If scarecrows could speak No secret of the man Would ever remain a secret If you wish to unfold Your and my innate mysteries Then first You must Shatter a scarecrow With an arrow And see in whose grave People lower the carca If scarecrows begin to travel Many people like us Would go into […]
The envelope
One day, standing in front of the bookshelf, I was looking at the rows of books but couldn’t decide which book I was supposed to read. Though I had not read all the books on the shelf, I felt there was nothing left to be read anymore. It was as though I had already extracted […]
The water bottle
While walking on the road as my eyes ran across the tall Kaheer*, and I felt heavenly relieved. The journey I embarked upon in the morning was supposed to run over a distance of five hours by foot. When I was about to leave, my youngest son, who is 11, insisted me to accompany him. […]
After encountering a black cat with yellow eyes
Here on the lawn It’s me sank in the chair Just behold me. Your saffron-yellow eyes Two enormous pearls Like a frail and feeble light Glow in the dark And whisk me away down to the lush green shade of a neem tree In a far off land A fairy-faced maiden Dressed in silver stitched […]
The Baby
I looked out of the window. It was still raining. A silent rain. No gusts of wind. No streaks of lightening. No thunderbolts. It was just simply pouring down. I trailed my eyes from the window to my wife Mahikan, who sat on the carpet near the cradle, feeding the baby. Both in and out […]
I’m in love with clouds
Seeking a drop of fire A handful of water A bit of earth And a moment long sky I wander all around For I’m in love with clouds A fire I lit in a shade The silk of time set itself ablaze A bowl of water I sought And deluge ravished my soul I embossed […]
The Iron Horse
O Lord of miracles! I saw a curl of entranced smoke A marvel of Kings A wonder of wisdom An engine with bizarre screech and whistles From all its parts Emanated smoke and sparks On its ironed track It came gliding like dark monsoon clouds And leapt ahead like a bevy of soldiers And breezed […]
Just a shadow
After quite a long time, he thought to unbolt the door and cast a glance outside. But he was mesmerized so much by his inner season that for him now opening the door was like bathing in leaping flames. He stood by the door thinking that if he opened it, how long would he have […]
Short poems
Tale of a night I wonder If it’s a shade drenched in mist Or sand clad in blue Rests on the grave of my dreams The moon Comes sailing in the boat of my lashes Far away The ocean tee scrawls the tale of the night Untitled Let the window remains opened Stay here Under […]
The Prescription
A frenzied crowd had thronged the Medicine Room of the hospital. With a prescription in hand, everybody was eager to get the authorised medicines. But today it seemed quite difficult to reach the window as people had not queued up properly. In a haste, they kept pushing and thrusting each other to reach the counter […]