3853 : Simple loves

I was reading poetry
Waiting for a flight 
That would take me to another nowhere

Into the here came in a young couple
Tamil and in love
With a lingo that only Chennai can have

Peppered with the super
And the macha
But if only that, it would dilute the drink

Their spirit was more basal
Fun, light, opening each other 
Laughing at jokes, that I would never

Love does that
Makes the inane seem profound
And the profane seem round

Neither very stylish
Nor very classy
And yet so much in love

For a brief moment, the old me,
Paused, smiled and inhaled
This could indeed be heaven for everyone

The poetry I was reading 
Was about dislocation and distance
That too - shall one day come with the kingdom.

3852 : Genius lyrics by Varun Grover and Dushyant Kumar on Kisi Rail Si Gujarti Hain from Masaan

I have been listening to the song on repeat "Kisi Rail Si Guzarti hain".....I have posted on this before.

It has some totally inspired lines.

My one favorite line remains, "Kisi Lambe Safar Ke Raaton mein, Tujhe Alaav sa jalatha hoon".

(In one of those long journeys, I light you as the bonfire that helps through the night.)

And then Swanand Kirkire (who is usually a lyricist) has sung this beyond redeemption (redeemption can be positive too).

Give it a listen. Be enthralled.

3851 : Reading list 2021 : #21 : 61 Minutes in Marathi by Tushar Gunjal

Another StoryTel find.

Its a regular thriller, but the way the drama unfolds just fgruips you.

I am falling in love with this art form.

I really want to learn this.

Its 90 min listen. Go for it.

The artists are just fab.

3850 : Reading List 2021 : #20 : Mee Nathuram Godse Boltoy by Pradeep Dalvi

I can read Marathi, but not fast enough. So I have started listening to books (thanks to StoryTel).

I finished this book, and quite liked the production of this book. Its stellar. It just pulls you in.

I am broadly a liberal (or so I think), but this book made me hear the other side of the argument. And actually clarified some doubts that I have myself had around the whole Godse-Gandhi saga.

While you are on the app - also listen to Amit Schandilla's episode on Godse within their India Unchartered history series.

I cant (and wont count pages here), but this is a 1.40 hr book and I loved it. We may or may not agree with it, but its worth a listen.

3489 : The world this week

 This week I had a meltdown (which is very unusual for me!!), realized that I am way too fat (and unfit), and I dont write enough.

All three should change - starting now, starting today.

While my external conditions are sound, I have never felt so low as I have felt this week in many years now.

The slow steep climb starts.

3848 : Metallica Blacklist

I am listening to the covers of Metallica's Black album....and what a list of covers.

Totally floored.

Go for a listen.

https://open.spotify.com/album/7N32mF0BlA3BOhlSyCiHgf 

3847 : Our stories are false

 Picked up from Twitter, but could not ring more true.

Czeslaw Milosz: “Obviously, all biographies are false, not excluding my own. […] They are false because their individual chapters are linked according to a predetermined scheme, whereas in fact they were connected differently, only no one knows how.”

3846 : Rahul Ram singing "Tu Kisi Rail Si"

How do you take a great song, you have composed, and make it epic?

Sing it yourself. Here Rahul Ram is singing "Tu Kisi Rail Si Gujarti hain"

What a stunning version....

3845 : You

Koi itna pyara kaise ho sakta hain,
Phir saare ka saara kaise ho sakta hain
Tujse jab milke bhi udaasi kam nahin hoti,
Tere bagair gujara kaise ho sakta hain

From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HS7kvqtqzZ0 

3844 : Seasons

I remember we met on that particular October day. Hot, sultry as tropics can be. It felt like the heights of summer.

As we were driving between homes, the rains let loose. It poured. We both tried to laugh about it, we thought it was a sign that things should cool off a bit.

We reached the restaurant and ordered food. Something cracked, like it always does, and you seemed to lose all appetite. It felt like the fall. 

We tried to make it light hearted - our chat, but never really starting off. Always knowing the chill was around the corner. A bit like autumn.

As we decided to part away, you said we should rebuild, we should recoup, like how nature does. In your words "We should make spring happen."

Its been years, and what started on that day as a cold harsh winter, remains to this day. The seasons also froze. There is no thaw in this cold.

3843 : Struggle

 I have never struggled to write in recent years, as much as I am doing right now.

3842 : As I grow older

My need for physical silence dramatically increases.

The noise drones into me, the noise drains into me, the noise dreads into me.

3841 : Diwali Night

Amongst a burst of crackers
The rains decided to join the party

You smell the lead

And the petrichor

Sparklers and drizzles
How do you eat them both

The wind blows
Through the window it howls

For some the rain today is a lament
For some its a savior

I am inclined to say
Rain, rain, wash away

And then I remember

I am old and crusted

3840 : Reading List 2021 #19 : The elephant vanishes by Haruki Murakami

My second read of this Murakami book. 

All I say is read it, own it, so that you can re-read it.

Keep reading.

Fantastic book.

Definitely 10/10.

Brings my 2021 reading total to 4552 pages.

3839 : Reading List 2021 : #18: The Murderer, The Monarch & The Fakir by Appu Esthose Suresh & Priyanka Kotmaraju

 Growing up I was never a history buff. But my deep education (or interest) into politics,  has led me to read a lot of history in the past few years. Especially contemporary history, the past 100 years. I have finished books on WWII, Indian politics and the state of the nation.

So was very keen to read "The Murderer, The Monarch & The Fakir" by Appu Esthose Suresh and Priyana Kotmaraju.....

Its a new exploration of the assassination of Bapu, or "aims to be a new exploration".

I actually did not enjoy it much at all. Except for some bits here and there, nothing really got my goat. It does not conclusively say anything, it does not draw you into another possible world (which history should do).

So overall 6/10. I would not recommend this read to anyone.

Brings my 2021 reading total to 4214 pages.

3838 : Freedom means..

To each
Their "freedom" means something different

To some
It just means the ability to be free
Absolved from the worries
Or burdens that can chain us to our present

To some 
It means self expression
Or identity
Or just plain simple acceptance

Then to some
Freedom is self governance
As a nation 
As a land
As a community
An autonomy

On days that I really am aware
To me all freedom means is
Choosing my silence
Working as late as I want to
Indulging my smoke
And sipping whiskey on the side

One day I shall achieve my freedom. 

3837 : Tokenism

In episode 48 of MWRH, we ruminate - on why tokenism might not matter in the larger business landscape at all. the only place tokenism seems to work is around large societal issues - and in those examples all tokenism can do is possibly educate and increase awareness (than alleviate the problem).

Do listen. 

3836 : Why I write?

I write because it shows me how I think. Thats really it. This blog is my own ode to my own being in posterity, my own failings, and the drunken walk through life.

3835 : Skyfull of people

I was out with a few friends yesterday, catching up.

And yet, I felt lonely, silent and aloof. Which is often the case with me and my tendency to zone out, but yesterday it occurred to me - that when we "try" and be happy, its a counterintuitive approach, does not work.....but if we "try" and have fun, you are left holding a grenade.

3834 : On the struggles of being

I am struggling to write.

In the past month, that is. Its a combination of being distracted and being mapless. Words dont come out, the poetry is stifled, the songs dont matter - and yet I continue to trudge along.

Would you continue to trudge along if the heart did not beat well, or if you gasped for breathe, or had severe constipation?

Point is - I know something is broken. I am not even taking a pause to fix it.