I left behind a little bit
of me with you

When my sight took a flight
from the crown of your peaks
When the time stood still
on misty meadows tranquil

When the many sunsets
sparkled across the valley
When the wild wind whirled
with it, every waterfall swirled

When I sat down beside
the river in awe of a dome
When the trail I embraced
refused to return home

And so when you I adore,
like the growing morning dew
I leave behind a little bit more
of me with you.

I wonder from where
Could I gather such fare
To take me from this rock
Over the bay to that dock
Where shines that light
Bright green all night.

“Shall I embrace the waves?”
My yearning heart craves
Or a breeze shall I become
To fly to the only one
Where shines that light
Bright green all night.

Memories have not faded
A little, in years jaded
But for courage I strive
A little, for me to arrive
Where shines that light
Bright green all night.

I throw the alms I own
And the fame I have sown
For a sight with your eyes
So I can cease my sighs
Where shines that light
Bright green all night.

This poem is inspired by the character of Gatsby from the 1925 novel written by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald titled “The Great Gatsby”. The green light is an electric lamp at the end of Daisy and Tom Buchanan’s boat dock.  Because the Buchanans’ mansion is direct across the bay from Gatsby’s mansion, Gatsby can always see the green light. In the first part of the novel, the green light represents a symbol of hope for Gatsby. He stares at it obsessively while dreaming to recover the lost love of Daisy.

I marvel why this city,
Gets a bad rap for its traffic,
Dare I say towns need to copy,
A model that is this terrific,
If you underestimate our ability,
Let me be more specific.

We put to good use when we drive,
All directions a compass can strive,
As others dearly to their lives hold,
Evolution has given them a new mold,
An owl-like eyesight for us homo sapiens,
Even Darwin dreamt not of such allegiance.

And don’t tell you have not heard,
What the great Einstein had discovered,
When with the mere existence of matter,
The continuum of space-time can shatter,
The width of the lanes then why be fixed?
Forward and backward we all move mixed.

And just ask us how we prepare,
The next generation to take the gear,
When we infuse a sense of ownership,
As well as proactiveness and stewardship,
By annexing the right of way,
On a red light when no one wants a say.

Finally, on a well-lit street at night,
You ask why I drive with a beam bright?
My countrymen suffer a small inconvenience,
But Bengaluru outshines Boston by my lenience,
See Google Earth at night for this activism,
Beam it, it’s a proof of your patriotism!

Bengaluru’s traffic-choked roads are seeing an addition of roughly half-million vehicles each financial year, with the total number of vehicles in Bengaluru breaching the 6 million mark in 2016.

In the world of imagination,
there lies a place much sought.
Where the dreams are nurtured and bred,
and for sale are brought.
Where courage and mettle is the price,
to fetch a dream of your own choice.
There lies a humble thought,
“To trod a path that many have not,
to scale the sky and to always fly,
to quest for and to always aim high.”
On your birthday, promise,
for this dream, you’ll always seek,
and never let your spirits weak,
until success kisses your cheeks.

With all mortal ties broken
Untethered I fly away
With freedom I felt so less often
Towards my Maker I sway.

I leave behind my loved ones
Alongside my shattered dreams
Usurping my laughter with
A nightmare of my screams.

Albeit someday the sinners will pay
Am I the last one to burn this way?
So I wonder why everyone does today
“Rest in peace” bother to say.

No revenge but justice I seek
No pity but respect I deserve
No tears but resolve I need
No words but action I demand.

While my sisters live in fear
Of the bawdy and brazen stares
While Laxmi and Durga they hold dear
But treat us women as wares.

While the alleys echo stories of shame
And lust goes on a trample spree
While the victims get all the blame
And the beasts keep roaming free.

While more eyes are left to rue
And smiles are torn apiece
Ask me not, and lest you too,
Agree to rest in peace.

There has been shock and outrage in India over the gang rape of a 23-year-old student on a city bus in the capital, Delhi on December 16th, 2012. Police said she was raped for nearly an hour, and both she and her companion were beaten with iron bars, then thrown out of the moving bus into the street. The 23-year-old medical student died in a Singapore hospital where she was being treated for severe injuries. The four convicts were hanged before dawn on March 20, 2020.

A river that runs deep and calm,
Silently shares its wealth with all.

No wonder why then,
Blessed those around you are,
Who from a distance near,
Depths in your deeds measure,
Or feel the peace within,
From far when your thoughts they treasure.

But at times often do,
Sight across a noisy brook,
Which though shall shallow be,
Rolls over its troubles,
With fun and glee.

The waves that silently sweep the shore,
Have but swallowed the storm, a few miles before.

No wonder why then,
All eyes on you do fail,
To watch the worries,
With which your world does trail,
Safely hidden since they lie,
Behind the smiles that you sail.

But at times often do,
Empty your heart and hassles,
To a soul closest to you,
For easily is broken one stick,
Than when there are two.

The shining stars shed every ray,
As the endless space sweeps their twinkle our way.

So much like the boundless faith,
In which your mind you hold,
For the pair of His hands,
That you say all lives they mold,
And sacrifice your dish and dime,
When your hands for the prayers you fold.

But at no time ever do,
Weaken your belief whenever,
The logic and laws of science I sew,
Since forever I wish these reasons remain,
Of all the least dearest to you.