellowmen were coming in a boat
But the sea was too turbulent
The boat was being tossed up
As if a mountain was jumping beneath
Jesus said
“Fie on you, keep quite
Peace be upon you and
All others who have
Gathered around here to hear
Words of peace……..”
The sea subsided
Became quiet like a whimpering
Child who sleeps, nestling to the bosom
After a pat on the check
“Here is my brother, my lord
Who has been
Repatriated from the domain of devil
To the land of the Lord
I did not forgive him beyond ten times
But he has become
A man of peace and sense
We came seeking your blessings
And lo, we witnessed a great miracle at your hands...”
Jesus smiled
“I have quelled the whimpering of wind
A faceless mindless thing
But you have quelled the rumbling of a man
A living, sensitive seething volcano…
You have converted the lava of hatred
Into a fountain of love
Is it not that what you
Have done is a greater miracle………..”
A wave of nod went over the crowd
Hearts swelled and heaved
Tears gushed forth like hot fountain.
A Hasteless Hour
Alone and aloof
Caught in the cobweb of circumstances
I sat in the backyard
Time tickled, passed through, thin hands
It ran sixty hop steps and jumps,
To push a thick long hand
Through a lazy, hazy, heavy step
The door heaved a little
Chair sighed in despair
Drops from the tap
Spoke in hushed murmurs
To the sink below.
The cockroach picked a piece of crumb
But flirted by a mate
Ran after it for a greater hunger
The spider fell down from the top
But in a super human feat
Rolled up and up
In single, slender, strand of fiber
It stood, frozen
Buy the creak of a door
All senses alert, acute
Then, rolled up to the top
The tiny dot of a sparrow
With swift ripple of jumps
Picked a dry pod of bean
Looked left and right, then
Flew like a flit from a bow
There was a scent in the wind
A murmur in the breeze
All enveloping warmth in the air
A fine taste in this haste less hour,
Half and Half
In the beginning
There was nothing Nothing happened, for nothing was It was a total emptiness, a perfect vacuum.
Then God came up In the empty Space All of a sudden, all by itself, Itself
For eons, It was alone All alone, doing nothing Nothing, nothing, nothing at all.
Then It created matter, But those creations Were lying unmoved, Utterly inactive
This went on, on and on For a few million years
Then It created energy Inside and outside Then all things, all the matter Exploded with a “Big Bang” With million lightning’s And thunderous sounds With millions and billions of New forms and shapes of matters. From matter came, Fishes and birds Lions and tigers.
These different forms of lives Knew how to stand and cope With the vagaries of external environment
They only knew how to eat Procreate, survive and also Form better species or combinations
God was NOT satisfied It created a woman, A life far better than all the rest, A quantum jump in the creation
This being has a certain level of thinking, conscious, decision making, capabilities, well beyond the inherent, inherited traits.
This woman could venture out into the world; learnt to survive the onslaughts of atmosphere; She could appreciate and admire fishes and foul ; Yet , she was always under the constant shadow of fear, morbid fright. She was on the toes to run back to the folds of God.
She always came back, totally submitting to God , often grumbling and mumbling.
"Why did you make me here; Did you create me to taste the despair of life ...". : She was always complaining
God was NOT satisfied He created a man. He was hefty and intelligent. He was able to run around, rule roost in his domain. He was able to bring all other living beings under his control. He was always grateful to God, for he and all around him were created by God. Man was able to admire the beauty of flowers and also the intricacies of his eye
He prayed and glorified God in thankful submission.
He was not able to go beyond a certain level, for he was always afraid that God would doubt his loyalty and render punishment. The shadow of God kept hovering around his head and he used to chant his name in every move, in reverential awe.
God was Not satisfied.
God created a man and woman together. They went out into the world happily gamboling and vaulting. What one learnt, experimented, experienced was communicated to other. They complemented each other; one stood on the shoulder of the other. There was dramatic expansion of knowledge, experience, wisdom, and realization. Mankind spread out occupying different landscapes. The whole pack of mankind formed sub groups and subsets, lived together, and also prayed together, their own God, created in their own image, taste or understanding.
Years rolled on and on.
When the subsets of mankind became egoistic, egotistic, the jingoist ideologies clashed ; idols clashed and eventually the adherents of idols and ideologies clashed.
Flood of blood flowed to establish God was one or two, or ten ; Man, Woman or It.
When they prayed in different niches, in different attire, God chided them.
“I am much pleased by your prayer and fervor. You are excellent children of mine, thankful, dutiful ; But why do you want more ? Have you not get enough?
“ We are the select few, chosen few, we Do not think of anyone, or anything But of you, the unique and the only God… After our death, we want paradise, the Seventh heaven where milk and Honey flow like river…
“Do you hunger after honey even after Death…” god interrupted
“We want heaven for us and only for us Hell fire for all others”
“Why this thirst, blood thirst, even after death…” God felt sick….
There was another group in another place.
“No, no, We are different set ; We wish not to be born again, er, eh, as animals or snakes or men or women..... We want our soul mingle with you, with the Universal, Eternal soul .... ?
“What? ............ What is a soul .........?” “There is nothing like soul ; there is only a life force ;\ a man is an intelligent, self-conscious life, couched in an animal like-body. When dead, a poet is dead as much as a parrot The difference between a fish and poet Is not in or after death; but only in life.
A man has far superior knowledge And wisdom, only and only When alive.
Whether you pray or not, whether you are sacred or silly, every part of you will be returned to the universal repository, to make another stone or bone to make another man or another monkey!”
The end of life is death The end of death also a death.
God was far from satisfied.
There was another small segment of mankind. They prayed and venerated God, admiring in awe the manifold of the magnanimous structure of the universe. They formed the rule of life, all from the intricacies of every day life, more like rules of a chess or soccer or car traffic. Their lives were governed by rules of men and women, for men and women by men and women.
Hardly could they be found in any niche, or temple…..
"What are you doing all the time ........ You, set of reprobates, arrogant knaves, you have forgotten me. How dare are you. I will show you miracles to bring you back into submission ?" God one day caught them unaware. " Miracles ... ? This human body is a miracle. This life in human body is a great miracle. The human life in the world is the greatest miracle. Do not dazzle us with pranks." This set of mankind said " We are all bent upon experimenting, exploring new domains of knowledge, wisdom. We keep expanding the horizon of knowledge. Nay, we keep creating new body of knowledge .."
"What .. You create ... " God was startled
"Yes, my Lord, you have created this world. the matter and energy. "But we create new frontier of knowledge and these lead us to still newer domains of knowledge. This is an ever rising, expanding spiral .... " God was listening.
"It is you who created matter and energy; matter remains as matter; energy remains as energy; or matter becomes energy or energy becomes matter; the sum total is a constant. It never increases. It is you who created life; me and monkey. We are all mortal. True. But there is a big difference between me and a monkey. You created man from the humus ; When man dies, he falls like leaves to enrich the soil ; to make a better humus.
When I die, the atoms and molecule of my body returns back to the repository to make a stone or a bone ; But my knowledge, my wisdom, my revelation of the intricacies of the laws of this world will be passed to another mortal, then with his revelation to another mortal
We create immortal, ever increasing knowledge ... " There was a pause. God was listening, with rapt attention. "Without you we are non existent True, True, True .... But without we, you are A reed without wind. A sea sans waves.
You made the matter and energy We make the knowledge and wisdom What you made is a constant What we make is constantly increasing.
You and we, half and half You first, we second ". God was pleased and totally satisfied. The purpose of creation was revealed upon Him, by him. There was blissful smile on both sides.
A Game of Cards
We sat down for a game of cards
God and I
He made the first move,
I, the second
He threw sands and stones
I made than into building and bridges
He then released a pack of wolves and elephants
I tamed them to stand and serve
He sent rain and thunder
I stored them as water in huge dams
He whipped his lashes of lightning
I caught the tail and squeezed as current
Then all of a sudden
He drew a dark, black card
Hidden up in his sleeve
And threw down in utter desperation
………………………………..
I fell down flat.
Connoisseur
I am a Connoisseur
Of food varieties
Like a seasoned wine taster of the West
Or a local tea- taster of the East
I can smell and count
The days of my old foods
The bitter-sore- acrid taste of the soup
The esoteric tinge on the ridges of the tongue
From the southern ‘Sambar’
And rubbery northern ‘roti’
Also I know
How each would rebel inside
Rumble and grumble
But eventually subside with a murmur.
-----------------------------
Live you long ye, Man
Fuming and frothing fire and brimstone
* Man went to God
"Why didst thou give me a life
A pittance, thirty and ten?
Why snap the string
In the pitch, while
High and trilling ..."
God smiled, tongue in cheek
“Oh. lemme see what can I do for you...”
A donkey came in
With a trail of wail.
"Why did you my lord, give me
A life of forty long?
To carry tones of load on tiny limbs?
Stalking, baulking and braying?
Take half of mine!"
God smiled, tongue in cheek
“Oh. lemme see what can I do for you..."
A dog came in
Sullen and sulking
"Why didst, my lord, give me a life
Ten and thirty? To hoot and howl
And bark in the dark?
To run hither and thither lolling out the tongue?
Take, pray, half of mine!”
God smiled, bemused
“Oh, I am sorry...”
A monkey sprang
Like a flit, from a branch
“Why did you...”
It made a somersault,
“Give me a life
A tortuous forty....”
A branch was going into twigs and splinters
“Even my nap gets hundred times snapped
Take half of mine....”
“ "Oh, man, here is what you wanted
God called the man
and patted on his head
“Take half of monkey
Half of donkey
Another half of dogs’ life
To stretch your bow
Beyond thirty and ten”
---------------------------------------------------------------
* put ‘woman’ here, if you, so wish?
Wings
Man looked at God squarely
With eyes, blazes of fire
“Your gave me the trunk of a mule
Hands of a gorilla
Legs of hound
And of course a mind
An odd mix of angel and devil
We can even swim like a dolphin
Why didn’t you give us wings?”
God said with a twinkle in eyes
“They will sprout, on your sides,
All in a jiffy, in picoseconds
When you fall in love, with a right girl,
Not as one pair, but as two”
A Kuil’s Melody
It was a lonely walk
With the rustle of my steps
Trailing every turn
The eventide was washing
The warmth of the day
The wind whimpering in the bushes
The little birds, minahs and swallows
Hopping and jumping, crisscross
From trees to the thickets
Then I heard the melodies
“Cookoo, Cukoo, Cukoo...”
From the depth of the heart and soul
Where from doth it come?
Where to doth it go?
Who had squeezed the heart out?
I waited and waited
For the bird to come out
For a praise, or a prize
“Cukoo, Cukoo, Cukoo...?
A long, deep, longing-crystallized melody
Going into, groping into your heart
“Pray, do come out,
I yearn to see the beauteous body
That shrines the sweetest melody....”
“Some are to be heard
not seen.....”
Taken aback, got all the more intrigued
“Pray, tell me, from the depth of your dwelling
Your voice is a melody
So sweet, so strong but so deep...”
“Some of the sweetest melodies and songs
Come from the deepest sorrow”
There was a pause
I waited and waited.
“I keep looking for my father and mother...
In every niche, nook and crevices.
Behind the bower, beneath the bush
For they left me fend for myself
In an alien world
The first ray of light
The first whiff of breeze
The first gulp of food
Came condescended, as a pittance
Not out of love, but of pity
Not out of right, but in slight
I grew up in the
Hustle and bustle of crow chicks
Hushing my voice, gulping my melody.
Lest I could be singled out
Picked, pecked and beaten out
“I ring out my soulful sorrow
In full hearted melody
In the specter of a browbeating crows
In search my sisters and brothers”
----------------------------------------------------------
* A kuil is the Indian cuckoo . The mother is said to lay
its eggs in the nest of crow as the kuil doe not
have a nest of its own
It is a poem inspired by conversation
with Dr.M.Rajendran, who could ‘share
and spare time’ for me
What don’t we have as yet....?
He was hooked up through his scope
To the distant dot in the dark sky
A thread to string the beads
In his beauteous equation
At the moment of ecstasy
The Divine hand touched him
And brought him back to the earth
“Oh, man, I, your creator,
The one who everybody keeps seeking,
Have come down to you
For a Little Chat...”
Was it can apparition or dream?
The scientist took time to recover
“Well, then” he said with a shrug
“Why me you could have
Chosen a temple and the like.
Or, the salons of seers or agnostics
To settle the dispute perennial
“Any way, thanks for coming
I have few things to sort out...”
The Creator was shocked and shaken
“I understand now why you
Fellows never care a temple
Your arrogance and audacity...”
The Scientist waved a gray hand
He was cut short
“It is odd that you mumble and grumble
Like mortals, like us....
“Is it not true that
I speak to you
A language known to you and me
Only two of us
Do you feel the touch of me
On the tendrils of your hairs...?
The Divine was wriggling
“Well, er..., listen,
I now realize, perhaps, belatedly,
That I have endowed you with
Senses supreme and sharp
You, the fellows, have out- grown
And your heads over grown
I wish to take back at least
One sense, one faculty from you.
The scientist was rattled
Chillness went threading up his spine.
“Is it fair on your part...?"
The voice was meek and plaintiff
“Yes, it is right on my part
That you can never question.
One concession, I can offer, through
As you have been the apples of my eye
Choose yourself.
Remit any of your faculties
This is the best offer...”
The man was trembling
Submerged in self pity and pathos,
But he came back to the surface
Buoyant, like a ball, from a wall.
Composed himself and cast a gauntlet
“My lord, kindness is enshrined in you
But what can I submit, unto you
I don’t know
But I have a small proposition
Take away anything you want
But grant, me instead.
A sense that I don’t have as yet.”
The Creator stood frozen
Mulled over many times
Time tickled on and on
And then He melted in thin air.
The scientist, with a wry smile
Turned his scope to the sky.
(Based on a story by Jayakannthan)
Chandelier in the Jungle
Who stole the chandelier of the king
And planted in the jungle?
Who netted the stars of the sky
To scatter on the bush?
Who are these children
With backpacks of bright books?
Who are these bevies of girls
Who chatter in light giggles?
Who taught them?
Moments of laughter
Moments of gloom
Moments of death
Moments of birth
Who are these tourists
Window shopping in the dead of night?
Who are these miners
With lanterns in the diamond caves?
Who brought them the silver feather
To glitter without sunlight?
Who dived deep in the sea
To plant pearls on thorns?
Who gave the magic
To the jasmine buds to roam and wander?
(A rhapsody on fireflies)
Under the shade of Allah
Through the quiet long stretches
That the street of Damascus reaches
The pounds of horses
The rattles of wheels
The grinds and squeaks of axles
Woke the people
From the cups of their post noon naps.
A child, the blissful dawn,
Turned askance from the muzzling bosom
Tiny pearls of milk flowed down.
The old haggard looked up
And peered through the beating sun
With a cupped hand atop the cavern
The little lass walking in
Rhymes and rhythms
To the laps on the pitcher
Turned around and her mouth went agape
The horse-driven cart
With a pack of fierce looking men
Reached the palace of Khattab
A tall monument of mound
Pitched and plastered in
Yellow grey sand
With stray soldiers scurrying around.
"Is it the palace of Caliph Khattab......?
The ruler of a vast empire
With one hand dipping in Nile
And another plucking a Kabul rose?!....
We are the emissaries of Emperor,
The Emperor of Persia
With twinkling diamonds
And giggling gifts in gold and silver
With our respects and regards
Scented in Indian spices
"Welcome, welcome home, brothers.....
We feel honored
But our Caliph is not home
Right at this moment
For he pays his tribute
To his Master.....
In the Mosque yonder
In obeisance and wonders"
The emissaries and the caravan
Rolled in soft, subdued silence
The people were withdrawing
in bliss and peace
For they have, in the Mosque,
Remitted remorse and repentance.
There was none but a man
Yonder under the tree
In simple sash, resting and in reverie
Lean and lanky
With a bush of brows
Like rooftops on the cavern of eyes
Withdrawn, yet glimmering
"We have come to see the
Caliph Khattab, the ruler of Umma.
Take us to him
We are the Emissaries of
Emperor of Persia.
The land of Plenty and beauty.....”
"Welcome home brothers
Welcome home.
We are honored
I accept all in humbleness.....”
"But, it is all for Caliph....
"It is I, the humble
Servant of Allah....”
The emissaries in regal splendor
Were struck with wonder
"It is you, you
The great Caliph Khattab
All alone, under the shade of a tree.
"No, under the shade of Allah....”
"Are you not afraid.....?
Yes, I am, afraid
"Afraid of Allah,
None but Allah"
" " Don't you have soldiers?
And sword-rattling guards.
“You don't need any, ever,
If only you are just and kind...."
Adieu
Adieu to the dews of the dawn
And tendrils of the butterfly
To the strings of the banyans
And streaks on the teak
Adieu to the clasped hands of the ceiling
And cob webs beneath the table
To the paper smell of the study
and the flicker of the street lamp
Adieu to the whisper of the curtain
and, oh I am sorry,
The whimper of the water tap.
I may not see you again
Not any of you,
Nor is there any need, not at all
I slide out of the door
Remembering you all in silence and smile
May be you too!
Immunization
I got immunized
Against jaundice at three
Typhoid at Fifteen
Against malaria at seventeen
The needle pierced
The fire scorched and burnt
All virus and bacteria
The fire,
The gut fire
The fire in my guts......
The flames of empty stomach.....
I Have Things to Do
I got really fed up, sick and angry,
And decided to go up and inquire.
Go up means, really up!
I went through the dark clouds, passed across
the white shoals
Smiled at the blue dome and felt frightened
by the immense darkness.
Occasionally the angles and satellites were
whirring past me.
They hardly cared for a weary nondescript
like me.
The I cried SOS on the radio telecomm .!
Pat came a reply.
"What the hell do you want to do?."
"I want to go to heaven."
“What for?"
"Want to talk to the god?
"Which god?"
"Are there too many?"
"Yes, quite a few. Who do you want to meet?"
It is surprise. I was not sure enough.
"Well, yes, let me start with the God of Creation"*.
"Well, take a right turn, go two light years and
then, vertically, in the Z axis, for three years/
Do you want me to fix an appointment for you...
-------------------------------------------------------------" According to Hindu mythology, there are three gods;
Brahma - God of Creation, Shiva of Destruction, Vishnu
of Protection.
"Oh, yes, if you can. That is quite nice of you.
By the way, where are you and who are...
There was click and the line went
I traveled as per instruction and reached the
Hall of the God of Creation.
The secretary looked up and smiled. She had a head phone
And two of her hands were pushing and pulling wires
in the tele command slots. Another pair of hands were
keying in some data in the computer.
Yet, she blossomed a smile on seeing me and nodded her
head asking me to be seated.
Behind the big glass-paneled room was the God of
Creation. He was busy touching flowers, and stroking
rabbits.
"You see, this is the spring season . He has to create many
Flowers and birds, Please do wait".
I waited, seated on a cozy sofa.
After sometime, I stood up. He was really too busy. His eyes
got me once and he smiled sheepishly.
"Can I see the God of Destruction now? I can meet your
boss on my way home. He seems quite busy."
The secretary pushed out a piece of paper in which the
direction has been scribbled.
"Go ahead; I shall have the appointment fixed for you!"
I left for the Hall of the God of Destruction. I had not
gone far, but I could hear the din even at a distance.
The Scene was not much different. Here too, the secretary
was as busy as the God of Creation and vice versa
I waited and waited. There was no time for the God of
Destruction, even to acknowledge my presence. He just
had a quick look and even before a smile could light up
his face he was pulled back to his work. He was dancing
here and there and I decided to see the God of Protection,
the Savior of the universe.
I came out and got the directions to his abode through
telecommunication.
It ran a long way. By the time I reached my destination, I
was tired and angry, up to my neck. And the God of
Protection was reclining cozily on a gossamer divan.
He was asleep, half or full, I could not make out. He was
c certainly having a nice time, with gentle breeze and
soft music pervading the atmosphere. His wife was sitting
close to is feet, giving gentle massage.
He appeared not to have felt my presence
I cleared my throat.
He opened his eyes, from his blissful reverie.
"Hi, how are you?"
I stood still, my eyes scorching him. Then, only
then, he woke up and came towards me for a
handshake.
"What brings you here, gentleman?
What can I do for you?"
I could not open my mouth. My head was
reeling in anger.
I blurted out.
"What is going on here? You seem not to bother about us
at all. Just look around. The world is going to dogs! There
is so much misery and chaos. People suffer and decay.
Millions and millions of people beseech you, cry for you
help with all assortment of offerings. But you seem to
care for none. You seem to be happily dozing off along,
when your peers, the God of Creation, and the
God of Destruction are hectic with work. What the hell
do you do, as the God of Protection?
He stood unruffled.
"You are ranting and raving.... Well, well. They don't
reflect well on you. There was a pause.
"Anyway, when things have come to this state,
I am bound to reply". He continued
"You have hands, broad shoulders and above all a neat head.
Why don't you take care of yourself .Have you ever seen
grown up children ever bothering their
parents.
Is it not a shame on you to cry
and pray for every little odds?
He was rather sad, certainly not angry.
"By the way, who asked you to pray and beseech
the Gods! We have better things to do, than to attend to
your beck and call! Have you ever seen a bird or
flower praying and doing penance
for us?.
They have the wisdom to try their best
and accept the rest!"\
He ambled back to the divan, like an ice flake drifting and
settling on a bouquet.
"Wow,! Are you going to sleep again?
"No, I am going to work"
"What!"
"Yes, I was planning and designing the next and better
world, and you interrupted me!....
He continued
´ ” You see, we do have turn duties like some of you folks...
May I resume my work....?
I have things to do"
On a fiery flight
"Let us go
Let us go...."
The younger brother was in delight
In the carrion lying beneath
The tree was tall and hefty
With branches, bereaved of leaves
It was groping into the sky
With twisted hands and knuckled fists
The air bumped on its humps
And hooted like an owl in growing pain
"Where do you want to go?"
The younger brother asked in askance
The words came out bitten and broken
Soaked in juice of reeking blood
The elder brother Sambathi*
Had falcon eyes, for he was really a falcon
Yet filled with distant dreams
"Let us go, Thambi**
Let us go on a fiery flight....."
"Well, where do you want to go...."
Jadayu's voice was choked and hesitant
It was a drawl like a distant roar of thunder
"Spit out that you stupid fool
How many days do you want to
Live to eat or eat to live
Fornicate and procreate
Running in the same cycle
Millions before, millions after
Trailing and wailing,
Sometimes winning sometimes whining
Endless cycle of enough’s....
"Yea, that is it, life is like that!...."
"Let us go
Let us go on a fiery flight...
To cleave through the clouds
And twiddle the big black whales above
We go still above
To fly aloft still
unweighted, unwafted, in emptiness.
We could go even above
To see the lightless
Black domain below the bright sun....
We could drink deep
The nectar on that silver plate'......
"Can we make it Anna***
Can we do that?
Is it not that the sky is too high"....
There was a pause, both birds
Became silent, earn searching
The inner niches of theirs and the others
" We will, if we can...."
"No, we can if we will
We can, if we drop the
Dead load of lead in our head....
We can if only we break the barrier
That hedges and keeps our mind set and tight
Liberate yourself, liberate your mind
Cleave through the clutter of cobwebs
The red sea and blue sky
Led the way to the liberators"
Both decided to go up skyward
Try their reach and range
“We must prepare ourselves
We must do penance
Lest the efforts fritter even in best
We must learn to give up meat
Eat nuts and fruits
Quench the fire of stomach
With the bounty of water
We must train to starve
Cease the dreams that seizes the sleeps
We must train for a long
Nonstop flight from tree top to hill top....."
They did
Their friends and relatives
Did their best to rile and ridicule
"Each is a half crack
Both together, full fools...."
But the arrows of words
Hot from the quiver of dark embers
Got blunt at the targets
They rent through the torrents of water fall
Glided through the twisted silver sash
Counted the million of rainbows
Picked and pecked the pearls of water
There was the scent of the soil
Rubbed and rubbed by watery hands of endless toil
They went upwards
They went through the cotton clouds
Sucked the nectar of white curd
Walked upon the stairs of rainbows
Stacked in the cloudy hills.
"There is certainly more delight in the flight
If not in destination, Anna"
They went upwards
The clouds have become
Tiny dots on white mosaic
They hit the bits and flakes of
Castaway frills of the lonely princes
They went up still
It was a flight in stillness, in emptiness
Under the dark dome sky
Unruffled, unweighted, unbuffered
They relished the tingling taste of death alive
They went still further.
"Enough Anna, enough
We have reached the fringe
Blue and white sky lie far below
We have reached our goal.....”
"No, Thambi, goal that was reached
Was not a goal at all....
It should hover above the head
Within sight, very close
But a little above reach
Raising as you raise.....
They went up
The white silver of sun blazed aglow
They have touched the tail, almost
"Anna, we have almost touched the
finger of brilliance
Pray, do not go above come
down and stay under my shadow....."
Jadayu cried
Sambathi was all adrenalin
"It is a flimsy bubble, this life
That could shatter by a distant sneeze
Should my thambi get burnt before me....
Girding up all the might and mien
With the passion and love
Flooding through the veins.
Sambathi out ran, out jumped, out flew his brother
He touched the rim of the silver plate
His wings got scorched
The flesh and blood got
Turned into ashes and soot
"Anna, Anna ...”
Jadayu cried and cried and fell down
"Anna.... Anna...."
The echoes’ went down through
The dark dome, blue sky and white clouds
-------------------------------------------------------------- Note:
Sambathi and Jadayu are mythological bird
brothers of Ramayana. They tried to scale the height of sky and reach the sun!
Anna = Elder brother, here Sambathi
Thambi = Younger brother, here Jadayu
masila
Dr V Masilamani is an odd combination of physicist + poet + and philosopher