First Rain

Ah! The Green!
Left behind
By the first rain
Ah! The splashes!
Peace defined
By the first rain
The sounds! The smell!
The life divine -
The first rain.

A Purpose Without a Purpose

A tribute to Edgar Allen Poe

O how I hope when hope has lost!
Hoping love to get across,
A bridge of hope - the bridge of loss -
You aren't right and you aren't wrong
I lost not though I lost long;
Do I lose and do I love
With a purpose from above,
Is loss and gain the summary
Of Joy bartered for misery?
All that we do and don't
Is with a purpose without a purpose.

I first traded my song
Of joy and happiness long,
I then traded my dreams
Of orange yellow themes -
With such purpose I sought!
A life - and so dearly I bought,
Look! Look what I got!
O God! Can I not revise
My purpose and be wise?
O God! Can I not redeem
Just one last dream?
Is all that we do and don't
With a purpose without a purpose?

Above is a poem on the lines of Edgar Allen Poe's famous A Dream Within A Dream. Poe's poems have an inherent darkness, a lurking death wish. Even the happy ones do and this one - I think it should be banned like Gloomy Sunday. I am yet to read a text with more inspiration for suicide.

Almost everyone can identify with the second para, standing on a sea shore and losing sand held in one's hand - and if one has recently lost someone, then with Poe's
O God! Can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! Can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?

I loved making something on the lines. Thanks Poe.

Lesson for an Entrepreneur Part V

Don't lose the count

Dollars per hour
Per diem per client
Per month per hour
This invoice
That payment;

While keeping account
With skill and cunning
A crore -
A thousand,

Don't lose the count -
Life is running
A second
Per second.

Alakhnanda ( अलखनंदा )

Peace I give.
I - The giver of life.
I - The Mother.
Warm and cool
The creator am I.

Prosperity I bring.
I - The carrier of life.
I - The River.
Slow and silent
The nurturer am I.

Power I am.
I - The taker of life.
I - The Goddess.
Raw and angry
The destroyer am I.

Life I bring
Care I give
By claim. By right.

Death I cause
Chaos I make.
By claim. By right.

Privilege I keep.
I - The companion of Shiva.
I - The Goddess.
Bow before me
The Great Ganges am I.

Lesson for an Entrepreneur Part IV

While walking a greener patch
Keep the gray in view -
Remember that grays last;
Greens are far and few.

While crossing the bolder arch
The one that may not hold -
Remember how a bird falls;
Worrying, but its wings uphold.

While falling and losing fast
Keep your heart safe in place -
Remember to not blame the arch;
When you lose, don't lose your grace.

While picking up and rising again
Keep your eyes and feet steady -
Strap and tighten your gear then;
Holds are rare and slips are ready.

Dataquest

I got a mention in Dataquest 31st May Edition.

Here is the link: http://dqindia.ciol.com/content/industrymarket/focus/2009/109052106.asp

Apparently, in media industry, proof reading is done after publishing to the web and before publishing to the print.

Lakkhi Lost the Match

So Lakkhi lost the match
Cuz the toss came very bad
Crooked Cricket hates my Lakkhi
My Lakkhi lost the match
I Lakkhi Lakkhi
My Lakkhi Lakkhi

Seldom the ball, often the bat
Make him miss the wicket the catch
My Lakkhi won the toss
My Lakkhi lost the match
I Lakkhi Lakkhi
My Lakkhi Lakkhi

Through the ducks, through the match
Through the jingles, through the ads
I love my Lakkhi
My Lakkhi lost the match
I Lakkhi Lakkhi
My Lakkhi Lakkhi

Hi Lakkhi Lakkhi
Bye Lakkhi Lakkhi

Chasing the Myth (Eldorado II)

The mythical elixir
Of ever-life -

With his eyes so true
And a joy so wide
His promised peace
His step so light
So bright so shine
So pure so fine
He that carries
The lover's sign.

The mythical city
Of Eldorado -

With her prince of gold
And subjects of gold
And grains of gold
And rivers of gold
So bright so shine
So pure so fine
She that smiles
The seductress' smile.

The mythical
The myth
All unreal

And I run and chase
Their ghosts
Surreal

I glimpse and lose
His wink
Her style
So I run and chase
His promise
Her smile

And I helpless take
His tease
Her bait
And chase and run
Their rules
Their race

And I love and crave
His laugh
Her grace
So I run and chase
Her form
His face

And I grab and miss
I reach
They run
And I hurt and smile
I lost
They won

And I lose and lose
Old life
And new
Yet the seductress smiles
And the
Lover too

They tease and laugh
Make signs
In hue
So I run and chase
Her gold
His blue

Like a desert traveler
Who dreams
Of dew.

Men who chase, gold and blue
Am I mad, and they too?
In the barren of their deserts
In a dreamless sleep that hurts -
The mirage
Of Dew
Is all the dream they hold.

Is it still a myth unreal?
Blue elixir and city of gold.

I measure every grief I meet

I measure every grief I meet

(A Tribute to Emily Dickinson)

लम्बा नाटा, भारी हल्का

खुद नाप लिये मैं चलता हूँ

अपने दुख का नाप बना कर

औरों के दुख से मिलता हूँ ।

इनकी ये कल शाम की चोट -

या बड़ा पुराना घाव रिसा है ?

मेरा मुझको कुछ याद नहीं

हाँ दर्द बड़ा ये करता है

रोज़ जीने से क्या इनके

दिल का दर्द बढ़ता है ?

क्या ये बेबस होतें हैं जब -

मरने का जी करता है ?

बूढ़े दुख के होठों पर पर

कभी खुशी हँसती भी है -

जैसे तेल की याद में बाती

बुझती बुझती जलती सी है ।

ये बूढ़ा दुख जब और जीयेगा

क्या और बढ़ेगा, और हरेगा ?

या समय का दिल कुछ पिघलेगा, वो

क्या मरहम का काम करेगा ?

या बूढ़े दुख को बूढ़े दिल

तब तक अपना मान चुकेंगे ?

एक प्रेम ने मर कर दुख जन्मा था

क्या तब ये दुख को प्रेम करेंगे ?

या सोचेंगे मर कर दर्द से

निजात मिलेगी, चैन मिलेगा

पर दर्द तो अन्दर सीप गया है -

ये दर्द ना मौत के साथ मरेगा ।

एक प्रेम में पाया होता है

एक मोल लिया दुख होता है

बस मुठ्ठी में आने को हो जग

और हाथ कटे दुख होता है

इतना दुख को पढ़ता हूँ पर

जाने मेरा दुख कैसा दिखता है

बस समझो मेरे गलगोथा में

कुछ अकेलापन कम लगता है

जब इतने सलीब बंधे हुए हैं

औरों ने कंधो पर ढोए भी हैं -

दुख - लम्बे नाटे, भारी हल्के

शायद कुछ मेरे जैसे भी हैं ।

[गलगोथा* Golgotha is the place where Jesus was crucified.]

Above is an attempted Hindi translation of the infinitely superior original poem, I measure every grief I meet, by Emily Dickinson. I am surprised that we had none of her poems in our school curriculum. She is a great poetess and invariably touches the heart. In my list of favorite poems, her authored-by count will at least be thrice the second place candidates [Robert Frost and Rudyard Kipling]. And for someone who touches your heart with words like she does, her form is superb too. For example, during this translation, I just could not maintain the flow of thoughts as she had in her original. It's just ... too perfect.

I want to paste the original here, but versions on the web do not agree about the real text [yes, including the authoritative ones]. It is really surprising because the nuances are quite different based on which version you read. For example, this whole stanza is missing from most of on-line citations including Bartleby.

I note that Some – gone patient long –
At length, renew their smile –
An imitation of a Light
That has so little Oil –

Also, look at these differences in words:

Bartleby's version:
.. To note the fashions of the cross,
Of those that stand alone, ..
Poets.org version:
.. To note the fashions – of the Cross –
And how they're mostly worn – ..

Bartleby's version:
.. Or would they go on aching still
Through centuries above, ..
Poets.org version:
.. Or would they go on aching still
Through Centuries of Nerve – ..

Bartleby's version:
.. And whether, could they choose between,
They would not rather die ..
Poets.org version:
.. And whether – could They choose between –
It would not be – to die – ..

And there are more. It seems blasphemous, yet both are authoritative sources. For my translation, I used poets.org version, as it had the extra stanza which I wanted to include in my translation.

A God in the Sky

With tears on his cheeks
And loss in his past
With vows in his eyes
And hope in his heart
- A boy in the mud
Singing la la la

And a God in the sky
Laughing ha ha ha

With tears on his cheeks
And loss in his past
And tears in his eyes
And loss in his heart
- The man in the world
Learning Na Na Na

And a God in the sky
Laughing Ha Ha Ha