Autumn's Kaleidoscope

Autumn brings a solemn change
Time for retrospection
An inward glance
An acceptance of change

And nae a leaf be known
Too afraid,that stands still
Instead toss their heads in the breeze
And dance , gay abandon
The golden light that awakens then
Like a flame ;to light
A thousand more
And all around the eye can see
A burning flame ,like passions red
In this spectacle
More celebrated,more venerated
Inner strength
To stand alone,To walk alone.

Shilpa Iyer

Species Supreme !!!!!!

So I recently read this great book called ' Marley and Me' .For the uninitiated , this book is an ode to the cutest, most disobedient and hyperactive ( or what is it they call it euphemistically, energetic and eager to explore ? ) labrador called Marley. It is an entertaining , extremely engrossing account of this mutt's life and the people he touched....willing or un-willing subjects they may be ! The end tugs at your heart strings....and the book does wonderful justice to a dog I am sure was every bit as special as author John Grogan makes him out to be.
This book sent me spiralling back in time.I have had two dogs previously and currently am the proud owner of Rufus, also special in a whimsical,crazy sort of way.
Ceasar was my first dog.He was a purebred, proud German Shepard Dog.Puppy Ceasar had more likeness of a bearcub and he was an adorable dog.He grew to adolescent puppyhood quick as is the way with most pups.These months were buried under a slew of half eaten slippers and chewed on water pipes ! He worked with single minded attention and returned most of our favourite possessions in a slightly varied form, with his own special designer touch thrown in for good measure.Ceasar was my companion on digging endeavours , he loved to excavate.With tail wagging furiously and intermittent barks he dug neat , big holes...not that my parents were thrilled or anything! He was the most loyal friend, and when I stepped out just for a second, he assumed guard at the gate, giving me a once over when I walked back in.I loved that furry mutt.Shadow was the next furry addition to our family.I remember the day we brought Shadow home, Ceasar looked at me as though saying,"Him ? are you sure, he looks kinda slimy ! " Well they got along famously , By that I mean , their fights were famous , almost book your seats , beat your way into the first row kinda famour fights! Shadow was day if Ceasar was night.We couldnt have had two more contrasting carricatures if we had had them ordered! Where Shadow loved attention , Ceasar was content with the ocassional pat.Where Ceasar was the ultimate guard dog, Shadow prioritised..how much will this attack cost me ....will I get hurt in the process? Ceasar lived his life to serve and to please..Shadow lived on his terms.They completed our family .Sadly, Ceasar developed hind quarter weakness a disorder that often plagues dogs of that breed and size.Medication couldnt lessen his pain...and we couldn't see our loyal friend suffer this way.In the most painful decision that I have been part of, we had him put to sleep.I still cant forget the way he came to me when I called him, lay down beside me...he even resisted the first dose of the anaesthetic.The vet told me that dogs have an extremely acute sense of attachment and that I should let go..not touch him.Like a call from the heavens, the minute I let go, he did too.I couldnt believe he was gone.Shadow was another dog altogether.He went for a walk in the evening, came home, barked at some kids at night.He lay down at night and passed away during the wee hours of the morning, alone and on his own terms.I will never completely get over the loss of Shadow.He was my mirror, my constant companion...I love him!
Misty eyed and wan smile light my face....I look up at my present prince...Rufus.A nicer dog you cannot find.He has the disposition of an angel and totally adores people, biscuits and snooze time not necessarily in that order.When Shadow passes away I told myself I wouldnt get attached to another dog.But looking at Rufus' lazy , content face , I smile.Its soo worth it!

A lesson in everything

The deepest night,
My darkest hour,
Flimsy windows held shut-
Outside a tempest roared.

A deafening clap,
Thunder's bugle,
The battle began,
A celestial war.

Nature's elements,
Locked in a trance;
Heaven and Hell ,
Spectators; to watch.

The storm was silenced,
The downpour ceased,
Cool, moist air,
Greeted the Phoenix.

This was my Ground Zero;
I look up-
A new dawn is breaking.

Shilpa Iyer

India Shining ??

India has been in the news off late and how !! In fact on a recent episode of 'The tonight show with Jay Leno' he joked that, George Bush accepted that the US economy was moving...albeit to India !!!! With Corus , Vodafone and other multi billion dollar deals being sealed as I painstakingly type this, what picture would one conjure of today's India ?
It is a given that a hitherto unknown concept of flashy takeovers by Indians has now become a reality.Everyday pictures of India's wealthy and therefore famous paint our newspapers....It is a good sign that our economy is on the upslope of a seemingly endless peak....Does this newfound wealth trickle down to that 60% of our country, the chunk which rises and sleeps in abject poverty? How does India Shining illuminate their lives ?
Perhaps it doesnt really impact the common, middle class person as much either.Perhaps it feels that way because the divide is not as large or as stark.But what becomes of Raju who at 11 years works to support his large family,what of Gangu bai whose drunken husband has a roving eye,leaving her little money to support her kids..what of those people who eat two meals a day -thats all their money can buy and what of the children who live on the street who sniff glue or smoke bidis to drive away unsatiable hunger pangs?
How does this spell justice ? The divide is growing as though a chasm , and the age old adage 'The rich get richer , the poor poorer' could never have been as apt.Why is there such a large abyss between these two sects - the chosen few and the children of a lesser God ? How does one begin to bridge this gap ? Why does none of the wealth trickle through the fissure ? Is it too romantic a dream to hope that someday we can ' Show them the money' ??
It is easy to be content with my life.I neither have the pressures of being in snobbish elite circles where the most confusing conundrum one deals with is which designer to honour by wearing his bizzarre creation! But I am equally blessed that I do not lose sleep over the origin of my next meal....and for that I am grateful.What of the millions of our population who can't say the same of their lives?
What can we do to level the scores ? Loosen our pursestrings and aid in development ? What of our elected morons who do nothing but feather their nests ? Is it time that we enter the ring, beat them at their own game ? Is India ready for a new face to Government ? Will we be strong enough to raise our voice, even if intitally it is alone?
We need a current day Robinhood, within the boundaries of our jurisdiction of course.If we want to see some change, some even-ing of the scores.......It's time to stand up and be counted !!!!!!!!

A Change of the Subconcious

Plumes of mist rise unwaveringly to block all vision.Tendrils of smoke adorn a now grey backdrop.An echo of footstep be all that pierces the misty envelope.Bravely they trudge on,unfaltering ; on the ground that leads.Darkness hunts, never more a realm beyond.Its wild steed galloping further,pre- setting darknes. A sliver of light attempts the crossover.Valiant though, to weak to try.As wisps gather, a shaft to form,breakdown of total darkness.Preternatural phenomenon awakens.
Magically there is a clarity of never before.Logical thought now a possiblity.All paths be illumined, their each pitfall focused and its danfer conceived.This crstyal world takes leave, short be the stay of radiance.
The dark knight sweeps in, and cloaks the path to rest.Mist returns , and once more, the esoteric faith prevails.
And so the cycle repeats, dark and light with alternate intensity.Much like day and night, differed though length of stay unknown , benefit of each undefinable.The past and future must reconcile , to unravel the mysteries that loom.
As I look back, empty, it has dissolved, a void to replace.
The past looks no clearer than the future, the future as hazy as the past.
And only the present holds eternal truth.

Who will cry when you die?

Just yesterday, I met with an accident, or rather I met with a rash driving indica.What ensued was that I was lying on the divider, trapped under my bike.Looking up at a monster in steel,cherry red for effect hurtling toward me......Today I am writing this,needless to say that the bus driver didnt make history of me.But as I sat to write,aching in little known places....I think of what is and what could easily have been..........................
Who wil cry when you die..is a title of a now famous novel....What is is that scares people about dying? The fact that no one knows what happens once you die ,or that you have to leave things you like and care for behind ?
Lying there I had none of the gut wrenching thoughts of family and friends, no famous life flashing by moments...nothing zilch. I dont think I thought of anything of great significance.Perhaps just that the bus would take my legs only luckily....since my head was up on the divider, remember? But no oscar winning last minute wishes,prayers..forgiveness etc....
So am I an emotional drift wood? No...I am quite attached to people and cry like a baby at movies..sniff sniff...! But why is it that no thought raced through my luckily helmet clad head that day?
Is this living in the present in its truest meaning? Maybe.....I figure maybe I just dont think of who will miss me,what they will do etc....The truth is anyway...they will all live right !Until of course it is their time to die!
Maybe this is not even something for me to ponder,it all seems very simple! I just dont think when I am about to be run over! hmmm...
The only answer I have been able to come up with is this....I am either not scared about leaving this behind,or maybe I havent really comprehended it..Either ways...I just am! well...for today anyhow!
So who will cry when I die....Hehe...I dunno

Dreamcatcher

Each mortal succumbs to sleep,
And as the last eye shuts,
I come alive,
My duty calls.

Each dream they live,
I collect them all,
Each vision they yearn,
I note each one.

By and by, I float-
Tenderly picking each dream,
Along with its swirling mist,
Encased in Silver envelope.

Dreams that sustain our hope,
Dreams that we live for,
Dreams that we close our eyes for-
To live them through,each night.

I know them all,
I own each one,
Each at my mercy,
But safe in my arms.

I live through each one,
But altered,
So that each my come true-
I return them,to their dreamers.

Shilpa iyer

Someone is looking for me,
I can sense a soul,
Lost like my own,
Somewhere in this void.

I can hear the sounds-
I cant make out the words,
I can sense the pain,
And I can feel my tears.

Somone is calling-
Searching for me
I am rooted
I can't help.

I'm wandering apoplectic,
When smoke clouds my mind,
My eyes are burnt raw,
How can I look for you ?

I can hear a call,
A plea to revive death,
Perhaps its a spirit,
If so; I must move on.

Shilpa Iyer

Crossing Over

I can see the tendrils float,
I can sense them leave,
Through my fingers-
And onward.

I sit in on a morose crowd,
Talking of years afore,
And tears adorn those pretty faces
Shivering hands comfort others.

Beguilled of attention thus-
I place my hand over another
To offer solace,but;
As though my comfort means nothing.

And I rise before a mirror,
To see the wall behind my face-
And a hollow realisation dawns-
I am a soul among the living.

Helplessness smothers me,
The longing suffocates,
I wish well, I must take leave
I am an altered insider.

I must join my realm-
Where spirits float by,
Removed, unreachable,
Lonely but mute.

I'll surround myself,
WIth ghosts of friends-
I'll make a new life,
With tendrils of remains.

But-
I'll linger occasionally;
In the land of mortals.

Shilpa Iyer

Rising above the crowd!

Humanity fixes me,
With one large eye,
And sizes me up,casts me away,
I am a misfit.

I do not belong,
Nor conform to newest trend-
Free mind not what sought,
But obeisance to the rules.

My life has meaning,
A glaring mistake,
My being a purpose,
So never shall I fit in.

As humanity's sea swells,
Further it sends me adrift,
No lifeline to anchor,
To restrain from its luring call.

There's no interest
In lives like mine,
Dull and burnished,
Dime a dozen.

This new gang,
Has no middle ground,
No sidewalk for balance,
Just a dusty,traversed road.

Idle chatter bores the mind,
Dulls the edge of the sword.
The mind has lost its throne,
As money talks.

Once you slip through,you'll fit in-
Into its kaleidoscope,
But the truth remains,that this world-
Is nowt but shards of glass.

Shilpa Iyer

All new

I have often wondered about this..all over the place..people around me seem bored, frustrated that the life they have is not quite the life they wanted....ordered ..so it seems! I wonder whether they possess enough intelligence to fathom what they actually want from life, and whether they actually have it all , but just havent seen it yet...Met a couple of people today who go about their lives as though the very thought of living another day in their own skin gives them the creeps.Maybe it does....Why do they try to be somone they arent? what do they want to achieve? It seems to me that no one ..and I totally begin with including myself have a clue how life will turn out eventually anyway...so why beat yourself over the head, go blue in the face trying to fit it into ur perfect scheme , when maybe life just has another way.A friend of mine...pretty wise me thinks said that perhaps the only truth of life that one needs to accept is existence....hmmmm....well take a bow....i believe its true...tht and death are the only things for sure.So why bother....why ruin wht is for wht might be ? .....What hope does one have for a good life, if they cant be happy with how things are now, as they are...not wishing for more days in the sun..or bein taller...or shortet..or having green hair or something...its a thought....a beggining...heres to a beggining!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A diamond in the rough

This is about a child I used to see on my way to Fergusson each morning. Theres something about that look in his eye..it will forever haunt me......

Poverty's own child,
Stared me in the face,
He took a shuddering gasp,
And beagn to wail.

His life song it seemed,
So hanuting , so chilling,
Yet child-like he remains,
Still with hope of a new day.

No place to call home,
No life to call his own,
No one;
No where.

He is poverty's own,
Ruined and tattered,
Begging with the affluent,
For dignity and peace.

A dictator rules his day,
Hunger mars his night,
Intoxicating emptiness:
And dreams die a natural death.

A ray of hope,
Alight in each person.
But they pass him by-
And he waits again.

His despair is mounting;
His rage deepens,
Life loses meaning,
Should crime seduce him ?

Wretched life,
Teases him on-
Snarled abuses,
His only music.

He amuses himself,
Talks to his begging bowl,
Whistles a rusty tune,
Plays with the dust.

Body covered in sores,
Injuries paint his skin,
Some aquired; others inflicted-
How long before his soul dies ?

No dignity-
No company-
No space to grow,
No air to breathe.

All that he can call his own-
Is Misery.
- shilpa iyer

Homo sapiens sapiens : Self proclaimed keeper of the Universe

Who said we are supreme?
Who says that we were destined to rule this world?
Who deemed us worthy ?

All we seem fit; to kill and ravage,
No culture there- a masquerade,
Tears of blood , a rivulet, a river at last
A holocaust .
Never a step forward,in landmines we sink,

I have watched demolition,
And the rape of an angel,
I have seen seething rage
I have seen mangled bone.

Who says that we are the keepers of this universe? What then have we achieved that we brag so? We have caused the death and destruction of ancient civilisations. The modern man is a shame, a throw back to evolution in all its glory.We are the depth to which the process has sunk, from here will spring new hope .It will begin with the destruction of this race as we know it. Where are we going ? Where is the culture that we are so proud of ? How much longer before the earth is no longer inhabitable ? The arrival of modern man has harkened the end. An end that is long overdue. And end that will allow for new begginning.In each sphere that we are part, we have left our terrbile black mark.All we touch , is like gold to stone.
There is no pristine beauty
There are no innocents.
There are no motiveless smiles.
There is no harmless help.
There is no peacful sleep.
There is no peacful life.
There is no peacful death.

We havent left anything to chance. Who knows if our next generations will be as adept as us ? How can we trust them with this our task, Destruction of the universe.

The need to belong ?

Somewhere along the path we have lost our ability to believe and survive by ourself.why do we need people to always tell us that what we are doing has justification? Is'nt that something that you can validate for yourself? And what makes you so sure that just having someone else say that it is ..makes it just so!
I cant figure it out..where did this ' lost sheep ' become less of a metaphor , more a reality.Where have we lost our sense of self? In this race to be the best , have we forgotten the basic qualities that define us , as individuals? Is that a reason that vice and violence is on the rise? Vice; because that gives us a belonging , a clan to follow(misled though they be ) and violence to vent rage when we feel like we arent approved. Although most will probably think that they are not victim to this..Its something I feel , that while humans have evolved to what we believe is the pinnacle of evolution, we have lost all the animal instinct and primal skill that defines all those beings lower on the evolution scale.( and in my opinion far ahead on every other count ) We have lost our ability to be solitary...to live in solitude,needing constant support from another just as weak as us!
Why do we seek company?