Showing posts with label Poem. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Poem. Show all posts

Wednesday, 11 November 2015

Running - a poem


I run a lot, since I like to run.
You should try it too,  it's a lot of fun.

I start running early at 5 am,
to beat the Chennai heat,
That is just something I like to say,
watch the sun rise is the real treat!

I hear the morning azaan,
when I run by the Adyar mosque.
I smell the fresh sambar,
cooked by the girl in blue frock.

On beaches of Chennai, my home,
New Delhi through the smog and din.
Through Hong Kong once, I had a stop-over,
I run in any city I am in.

In the french quarters of Pondicherry,
through the morning markets of Bombay,
in Santa Cruz, so many times,
through San Francisco too, but only one day.

I ran with a policeman once,
who was much taller than I am.
She had magical stories to tell
of far away Asom and Mizoram.

I have run with a few children,
who are no good at it;
but if someone else runs past them,
could they just watch and sit?

I run with this dog everyday,
in the morning coolness she basks.
She owns and reigns the streets,
before people start their tasks.

Dogs are a considerate lot,
they run around me to-and-fro.
They would leave me far behind if they didn't;
oh! I run so slow.

I ran with a horse one day,
I beat him at a 5 k by a shot.
The horse was only walking by the way,
while I ran with all I'd got!

I run across people who look at me,
And loudly wonder why I run.
I look at people who zip past me,
and silently ponder why I can't.

When that happens, I feel bad and tired.
But then I remember why I run:
It's not because I am good at it,
but because it is so much fun!

Saturday, 13 April 2013

O Tell Me The Truth About Love

- W. H. Auden

Some say love's a little boy,
And some say it's a bird,
Some say it makes the world go around,
Some say that's absurd,
And when I asked the man next-door,
Who looked as if he knew,
His wife got very cross indeed,
And said it wouldn't do.*

Does it look like a pair of pyjamas,
Or the ham in a temperance hotel?
Does its odour remind one of llamas,
Or has it a comforting smell?
Is it prickly to touch as a hedge is,
Or soft as eiderdown fluff?
Is it sharp or quite smooth at the edges?
O tell me the truth about love.

Our history books refer to it
In cryptic little notes,
It's quite a common topic on
The Transatlantic boats;
I've found the subject mentioned in
Accounts of suicides,
And even seen it scribbled on
The backs of railway guides.

Does it howl like a hungry Alsatian,
Or boom like a military band?
Could one give a first-rate imitation
On a saw or a Steinway Grand?
Is its singing at parties a riot?
Does it only like Classical stuff?
Will it stop when one wants to be quiet?
O tell me the truth about love.

I looked inside the summer-house;
It wasn't over there;
I tried the Thames at Maidenhead,
And Brighton's bracing air.
I don't know what the blackbird sang,
Or what the tulip said;
But it wasn't in the chicken-run,
Or underneath the bed.

Can it pull extraordinary faces?
Is it usually sick on a swing?
Does it spend all its time at the races,
or fiddling with pieces of string?
Has it views of its own about money?
Does it think Patriotism enough?
Are its stories vulgar but funny?
O tell me the truth about love.

When it comes, will it come without warning
Just as I'm picking my nose?
Will it knock on my door in the morning,
Or tread in the bus on my toes?
Will it come like a change in the weather?
Will its greeting be courteous or rough?
Will it alter my life altogether?
O tell me the truth about love.

* maybe because Auden is gay

More Tagore


Like my heart’s pain that has long missed its meaning,
the sun’s ray robed in dark
hide themselves under the ground.

Like my heart’s pain at love’s sudden touch,
they change their veil at the spring’s call
and come out in the carnival of colours,
in flowers and leaves
___

Your smile, my love, like the smell of a strange flower,
Is simple and inexplicable.
___

The world has kissed my soul with its pain,
asking for its return in songs.

Monday, 8 April 2013

Higher Pleasures and Willingness to Pay

John Stuart Mill was inclined on improving the much debated utilitarian theory proposed by Bentham. For one he tried to deal with the differentiation between kinds of pleasures.


The basic force for choice in the utilitarian world is the love for pleasure and the dislike of displeasure including effort. In his analysis Bentham does not differentiate between types of pleasures, which makes him one of the most egalitarian people I know. No judgments based on who you are what you derive pleasure from. But of course people who are used to living in societies steeped in religion cannot have any of such non-sense. Stuart Mill was working on making the utilitarian theory reflect the reality of the word by differentiating higher and lower pleasures. He came up with definitions for higher and lower pleasures.


Everyone will agree that some pleasures need more socializing and education, such as classical music, or excellent art, some people would say wine and dark chocolate. Mill differentiates between higher and lower pleasure by saying, if people are educated in many kinds of pleasure, higher pleasure are the ones which they will choose repetedly.


A Harvard Prof. who is teaching the EdX class where I am getting all these thoughts (https://www.edx.org/courses/HarvardX/ER22x/2013_Spring/about) shows 3 clippings, one of a Shakespeare soliloquy, a scene from Fear Factor, and a short clipping from The Simpsons and asks students to make a choice. A large no. of students vote to show that Shakespeare'’s art is ‘higher pleasure’, but they will still repeatedly choose Simpsons over Shakespeare.


I could dismiss this evidence by saying these are young Harvard students, who may not have yet been educated in Shakespeare enough. I have been“educated” in appreciation of Classical India music for quite some time and I always hold it in high regard, until, as I discovered, I am asked to pay for it.


When I search for things to do on Indiastage.in or bookmyshow.com, and I come across classical music performance that are ticketed, I ignore them. In contrast, this weekend alone I paid a total of Rs. 145 and 220 respectively for watching Chashme Baddor a cheap vulgar but very funny Hindi movie and GI Goe Retaliation (3D), a gory gun and action movie which I did not even enjoy very much.


I tried to reasons my behavior and came up with the following.

There are many many good classical music performers in this country. Too many in fact for me to be able to differentiate in the quality of their art. In other words I have not been educated enough in the landscape, to differentiate the artists by abilities. So I leave it to experts such as Kalakshetra, a highly respected classical dance school, to decide for me. Barring a few occasion, Kalakshetra performances are free. So I have perhaps actually never experienced a true willingness to pay based on my own knowledge for this higher pleasure.


An important observation in this case is the exceptional time when Kalakshetra had annual festival in end-Dec 2012 with ticketed performances, I bought many tickets for Rs. 500 a show, again without knowing the performers based only of my faith in Kalakshetra. This amount is more than I would pay for a movie in India, by at least 30% but up to 128%.


An important point that this discussion brings out for me is that one has to be educated not only in the appreciation of the art, but also must gather the knowledge about various artists, and be educated the process of purchasing tickets. While for movies, even bad ones, I know everything from where to purchase the tickets, to how I will feel later on, that is not the case with classical music. Which makes movies an easier choice for me to make.


This brings into picture the cost and time of learnings associated with any pleasure, which was assumed to be zero in the simpler version of utilitarian analysis I guess.



Wednesday, 26 December 2012

Sangam Poetry

I had no idea this kind of poetry existed. I am so glad I am living far away from familiar! I just saw a Bharatnatyam performance which was performed on a Sangam poem. The performance was not spectacular, there was some discord between the performer and the mridanga player, but the poem was nice. The performer compared it to Haiku, but I find it too literal to be compared to Haiku. Nevertheless it was very beautiful. And I found the poem! Or so I think:

My father gave me fatty fish to dry,
and I spread it on the wide seashore,
rested in the sweet shade of the punnai tree
and chased the birds that tried to steal it.
My friends and I hung a thāzhai fiber rope swing
from the tall gnāzhal tree and played
on the salty shores where the red crabs dig deep holes
and the eastern winds create sand dunes.
We did kuravai dances together,
played on the white waves,
and wore beautiful skirts
made from many flowers and fresh leaves.
We were slandered by the terrible
gossip-monger ladies in this town
because we played often on these shores.
Mother heard their harsh words
and has imposed restrictions on me,
afraid that my lover
will ride in his chariot with beautiful horses
on the moon like white beach sand to see me
at any time of the day or night.
What can I do now?    

Translated by Vaidehi




Please visit the sources:
http://sangampoemsfordances.wordpress.com/
http://sangampoemsinenglish.wordpress.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sangam_literature
http://artsinsangamtamil.wordpress.com/

Wednesday, 4 July 2012

Ah! Mr. Browning: Excerpts from His Poems

Clever Mr. Browning


I sprang to the stirrup, and Joris and he;
I galloped, Dirck galloped, we galloped all three;

 

 Opening lines of How They Brought the Good News from Ghent to Aix



Ay, because the sea's the street there; and 'tis arched
   by ... what you call
... shylocks bridge with houses on it, where they
   kept the carnival:

 

Lines from A Toccata of Galuppi's




Naughty Mr. Browning

I
The grey sea and the long black land;
And the yellow half-moon large and low;
And the startled little waves that leap
In fiery ringlets from their sleep,
As I gain the cove with pushing prow,
And quench its speed i' the slushy sand.
II
Then a mile of warm sea-scented beach;
Three fields to cross till a farm appears;
A tap at the pane, the quick sharp scratch
And blue spurt of a lighted match,
And a voice less loud, thro' its joys and fears,
Than the two hearts beating each to each!

 

Meeting at Night



Was a lady such a lady, cheeks so round and lips so
   red, - 
On her neck  the small face buoyant, like a bell-flower 
   on its bed,
O'er the breast's super abundance where a man
   might base his head?

 

Lines from A Toccata of Galuppi's



Sad Mr Browning

I
Room after room,
I hunt the house through
We inhabit together.
Heart, fear nothing, for, heart, thou shalt find her—
Next time, herself!—not the trouble behind her
Left in the curtain, the couch's perfume!
As she brushed it, the cornice-wreath blossomed anew:
Yon looking-glass gleamed at the wave of her feather.

II
Yet the day wears,
And door succeeds door;
I try the fresh fortune—
Range the wide house from the wing to the centre.
Still the same chance! she goes out as I enter.
Spend my whole day in the quest,—who cares?
But 'tis twilight, you see,—with such suites to explore,
Such closets to search, such alcoves to importune!

 

Love in a Life

 

Spiteful Mr. Browning

Take the cloak from his face, and at first
Let the corpse do its worst!

How he lies in his rights of a man!
Death has done all death can.
And, absorbed in the new life he leads,
He recks not, he heeds
Nor his wrong nor my vengeance; both strike
On his senses alike,
And are lost in the solemn and strange
Surprise of the change.
Ha, what avails death to erase
His offence, my disgrace?
I would we were boys as of old
In the field, by the fold:
His outrage, God's patience, man's scorn
Were so easily borne!

I stand here now, he lies in his place:
Cover the face!

After



References:

Browning, Robert. Poetry Foundation. Web. 04 July 2012. <http://www.poetryfoundation.org/search/?q=Robert+Browning>. 

Browning, Robert; Selected Poems; London: Bloomsbury Poetry Classic, 1994. Print

http://www.poemhunter.com

Wednesday, 27 June 2012

What remains of me...

 -Sarawati Nandini Majumdar (published with permission)

After it is over, any intense experience remains in the mind and body, and begins to gather, imperceptibly, into itself: it gathers all its colours into itself, rolls all its sounds into one, squeezes its smells into a tight ball. It is like a raincloud: it gathers and hovers…

 
…and then, will it move away, or will it condense?
Think of the brain, filled with so much moisture, waiting to explode.
I long, all the time, again and again, to occupy an old space, to be there, as I was.
Sometimes I think I am nothing but a past of me, or many pasts. And of course, I am not that person, in those spaces. In that case, what remains of me?







Tuesday, 22 May 2012

Poems to Sing-Along OR Poetry of Jane Austen



She casts her verse, a simple spell
          And re-lease-es a song,
“Pray, I can-not-oh-well!”
          She makes me sing-along

Poems to Sing-Along
-Arshad Mirza




Camilla, good-humoured, and merry, and small
For a husband was at her last stake;
And having in vain danced at many a ball
Is now happy to jump at a Wake.

On the Marriage of Miss Camilla Wallop and the Reverend Wake
- Jane Austen





Cambric – with grateful blessings would I pay
                The treasures given me in sweet employ;
Long mayest thou serve my friend without decay,
                And have no tears to wipe but tears of joy!

To Miss Bigg, previous to her marriage, with some pocket handkerchiefs I had hemmed for her
Jane Austen




See they come, post haste from Thanet,
Lovely couple, side by side;
They've left behind them Richard Kennet
With the Parents of the Bride!

Canterbury they have passed through;
Next succeeded Stamford-bridge;
Chilham village they came fast through;
Now they've mounted yonder ridge.

Down the hill they're swift proceeding,
Now they skirt the Park around;
Lo! The Cattle sweetly feeding
Scamper, startled at the sound!

Run, my Brothers, to the Pier gate!
Throw it open, very wide!
Let it not be said that we're late
In welcoming my Uncle's Bride!

To the house the chaise advances;
Now it stops--They're here, they're here!
How d'ye do, my Uncle Francis?
How does do your Lady dear?

Lines written by Jane Austen for amusement of a niece




When stretch'd on one's bed
With a fierce-throbbing head,
Which preculdes alike thought or repose,
How little one cares
For the grandest affairs
That may busy the world as it goes!

How little one feels
For the waltzes and reels
Of our Dance-loving friends at a Ball!
How slight one's concern
To conjecture or learn
What their flounces or hearts may befall.

How little one minds
If a company dines
On the best that the Season affords!
How short is one's muse
O'er the Sauces and Stews,
Or the Guests, be they Beggars or Lords.

How little the Bells,
Ring they Peels, toll they Knells,
Can attract our attention or Ears!
The Bride may be married,
The Corse may be carried
And touch nor our hopes nor our fears.

Our own bodily pains
Ev'ry faculty chains;
We can feel on no subject besides.
Tis in health and in ease
We the power must seize
For our friends and our souls to provide.

When Stretch'd on One's Bed
- Jane Austen

Saturday, 14 April 2012

Coloured in Kabir


कबीरा खड़ा बाज़ार[1] में मांगे सब की खैर
ना काहू से दोस्ती, ना काहू से बैर ।

Standing in the market[1], Kabir asks for everyone's well being,
friendship with none, enmity with none.


[1] of life, not a temple, not a home, a nice and secular market place



Thursday, 22 March 2012

Barish - Hindi

 From the Hindi movie Thoda Sa Romani Ho Jayen
- लेखक:  कमलेश पाण्डेय

बारिश जो अस्मान से आती है
बूंदों में गाती है
पहाड़ों से फिसलती है
नदियों में चलती है
नेहरों में मचलती है
कुँए पोखर से मिलती है
खपरैलों पर गिरती है
गलियों में फिरती है
मोड़ पर संभालती है
फिर आगे निकलती है


वो ही बारिश , 

यह बारिश अक्सर गीली होती है
इसे पानी भी कहते है
उर्दू में आब
मराठी में पानी
तमिल में तन्नी
कन्नड़ में नीर और बंगला में 

                                            जोल कहते है
संस्कृत में जिसे वारी नीर अमृत पेय अम्बु भी कहते है
ग्रीक में इसे aqua puraa
अंग्रेजी में इसे water भी कहते है
french में
eau
और chemistry  में H2O कहते है


यह पानी आँख से ढलता है तो आंसू कहलाता है
लेकिन चेहरे पे चढ़ जाये तो रुबाब बन जाता है
कोई शर्म से पानी -पानी हो जाता है
और कभी कभी यह पानी सरकारी फाईलों में अपने कुँए समेत चोरी हो जाता है
पानी तोह पानी है , पानी जिंदगानी है
इसीलिए जब रूह की नदी सुखी हो
मन का हिरन प्यासा हो
दिमाग में लगी हो आग
और प्यार की गागर खली हो,

तब,
और तब में हमेशा, यह बारिश नाम का गिला पानी लेने की राय देता हूँ ।






Wednesday, 7 March 2012

Chaap Tilak Sab Cheeni

چھپ  تلک  سب  چینی  رے  موسے  نینا  معلیکے

پریم  بھٹے   کا  مدھوا  پلیکے
متولی    کر  لینی  رے  موسے  نینا معلیکے
گوری  گوری  بیّن , حری  حری چڑیاں
بیّن  پکڑ  دھر  لینی  رے  موسے  نینا   معلیکے
بل  بل  جاؤں  میں  توڑے  رنگ   رجوا
اپنی سی  کر  لینی  رے  موسے  نینا   معلیکے
خسرو  نجام  کے  بل  بل   جےیئے
موہے  سہاگن  کینی  رے  موسے  نینا  معلیکے

چھپ  تلک  سب  چینی  رے  موسے  نینا معلیکے
Chhap tilak sab cheeni ray mosay naina milaikay

Prem bhatee ka madhva pilaikay
Matvali kar leeni ray mosay naina milaikay

Gori gori bayyan, hari hari churiyan
Bayyan pakar dhar leeni ray mosay naina milaikay

Bal bal jaaon mein toray rang rajwa
Apni see rang leeni ray mosay naina milaikay

Khusrau Nijaam kay bal bal jayyiye
Mohay Suhaagan keeni ray mosay naina milaikay

Chhap tilak sab cheeni ray mosay naina milaikay

-Amir Khusro

For translation, please visit the source
Source: http://www.angelfire.com/sd/urdumedia/lyrics.html





Sunday, 4 March 2012

Chandu ki Cycle (Hindi)




चंदू  की  साइकिल  बिल्कुल चंदू जैसी थी, 
चलती थी तो चंदू जैसे चुन चुन  करती रहती  थी,
handle उसका चंदू के हाथों  जैसा  ही  हल्का  था, 
pedal उसके चंदू के पैरों जैसे ही पतले थे, 
सीट उसकी चंदू के  पिछवाड़े  जैसी  चौड़ी  थी, 
carrier उसका चंदू  के  career जैसा  ही  छोटा  था ।
पर चंदू  की  दोस्त  वही  थी, वही  उसके  साथ  रहती  थी,
चंदू  के  भारी वज़न  को  बहुत  ही  आसानी  से  सहती  थी ।


लेकिन...
ऐसा  दिन  आया  जब  साइकिल  उसकी  टूट  गई,
आता देख  सांड  आगे  से  चंदू  से  वो  छूट  गई ।
ठीक  नहीं  कर  पाया  जब  montu mechanic  भी  उसको,
चंदू  के  daddy  ने  उसे  बेच  दिया  कबाड़ी को ।
चंदू  सब  कुछ  भूल  किताबों  में  डूब  गया  ऐसे,
जैसे  किसी  पुरानी  ख्वाहिश  को  सच्चा करना  था  उसे ।
फिर  जब  चंदू  बड़ा  हुआ, तो  अपनी  first कमाई  से  वो नई साइकिल  लेकर  आया,
अपनी  नई  मिली  चतुराई  से ।


लेकिन ... 
नई साइकिल  भी  बिल्कुल  चंदू  जैसी  ही थी,
कितिनी  भी  कोशिश  कर  लो  चुन  चुन  करती  रहती  थी,
सीट  उसकी  चंदू के पिछवाड़े  जैसी  चौड़ी  थी,
carrier उसका  चंदू  के  career जैसा ही छोटा था ।




सौजन्य 'उड़ान' (हिंदी फिल्म) २०१० 
लेखक: विक्रमादित्य मोटवाने, अनुराग कष्यप, कुमार देवांशु, सत्यांशु सिंह 



On This Day


Unmoving, sweltering, its evening falls,
Unrolling slowly a knotty  unbleached cotton pall,
Turns unceremoniously and exits - 
                the day ending eight years,
Eliott's[1] sends a breeze, a silent scene ends call.


03-Mar-2012
Chennai

[1] Eliott’s beach



Sunday, 12 February 2012

The Dance Class

Arshad Mirza
Dec 18, 2006
Banaras, India

That’s a good reaction but what happened after that!
Something new,
but you are still in middle of it, 
            if you can react from far away.
"I looked up
and it felt like the sky was flashing
and then I felt everyone was jumping and falling on me."

From now on let’s make it about what we feel,
what did you feel when you ran away?
Don’t be characters don’t make a story
but still make it a whole.

Two of you are just playing with each other
being together
If you whisper something to your friend
you make it about you two,
but what about us all?

Be aware of each other
don’t jump without looking.
You have to react,
make it a less dangerous reaction.
Be more careful,
if we practice more we will never get hurt.

I will get you some ice.


Tuesday, 7 February 2012

Happy Birthday Charles Dickens!

GABRIEL GRUB'S SONG

Brave lodgings for one, brave lodgings for one,
A few feet of cold earth, when life is done;
A stone at the head, a stone at the feet;
A rich, juicy meal for the worms to eat;
Rank grass overhead, and damp clay around,
Brave lodging for one, these, in holy ground!


Wednesday, 25 January 2012

The Race

Outside IIM-A, a bypasser, I,  see
a woman washing the only bowl they own
while watching over her toddler
who is crying, that his elder sister
is running too fast
for a race he thought he could have won.

-Arshad Mirza

Happy Republic Day Indians!


The Wicked Postman

Why do you sit there on the floor so quiet and silent, tell me, mother dear?
The rain is coming in through the open window, making you all wet, and you don't mind it.
Do you hear the gong striking four? It is time for my brother to come home from school.
What has happened to you that you look so strange?
Haven't you got a letter from father to-day?
I saw the postman bringing letters in his bag for almost everybody in the town.
Only, father's letters he keeps to read himself. I am sure the postman is a wicked man.
But don't be unhappy about that, mother dear.
To-morrow is market day in the next village. You ask your maid to buy some pens and papers.
I myself will write all father's letters; you will not find a single mistake.
I shall write from A right up to K.
But, mother, why do you smile?
You don't believe that I can write as nicely as father does!
But I shall rule my paper carefully, and write all the letters beautifully big.
When I finish my writing, do you think I shall be so foolish as father and drop it into the horrid postman's bag?
I shall bring it to you myself without waiting, and letter by letter help you to read my writing.
I know the postman does not like to give you the really nice letters.

- Rabindranath Tagore
The Master. Educator, Artist, Poet. Visionary.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabindranath_Tagore
http://poemhunter.com/poem/the-wicked-postman/