11 Jun 2010

Self-reliant


As I walk
I notice interesting things
With curiosity
From distance, I saw a dad
And his two small daughters
Elder was riding her small cycle
In front of their shop
While the younger one watched
Her sister riding the cycle
It was evening
It was time for tuitions
Dad started his bike
I thought he was going to drop the elder one
At her tuition center on bike
He placed her bag on his bike
But he just took his younger girl
And made her sit comfortably at the front
And he moved slowly
I saw the elder girl riding her cycle
Following him slowly
I realized that he was just
Giving her the confidence
To ride her cycle along that road
So that
She will be able to ride one day alone
To her tuition home
Without escort of her dad
It is quite interesting
As I’ve seen many parents
Always taking their daughters to places
And never letting them to travel alone
That deprives them valuable experience
Of becoming self reliant
As they have to wait for parents or siblings
Even to take them to their friend’s home
One can say it’s not safe to travel alone
For them
But then, nowhere is safe for anyone
Only with opportunities to do things alone
We get to understand our frailties
Then from experience, we become courageous
And in adverse conditions
Courageous people never buck down
They will try to find a way out of tricky situations
I feel we should protect kids
But we should give them confidence
To be self-reliant
As when they grow up, they have to face life
And this big damn bad world on their own
We can’t have them scared then
By over protecting them now
As it can make them too dependent
And it will just keep parents worried
Even when they are grown up
Feeling that they haven’t travelled alone before
Just let the beautiful angels
Learn to be self-reliant
You will see them facing life boldly and succeeding

I wrote this poem after being inspired by a dad i saw on road,who lead his daughter to her class.It's important that girls are given confidence to be self-reliant right from childhood.It will help them to face life in a better manner.

10 Jun 2010

Gold: The fortune metal



Gold 
It shines pretty
It makes women go crazy
Young or old
With one breath, they love it
They want to wear it wherever possible
It’s a symbol of pride and status
Even when silver, pearls, platinum, diamonds
Made their shining presence in the market
Gold is a medium to show some attitude
When some others have stunning designs
It makes them jealous
But it makes them passionate
To get a stylish and costly piece of jewelry
To show their beauty with its glow
At times
It’s price breaks their hearts
Yet they chase it to buy
And keep as safe investment
Here in Kerala
There are more jewelers’  shops
Than utility shops

There are streets with glamorous array of
Glittering showrooms that lure
Keralite women with all kind of offers
Watch the local channels
You will find more gold ads than food ads
With pretty young girls showcasing
All the brilliant artistic craftworks
Created by unknown skilled men
Who melt this metal and shape it to
Unbelievable masterpieces
Here gold gets into the life of a baby
On 28th day
To commemorate the birth
And to officially baptize the birth
By wounding a gold hiplet on baby
By the dad
In presence of relatives and friends
For girl kids it’s just the start
As there is a painful welcome
To continue the journey
On the ear piercing ceremony
They officially gets their first ear rings
Then further, they get more gold
Depending on the wishes of parents
As they get into teenage
And transform into women
They get more gold
Chains, bangles, anklets
And mothers start buying jewels
Anticipating their daughters marriages
Which are years away
As nobody can predict prices in future
When they reach the age of marriage
The bargaining starts
The handsome guys not only need dowry
But also good collection of gold as well
In order to marry their daughters
Parents arrange gold as much as they can
Those who don’t have money
They will borrow or sell land
But they won’t take risk of leaving gold
Parents see gold as investment for their daughters
In their married life
Groom and relatives see it as source
To get money in urgency
On wedding day
Keralite girls drape themselves with costly saris
Then garnishes them with
Countless gold jewels, which weighs a lot
Yeah if see a jewelry model in a bride
It is an understatement
The grooms get their fair share of gold
And happily weds their brides
By tying a costly gold chain on their necks
Amidst the whistles of women
And shower of flowers from the audience
But the journey of gold continues
When new life starts
For buying land or vehicle or for paying back the debts
The gold is taken away from the girls
By their in-laws
Some guys even marries off their sisters
Using their wives gold
Some might keep it safe in bank lockers
And the countless relatives who need money
Will keep visiting to borrow the jewels
To give as collateral for getting loans
Over the years those girls gold reserves
Get depleted
But those who get into rich families
Will be lucky to get more gold
As their spouses, show their love towards them
By buying costly jewels
Some girls continue their quest for gold
Blackmailing their husbands
Yeah it’s a costly gift for many to present
But for a happy marital life
They make sacrifices
But the fascination for gold remains alive
From generations to generations
As mothers gives their gold to their daughters
It’s more amazing that
We don’t have gold mines in this state
But you bring gold from any part of the world
You will find a buyer here
Obsession for gold isn’t limited to women
Thieves know about the passion of women
For gold
And they know where to look for gold
They loot wedding houses
They loot jewel showrooms
They loot gold lockers
As there are buyers for even stolen gold
Gold economy thrives here
With the spending power of people
Assisted by the cash from gulf and other countries
Where countless keralite work and save money
Gold is a safe asset for many
Banks give loans to buy gold
Private financiers give money by taking gold 
Squeezing money as much as possible
People here will afford loss of money
But will try to retrieve their beloved gold 
By paying over the odds
If not they will be sad 
Forgetting the fact that 
Their urgency was met by the money they got
When it mattered 
That too after paying interests for long
sometimes more than the amount they owe
This is gold's own country
where it is a fortune metal
With status next to god 

This poem is totally inspired by the lifestlye in my state.I always wondered why there is lot of obsession for  gold.As i observed closely,i found that it's a part of culture here.This madness for gold will remain for long long time unless women turn towards diamond or someother glittering metals.

9 Jun 2010

Azeeb Girl: Bored forever



I found a chirpy girl
With an image of a small girl
With hat on her lovely hair
On a online community
Always indulged in counting
In a game, count one to ten
I thought it’s a kid
She is quite a grown up girl
Yet still kiddish
Watching shin-Chan always
With the passion of a small kid
Goes to college
To bunk her classes
Or feels too lazy to go
And remains at home
Loves talking with friends
All the time
So cute that she got many admirers
Always confused
What to do in life
I wondered
How someone can get so much bored
But knowing her for years
I learned, it’s quite natural!
With no hobbies
With no interest in any kind of activities
The funny talks keep her going
Chitchatting for hours as if never ends
I wish at least she learn how to dream
Loves pranking on friends
Talks less but asks a lot
For her nothing is as cool
As hanging out with friends
And sipping on her favorite juices
I wonder when will this girl grow up !
A sweet Azeeb
Always flowing around like an angel
Trying to spread happiness
A devout friend for many

This poem is for and about my friend Areej.She wanted to see if i can write a poetry on her.Hope that she liked it.  

Green







Green
It’s everywhere to see
In grass
In leaves
In water
In vegetables

Green
It’s the color of nature
It’s the symbol of serenity
It’s the attire of prosperity
It’s holy color for many
It’s there in the flags

Green
It’s the embodiment of purity
A source for clean life
An inspiring color to paint
Those who embrace it
Nature is close to their heart

Green
It covers Hills and valleys
Shades the mountains
And make them romantic
Green
A beauty to enjoy
Through the eyes of morning sun
Joyous spirit to paste on faces
During Holi

Green
Without it, this world will look soulless

This poem is written for  kidoo sister Saumya.She asked me if i can write a poem on green for her.

Birthday

Dad
This day
Without your smile
Without your greeting
Without your arrival
With a cake
It’s incomplete

I count it now
As years without your presence
No new wish to fulfill
As I still wish, what you expect me to do

Without you
I am still a kid
Refusing to grow up
Though my beard grew up

I am waiting for that day
When I will get back with you
I will celebrate that day
As my birthday