Poetry Series
Bashyam Narayanan
- poems -
2
A birthday wish
Let me wish you, hi
On your birthday
With all you desire
And much higher
This wish brings to you
All good luck and fun
Which will, for sure
Make your living a peaceful run
Day and night are inseparable
Gain and loss are inseparable
These will not make you miserable
As to balance them you are capable
Let you dream to reach high
But stay soft to those low and dry
Your kindness makes their cry
Heard and done away with, try
Where you are, is not the matter
But, where you are heading is the pointer
To where you will reach and glitter
Know, understand and if need, the path you alter
But miss not enjoy the moment
You live and pass through at the present
As each second is designed for pleasant
Occurrence and for joy instant
Never feel you are alone
Never feel you are lost and gone
Lot many good things ahead are on
Waiting for you, since the day you are born
Bashyam Narayanan
3
A butterfly finds its way back
A butterfly finds its way back
It was a drift from the path
It took place sometime back
Because our heroine sensed a lack
In the taste of nectar in the flower of the park
To the same park this flock of butterflies
Used to come and enjoy the sweet and nice
Nectar in the red and blue poppies
And fly back with this sweetened hobby
It was more an excuse than a reason
For this drift, but a thought’s treason
To deviate and critically question
All that were followed in mindless unison
Our young colourful one with whistle
In her wings, over a time turned hostile
To this tradition and thought it futile
To be in the flock and went away for a while
Others in the group became worried
Wondering where she would have been carried
Was she in the insect flower got buried
Or was by ants after an injury curried
One fine morning suddenly the butterfly was sighted
And she joined the flock as if nothing got slighted
And told others she followed the path less lighted
For a flower who became with her less delighted
She expressed to join the flower of flock’s choice
And be ever with it without making any further noise
The flock has no words to say but to rejoice
The retrieval of the butterfly with her vouching voice
Bashyam Narayanan
4
A journey, which I desired, never ends
Very early in the morning
Still dark around nothing visible
I was half asleep and I heard the
Voice of eldest my cousin brother
Got a news, very painful
I should have cried having heard this
How did I manage myself,
I do not know even now
No one around knew
I was aware of the happening
He left the scene,
With every one crying
I guised fast asleep still
No one had the courage to wake me up
It all brightened,
Things around showing up
I still posing as if I was asleep
Sometime later came in
My younger cousin sister
Came near and woke me up
Said “Come home”
I said “Go, I will follow”
She left, with nothing further to say
I got up with no mind to see
Or to talk any around
I came out of the house
Stepping down each step
Very slowly on to a street
Sun shining harsh
From mid-way eastern horizon
Walked very slowly
Deliberately walking over the heap of
Sharp edged granite nuggets
Allowing them to hurt my bare feet
Crisscrossing the road
So that the journey home
Was further elongated
I did not have the strength
To look at any one
I walked keeping the face down
Looking only at my feet
Sweating profusely
Because of the hot sun up
But I had no intension of wiping
I kept on walking
And reached home
To see my pregnant mother
Lying dead
Because it was a complicated
Case of delivery
And I was at the end of
A journey, which I desired, never ends
5
Bashyam Narayanan
6
A lot good awaits us both from that morn
100 days today
Since you are away
Days and nights sway
Your sweet memories ever stay
How did I manage
I do not have a thing to gauge
I am seemingly free on stage
But mutely locked up in your cage
You are very thoughtful
Your wise words meaningful
Your care plentiful
Your ways beautiful
True, I feel troubled by your love
Your absence though pinches like a bite of a clove
Farther you, but closer are we as hand and glove
On the day you arrive I will be all above
Daughter, son or grandson
None to your comparison
In company and unison
As you remain the most me-tolerate person
Still more days fifty six
To go before we meet and mix
That long puts me in a fix
Corners me like a jinx
It will be the most colourful dawn
The day you walk back on airport lawn
My pleasure it will be to wait even if long drawn
As a lot good awaits us both from that morn
Bashyam Narayanan
7
A mourned celebration
Just four days back
It was all a celebration
The only son in the family
Got baptized in the Hindu way
He was decorated with
A three-stringed twine
The three strings representing
His henceforth pursuit
For understanding the Brahman, the supreme power
Through his thought, word and deed
Yesterday it was reception
The grand finale of this celebration
With people and relatives
Joining the occasion
And enjoying an auspicious dinner
Wishing the boy
A successful bachelorship
And in the understanding
Of the traditional ways
A couple and their only son
Have to offer excuse
And leave the celebrating scene
As there was a call
From the worksite of the
Male breadwinner of the family
To attend an emergency break down
They rushed and managed
To get into a train
Not in its originating station
But at the next stop
After a successful chase in a cab
The train left carrying this family
Who were denied being a part
Of the celebration
They slept in the train
But not to wake up again
It was sabotage that
Derailed the train
Particularly dislodging the bogie
In which the family travelled
On to the adjacent rail
And in seconds a hurrying
Goods’ train ran over the same
8
Within six hours of a reception dinner
And within ninety six hours of a celebration
Everything ended with mourning
It will remain ever in the family
For long, quite long
A mourned celebration
Bashyam Narayanan
9
A rose is a rose is a rose is a rose
A rose is a rose is a rose is a rose
Not only because of its colour
And not only because of it fragrance
A rose is a rose is a rose is a rose
Also because of the thorns
It holds very close
A gain is a gain is a gain is a gain
Not only because of its pleasure
And the attendant treasure
A gain is a gain is a gain is a gain
Also because of the pain
That, as a part with gain does remain
A joy is a joy is a joy is a joy
Not only because of the emotional elevation
And sorrow attenuation
A joy is a joy is a joy is a joy
Because of the efforts did you employ
A success is a success is a success is a success
Not only because another milestone cross
And because of the new fame you will soon possess
A success is a success is a success is a success
Because you did sweat in the process
A peace is a peace is a peace is a peace
Not only because of the tranquility
And because of the balanced ability
A peace is a peace is a peace is a peace
Because of the war waged against
Disturbance and instability
Full impact of a thing comes to full visibility
Only when its contrast is held in close vicinity
Bashyam Narayanan
10
A sixty three years old democracy
We are a democracy completed years sixty three
We are, but, yet to be freed
From the clutches of caste and creed
And, the worst of all, that of greed
While the first two divide us
The third one destroys us
Most of the decision makers
And policy makers
Are driven by these three principles
And we are still limping
Towards that horizon and daylight
Having been freed in the middle of the night
Rare it is to come across
Personalities now a days
Despite our having
More than a thousand million people
Most of our people
In poverty
And in the darkness of ignorance
Find it difficult to
Understand the qualities
Of the people, whom they elect
To rule us
Elected ones, though not in poverty,
Are as ignorant as the people
Who voted them to power
How many more independence days
Are we going to cross
In fact, there is no celebration
For most of our people
Know not what independence really means
For them it means,
Simply means, they have the right
To select wrong people
We have not forgotten our long history
We know
King’s son becomes the king
So we maintain that
Prime Minister’s son or daughter
Should become prime minister
Chief Minister’s son or daughter
Should become chief minister
We love our families
We take good care of sons, daughters,
Their off-springs
We take care of our relatives as well
11
We take care of people
Belonging to our caste, religion or creed
We are happy
When our elected leaders also do the same
We do not believe in technical decisions
We advocate the cause
Of taking such decisions
Which match our above
Familial policies enhancing
Opportunities for our own people
Subramanya Bharati wrote
When will our thirst for freedom quench
This thirst will never be quenched
As water to quench that thirst
Is no where visible
Nor we know where to look for it
Bashyam Narayanan
12
A troubled mind - 1
The male mind in me, recently fallen to disgrace
It took nearly thirty years of twice-married life
For me to realize
That I have the masculinity not in my physique
But it is all in the mind only
It is also my understanding and felt-experience
That the attraction driven
Physical involvement and actions thereupon
Lead to a momentary satisfaction
Only to turn vinegary later
Further, advancing age
Does not allow an involved
Performance towards fulfillment of
The desires mooted by the stimulant
I feel that the sexual attraction in me
Is not abated
But sustained at the same level
As it was when I first realized that
I was physically matured
The turbulence of this quality of mine
Disturbs me so much that
I am weakly drawn to
The path of understanding myself
All my diplomatic skills
And other human relation experience
Fail me
To see reasoning
When it comes to attractive
Opposite gender
Till recently I was in peace and comfort
With my second wife
But now got drawn close to another woman
Who has greater appeal
And evinced interest in me
The masculinity in me drove into her
And I started being noticed by others as well
In intimacy even in public places
With this twice-married smart widow
Despite the fact that I have innumerable
Extra-marital affairs
My mind does not miss a chance
To indulge in such
Unhealthy thoughts
Whenever it happens that
I encounter a challenging beauty
13
All these leave me in guilt feeling soon after
Indian philosophers were quite aware of this
And scriptures repeatedly warn
Against indulging in sensual pleasures
And reorient the thought process
In seeking help from the divine
In pursuing noble thoughts and desires
Even great saints
Proclaim themselves as grave sinners
Probably because of
Such thoughts striking them
Though at far less a frequency
Than the way I frequent them
Having tasted, rather been indulged in,
All possible sensual pleasures
How I wish
The male mind in me
Ceases its domination
In my thought-creating process
And helps me stick to this
Latest commitment
And avoid similar embarrassment in future
For which this time I have to pay heavily
Losing my ministerial berth
Bashyam Narayanan
14
A troubled mind - 2
The female mind in me, recently in the limelight for wrong reasons
It took about twenty years of twice-married life
And about seventeen years of widowhood
For me to understand
That the femininity in me
Is still dormant and has the
Potential to strike me
Not that I remained free of
Physical intimacy with men
But, I was on the look out of a person
Who will be a good father
Of my only teenaged son
I exercised all cautions in deciding
The so-called life partner
It is also my understanding and felt-experience
That sexual desire gets kindled in me
By the looks and gait of the men I used to come across
And at times I was driven to physical pleasure
It is also my understanding that
Physical involvement and actions thereupon
Lead to a momentary satisfaction
Only to turn vinegary later
Further, the advancing age of my partners
Does not allow them to demonstrate an involved
Performance towards fulfillment of
The desires mooted in me
I feel that the sexual attraction in me
Is not abated
But sustained at the same level
As it was when I first realized that
I was physically matured
The turbulence of this quality of mine
Disturbs me so much that
I am weakly drawn to
The path of understanding myself
All my managing skills
And other human relation experience
Fail me
To see reasoning
When it comes to an attractive
Opposite gender
Till recently I was in peace and comfort
With my ways of living under the cover of widowhood
But now got drawn close to a man
Elder to me by seven years
15
Who has a greater appeal than most of the men I met
And also evinced interest in me
The femininity in me drove me into him
And I started being noticed by others as well
In intimacy even in public places
With this twice-married smart diplomat turned politician
Who assured me that he would take good care of me
And would turn a good father to my son
He is powerful, affluent and elegant
Which suit my ways of lavish living
Despite the fact that I have innumerable
Extra-marital affairs
My mind does not miss a chance
To indulge in such
Unhealthy thoughts
Whenever it happens that
I encounter a demanding male
All these leave me in guilt feeling soon after
Indian philosophers were quite aware of this
And scriptures repeatedly warn
Against indulging in sensual pleasures
And reorient the thought process
In seeking help from the divine
In pursuing noble thoughts and desires
Even great saints
Proclaim themselves as grave sinners
Probably because of
Such thoughts striking them
Though at far less a frequency
Than the way I frequent them
Having tasted, rather been indulged in,
All possible sensual pleasures
How I wish
The female mind in me
Ceases its domination
In my thought-creating process
And helps me stick to this
Latest commitment
Make my son a man of great character
And avoid similar embarrassment in future
Bashyam Narayanan
16
Accept, you are the wildest, right?
If you term a person ‘wild’
You mean that person is unreasonable
You mean that person reacts violently
You mean that person is unpredictable
You mean that person is unsociable
And you term us ‘wild’
Yes, I am representing that group of animals,
Who live in natural environment.
We go by the natural law ‘survival of the fittest’
We are simple and we never show up we are wise or smart
We live the present only, we know there is nothing called future
We eat only when we are hungry
We live only with those comforts nature has provided
We do not cheat or misrepresent facts
We make homes with available natural materials
We do not amaze wealth
We do not hoard anything
We kill only when we are hungry and eat the flesh then and there
We do not, however, kill our own tribe
And you call us ‘wild’
You are wise, learned and know many things
You make laws and you know how to break them without being caught
You amaze wealth for the comfort of your off-springs
You are worried more about future
Than being particular enjoying the present
You harness natural powers for your benefit
And you say this is just add to your comforts
You make use of every thing nature has provided
And manipulate them to match you needs
You experiment on us, not for our benefit
And claim that such experiments will help human beings
You kill us for pleasure,
Not always because you are hungry and need our flesh
Why you kill your own people
And say you are protecting your nation, tribe, faith or religion
With this great background you call us ‘wild’
If you insist we agree to be branded as ‘wild’
Provided, you accept
That you are ‘wildest’
Bashyam Narayanan
17
Aim at perfection, be satisfied with excellence
Aim at perfection
But be satisfied with excellence
As absolute perfection is
Unattainable
We say in science
Absolute zero is unattainable
Perfection means zero defects
In the product or outcome
And it means zero deviation
In the process and systems employed
While excellence in performance is
Being ahead of most of others
With regard to process and
Quality of the product
And this is achievable
It is well known and established that
Imperfection and randomness
Are the essence of survival
And the nature has all its biodiversity
Because of imperfection and
Deviation from the norms
Insistence on perfection
May lead to failures
And likely win you more foes than friends
You may even leave a scar in the hearts of
Your own people and friends
If you zero in on perfection only
The fact remains
There is no perfected art
There is no perfected process
There is no perfected write
All await your touch
And improvement therefrom
You do not compromise either
As you will be struggling to
Excel all others
Target at the best
Arrive at the best possible
Bashyam Narayanan
18
All birds must be by now back in their nests
All birds must be by now back in their nests
Sharing with their offsprings
The experiences of the day
And feeding them
With the fruits, nuts and worms
Selectively gathered
With love and care
So that they grow
And soon become strong and skilled enough
To fly on their own wings
They would have started teaching
Their young ones
How to mend the nests
Which twig would go where
Which spongy feather would go where
So that all can have a comfortable sleep
Telling the stories of the past
How the eggs those hatched them
Were protected from invaders
And how they were waiting for these young wonders
Come out breaking the shell
That housed them and helped them shape
Also cautioning them against
Dangerous hungry invaders
With the scheme to devour them
And not to venture into the wind
Before they are trained adequately
In spreading the wings
And in perching on branches
Without the fear of fall
Mom, you did not get us the fruits of this tree
A query from a young one
And mom said, wait two more weeks let the tree flower
And blossom with its orange flowers
Fruits appear within a month
Mom is living is just struggling
No, the dear one
Living is a challenge
Successful living is facing them with joy
Regardless of your overcoming
Or succumbing to the challenge
A clear demonstration of care and love
All birds must be by now in their nests
19
I am waiting at the local rail station
For the next train towards home
Bashyam Narayanan
20
Allot a day for unlearning
Allot a day for unlearning
We have been learning
From the day we were born
We have become wise
And some of us learned
With all the information
We have been assimilating
With the help of our sense organs
We learn and make use of the
Knowledge for progressing
And some of us
Proved a point and some
Left behind their impacts on us
This learning, we all know,
Is for our advancement in life
And for ensuring a
Happy and harmonious living
With the people around
And for synchronized existence
With the environment we are in
At the same time
We might have noticed
That there used to be some learning,
Information, interpretation
And our action based on the above
Are not matching well with the aim
Of happy and harmonious existence
But leaving us in the mud of
Emotional disturbance
Such a knowledge and
Practice thereupon
Needs to be unlearned
So that we create and stay happily
In a nicely tuned environ
It would be vital
That we mark a day
Only to unlearn these
And go ahead with
Living in a better manner
In South India there is a tradition
Of marking a day each year
When we do not attempt to
Learn anything new
This falls on the ninth day
21
From the new moon day
in the sixth month of traditional calendar
15th Sep to 16 Oct for ready understanding
My understanding is that
Probably, this day was earmarked
To unlearn and get rid of
Such knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP)
Which have potential
For jeopardizing
Our progress
And well meant growth
So it will be wise
To examine your knowledge base
Attitude package and
Activity chart
And allot a day,
If possible, at a better frequency than yearly once
To unlearn them
Bashyam Narayanan
22
An attempt to understand spirituality
An attempt to understand spirituality
The term “spirit” could mean
The soul that gives life to your body
And keeps it alive and active
The term could also mean
The spark or inspiration
That keeps you enthused
And help you stay active,
Creative and contribute
Spirituality may mean
Understanding the former or
Keeping the latter
Nourished and nurtured
Oriental scriptures do not
See the former separate
According to these scriptures
The soul is always
In association with the
Natural environment,
The body (where it is housed)
With a set of physical and emotional qualities
Designed by the nature
And in link with the super soul, the God
All religions, in some way
Or the other
Aim at understanding the spirit
Its stance in the middle of natural environment
And its link with the super soul
All rituals aid in this understanding.
So, spirituality can be the outcome
Of the combination of the terms
“Spirit” and “rituality”
The message is clear
Keep always linking the understanding
Of the spirit with rituals and
Thus become spiritual
Stay not just ritual
Nurturing the spark of
Your enthusiasm is the other way
Of your being in the spiritual path
How to go about
Realizing your desires keeps
You enthusiastic
23
If the desires are selfish
And thoroughly materialistic,
Though you get initially enthused on achieving them,
You get frustrated and exhausted
On either others’ better progresses
Or your failing short of your own scales
If the chase is after
Selfless and altruistic ends
Your spirit of enthusiasm
Never dies and it keeps its glow
In fact, enhances it
As while on that chase
You do not see others
And you mind not failing
What nourishes your spirit
Is the effort and
Not the results thereof
You choose the spiritual path of your liking
Understanding the soul or
Upkeeping your enthusiastic selfless efforts
Bashyam Narayanan
24
An ever-relished chase
It has been a long chase
For something or the other
Over these years
As a kid it was a chase
For toys and play things
As a student it was a chase
For marks and ranks
As a youth it was a chase
After career and growth
And later it was chase
For getting the right life partner
The chase continued
For off-springs’ upbring
It was later to chase
For helping children settle
Ageing made me chase
For cure from illnesses
And other physical malfunctions
Yes,
It was a long chase for
Something or the others all these days
One understanding dawned in me
That
You will not get that
Which you have not chased
And
You will not get every thing
Which you have chased
Even if you get the object of your chase
It is not going to be in that form
In which it was when you started the chase
Unfruitful chase proves frustrating
Fruitful chase exciting
Wisdom will tell you that
The pleasure is more with the act of chase
Than getting hold of the object of chase
Holding of the object of chase
And sustaining its charm
Are essential after the end of chase
Very likely, chase for objects of
25
Worldly significance
Takes away your energy
And a lot of time elapses
Before you get in possession
Of your chase-objects
The duration at times is so large
That you wonder at the end of the chase
As to what for this object has been chased
The one chase which
Has the least probability
Of ending and
You hardly get hold of the
Object of chase
Is the
Chase for self-actualization
Or self-realization
This is the chase after your spirit
That kept you going all these days
And that will keep you going
Till that time when you away
Spiritual scholars assure
That this chase is really exciting
And remains so for any long
Whether or not
You come across what you are chasing
Develop a taste for such a chase
As this chase
Never makes you tired
But helps you remain balanced, cool
And unmindful of happenings
Around you
It is indeed an ever-relished chase
Bashyam Narayanan
26
An unclaimed key chain
An unclaimed key chain
Morning
Office goers
Busy moving
And carefully
Circumventing
A key chain
On the foot path
Seemingly afraid
Of reaching to it,
Leave alone
Of making it
Reach the person
To whom it belongs
I stood there
Watching
As I was waiting
For my bus
Me too, not in a mind
To pick it up
The three keys
On a shining ring
With a metal flat tag
With a figure of
A tiger inscribed
How many times
The keys would have
Opened or locked
The locks
How many times
It would have helped
The owner to check
His or her belongings
How much valuables
It would have
Protected
Now lying uncared for
A man would have
Stepped on it
But suddenly realized
Its presence
And he too cautiously
Avoided the ring
27
Somehow I mustered
Courage
And reached the
Key chain
With no idea as to
How to make it
Reach the real owner
I too had a plan
To use the ring
If there appears
No claimant
Before I leave the spot
As it was
Clean, attractive
And new
I held it open
To help any one
Searching for it
There was a
Unusual fragrance
Hitting my nostrils
With a sweet voice
A nearing-thirty
Well-made-up woman
Addressing me
Have you seen any
Key chain
I was thrilled
I could be of help to someone
That too a good looking
Woman
Holding the chain
Within my right palm
I looked at her
But, I wanted to be sure
That the chain be given
The right owner
On my queries,
She answered right
With the correct
Description
I handed over the key
With a satisfaction
Of having helped
28
She would have thought
That I did not hear
But I heard
Her thinking,
Though loud,
“He must be a gentleman
I too was watching
The chain
But wondering
How to pick it up
I was to buy a
Key chain
Right time I got it
From nowhere
Someone’s loss
Someone’s gain
A nice key chain
To hold my house keys”
Bashyam Narayanan
29
And take pride in having created a human being
Oh God
If at all you can bless
Bless me with the knowledge
As to which of my thoughts
Are positive and which
when translated into action
Bear fruits, which are
Sweet, delicious and nutritive
Not only for me but also for mine
And for all other living things around
Bless me also with the tact
Of loving what all I do
And of performing them
Without the fear of failure
And without the fire of expectation
Let me understand and feel
That things done without
Fear or expectation
Kill not enthusiasm
Fill me with creativity
Guide me into innovation
Keep me on the path of improvement
Scaling new heights in excellence
And above all
Help me examine
Whether my actions
Be of any use to others
Bless me with a vision too
To see your image in
Every one and every thing around
So that my performace has the
Important element of empathy
And I am able to
Treat all with love and compassion
Understand them
Accommodate them
Accept them as they are
Without forcing them with my
Views, thoughts and dreams
Take them along
Work with them
To achieve nobler and
Benefitting-all goals
Bless me so
And take the pride of having created a human being
Bashyam Narayanan
30
And we will be out to achieve great things of chaste
And we will be out to achieve great things of chaste
When I joined the school it was June
I cried and cried that day till it was noon
But, who was that lady going round and round
Comforting kindly each one to calm down
I came to know that she was our teacher
Whom we should be afraid of, I was told later
To keep quiet, when in the middle did she chatter
Otherwise she would prove to be a harsh beater
But, the fact was that it never happened
She was strict, though never she frightened
She was punctual, though never she threatened
She was wonderful, though we realized at the end
She taught us alphabets, how to write
She taught us manners, how to be right
She taught us maths that made us bright
She taught us that never others we should slight
She used to say whether you become doctor or engineer
But she insisted that we should never lose our cheer
She emphasized that we should never give room to fear
Even when we would be in the middle of fire
We thank her for developing a learning skill
Which will guide us like a lantern life time full
We know that a lot remains to be done still
Her guidance will for sure help our sweet dreams fulfill
We all thank her immensely for the taste
She developed in us, quietly, without any haste
And this fire of learning desire will never go waste
And we will be out to achieve great things of chaste
Bashyam Narayanan
31
Arrival of a child
Arrival of a child marks the
Arrival of a new pleasant path
Arrival of a most colourful horizon
Arrival of a new set of dreams
Arrival of a new ray of hope
Arrival of a new melody in musical notes
Arrival of a refreshing new fragrance
Arrival of a new butterfly in our garden
Arrival of a child marks the
Assertion of nature’s supremacy
Assertion of God’s faith in men
Assertion of sustenance of existence
Assertion of human love
Assertion of a new strengthened bond
Arrival of a child marks the
Beginning of a new philosophy
Beginning of a new set of experiences
Beginning of a renewed valour
Beginning of new ways of learning
Beginning of refined perception
Beginning of the glow of innocence
Beginning of a new set of celebrations
Arrival of child marks the
Formation of new cloud of prosperity
Formation of shower of fresh nutrients
Formation of a lake of vibrant future
Formation of a new pool of gainful talents
Let us welcome the child,
The spark of continuation of human race and
Let the human race celebrate the
Arrival of each child just born
Bashyam Narayanan
32
Artist or Hurt(ist)
Artists have special tastes
They display their talents
To please the
Audience, if direct
Viewers, readers, if away
Their creations never meant
To hurt others
Their works invariably trigger an
Excitement among their fans
And in less artful general public
A wonder at the marvel outcome of
An extraordinary imagination and
Its delighting display
Artful creators invade the hearts
Of all, cutting across region or religion
A tasteful art form
Penetrates hearts of people
Of even less learned level
Cartoonists too fall in the category
Despite their spicy displays for their
Demonstration of wit
And extended interpretation
Of a personality or an event
Art touches the hearts
Cleanses it off ill feelings
And some creations
Educate and enlighten
Real art is one, which has common appeal
And even after a snap-shot exposure to it
People fall in love with the creation
There is no hidden intension in an art
There is no vulgarity in an art
There is no belittling of some person/sect nor a faith in an art
Artistic creation
Loses its status
If found to have hurting elements
To be depicting biased versions of reality
And to have been created of bad taste
With a seemingly draw-attention intent
Despite the excellence and the social acclaim of the artist,
Creator of such arts
Does not deserve to be called an artist
But, yes
You may brand such a person a hurt(ist)
33
Bashyam Narayanan
34
As you have gone far away from nature
For us
Morning, afternoon,
Evening or night
Makes no difference
We realize the part of day
From the sun light
And we remain in the same cage
Which has been so carefully designed that
We cannot find a way out
However difficult we may try
We are tiny little creatures
True, we look cute and colourful
The nine of us in cage do not have the same colour shade
Some of us shine in multiple colours too
We fly with the help of our short wings
Within the one metre cube cage
With a closely knit thin, of late rusted, iron strings
In all directions, sides, bottom and up
Your children stand around the cage
And get excited at each small flying jump of us
And at each chirping we make
Initially, we too got excited at the kids’ excitement
But, as of now, we are in pain
Will you keep your kids in a cage
And get elated at the sight of their
Crawls and cries inside
You feed us, thank you for that,
But you have missed to note
You know only some fruits
Some grains and nuts
And you give only those things
Which you eat and which you think
Are nutritious to us
You do not know we have a lot many natural things
To choose as our food
We relish eating that red cherry fruit
Of the tree just across the road in front
You are not aware of this simple thing
Your bananas and red chilies have become monotonous
Our younger ones get a better nutrition
If they are fed with that red winged insect
Which sucks nectar from jasmine
We are afraid that they would never get a chance
35
To have that taste
We are missing a lot of natural things
A free 20 metre fly against wind
A balanced perching on a tiny still fresh neem twig
A heartful search for insects in your domestic wastes
A scratch of your lawn with our tiny toes
And catch of a few winged ants
It would be a very long list of things
Which we miss because of
Your so called love for us
We know you would never understand these
Natural ways of living
As you have gone far away from nature
Bashyam Narayanan
36
Awaiting the bullet
Awaiting the bullet
It all happened like that
I finished my graduation
Not able to convince any of the employers
On my employability
And was roaming the streets
Of my small town
Got introduced to a boy of my age
Who said opportunities were there
For the youth
Provided they prove committed to
What the employer wants them to do
I was sure of convincing any one of
My commitment to duty
Thought it would not be a loss
To give a try
And accompanied my new friend
Things were different in deed
With the new employer
It was not like an office or factory
But had the looks of a religious congregation
A lot inputs on faith
And on the sins associated with non-adherence to faith
It went to the extent of
How to make people forcefully-follow and take up our faith
It did not matter me much
I needed money to take care of the aged parents
Which they were regular in sending
I needed no money to run the show here
As everything and every bit of my living
Was taken care by the people here
No doubt they were really kind to us
But, yes, they were harsh and unkind to
Countries countering our faith
And branding us as fanatic
Days passed on
Religious scripts recited with fervor
And I saw in me a change
Am I turning a fanatic
I had faith but believed that
Real faith evolves and does not get imposed
Once imposed faith turns out not to be
No more such thinking
My requirement is money
And that comes out from what I am presently
Good enough
37
We were trained in all sorts
War practices
Use of guns, use of grenade and rocket launching
Physical exercises
And war-coded communication systems
I was a soldier at the end of the six months’ training
I am satisfied with my employer
As he was sending money regularly to my aged parents
I am satisfied with my own self
As some of the recruits
Could not stand the training
And had to leave in the middle
I came to know at the end of it all
That we will be deployed in spreading terror
In one of the important and commercially active cities
In the neighbouring country
We a group of four were sent off
By our employer
We reached the city
And were moving around merrily for two days
As we were guided by the communication
We were receiving from our employer over the handsets
The day for attack arrived
It all started in the evening
We were moving with warring facilities
And in a costume of a common man
No one could make out our intensions
We were told to start the attack
So far I have not hit any one fatally
The first shot of mine
Felled a police constable
From a moving train
Exciting it was as within seconds of my aiming at him
He was no more alive
It went on merrily some time
After hitting a boy probably in his teens
I became saddened
Are we doing anything wrong
A question of this sort ran through me
Any way before answering myself
I heard instructions that made me
Go ahead with the act of doing away with lives
Terror-some acts of ours continued
Killing innocent people of
All ages went on
And our sponsor encouraging us
38
Telling great many things about us
As we are proving warriors of a particular faith
We were running short of our
Warring facilities
And I saw one of our “warriors”
Falling dead to a bullet
Suddenly one after the other
Two other colleagues of mine
Also fall dead
With bullets piercing them
It pained me much
And I was able to feel the pain
Of those who would have lost
Their dear and near in our faith-driven war
Given a chance, I would have killed myself
But that never came
And I was caught alive
Presently kept in a cell
For interrogation
I kept changing my versions of the plot
Expecting help from my sponsor
Which seemed not coming
And I know I was disowned by own people
Leave alone my employer
I am counting days
And cursing myself
For all what all I have done in the name of faith
And I cannot show and demonstrate
The real feelings running in me
I keep posing brave
While mourning inside
I would like to be shot
And dead immediately
Awaiting the bullet
Bashyam Narayanan
39
Be ambitious
Be ambitious
But, cautiously
Keeping in view
The nature and extent
Of your strengths
And after weighing
Your weaknesses
Be ambitious of
Harnessing strengths of others
For raising a human race
For collective growth and
Harmonious co-existence
Not of developing a mass
For a mad and unquestioned following
Be ambitious
Of becoming something yourself
Not of becoming a owner
Of material significance
Be ambitious
Of evolving new values to life
Not of adding values
To things in your possession
Be ambitious
Of helping others
Realize new dimensions of existence
Not of helping them
Just to exist
Be ambitious
Of bringing more and more
Into your affectionate bond of love
Not of keeping others
Into your fold because of fear for you
Or favour from you
Be ambitious of
Knowing yourself better
Not of making others
Understand you better
Be ambitious of
Becoming a model human being
For others to emulate
Not of copying or emulating
Someone’s model
Be ambitious of
Being special
40
Not of forcing others
To feel that you are special
Be ambitious of
Leaving a mark of yourself
On the community you belong to
Resisting the community
Stamp on you
Its symbols, myths, dogmas
And less established faiths
Simply,
Be ambitious of
Becoming a beloved
Compassionate and
Complete human being
Bashyam Narayanan
41
Be ever enthused to be in touch with future
Be ever enthused to be in touch with future
Future
Philosophers say
Is an illusion
For each second that is in the coming
Is uncertain
Hazy and a mirage
Past is lost
And it is spilt milk
Nothing can be done
With the past
Each previous second is as past
As the previous century
They suggest
For keeping up with the pace of time
It would be wise
Not to dream of the future
And not to lament on the past
Enjoy the present
It is easier said than done
We keep busy thinking
Either about the future
Or keep grumbling with the past
Memory and acquired experience
Will not allow us
To thoughtfully digest
Events occurring at the present
It is also not debatable
The quality of the present second
Depends on
The quality of the efforts
Made in the previous second
Where we are and
What we are
All because of our
Struggle or otherwise
In the past
Past experience and
Our present standing
Take us where we will be tomorrow
It will not be unwise
To a dream a future
Matching our skills
And the present position
42
We often dwell in a future
That is not achievable
With our present standing
And our capabilities
Unrealized future
Makes us feel sad
Be ever be in touch future
As the present second only
Manifests itself as a future
Know what you do
Know what you have as means
To take you into
The dreamt future
A colourful future is not an impossible realm
To be scaled
If you take seriously the means
To be there
Your present actions
Are executed only
To be sure that
You are
There in that wonder tomorrow
That dream keeps you
Motivated in going ahead
That dream keeps you
On the path of learning
That dream keeps you
Innovating new solutions
That dream keeps you
Enjoy what you do
That dream keeps you
Enthused in living
That dream keeps you
Looking for opportunities for improvement
Be in touch with dream ever
And
Be ever enthused to be in touch with future
Though philosophically non-existent
Which only helps you realize your potential
Bashyam Narayanan
43
Become divine
Each tree a Poetry
In its infinite variety
Each leaf a status
In its food-making process
Each flower a wonder
In its colour, fragrance and splendour
Each fruit a history
In its sweet-storing mystery
Each grass is precious
As in soil-holding it is cautious
Each cactus a marvel
In its tact in survival
Each orchid a sample
As its blossom ever an example
Each garden a universe
As it holds all these, in diverse
Each gardener a God
As he created this universe and takes guard
So to become divine
Develop a garden and maintain
Bashyam Narayanan
44
Being is enlightenment, Becoming is ignorance
You are on the move
Always
On an elevator
Or a belt conveyor
That keeps moving
Steadily and at the same speed
Since the day
You landed on this earth
And this winch or conveyor
Is driven by time
No one else is on your belt
Either ahead or behind
And you are the lone
Passer by in your elevator
Each second
This mover takes you
To a new situation
Unfolding to you
Shocks or surprises
Depending on what you
Have been expecting
Practically the next step ahead
Is in dark
And every thing becomes clear
Once you step in there
Giving you a feel that
It is all-continuous
With no break
And submerging you in a false understanding
That you know every thing that is happening
That will happen and that had happened
Once you move to the next scene
The scene left behind becomes hazy
And you will not be able to
Recollect the past events exactly
But you may remember
Vividly certain scenes and events
Depending on the
Pleasure or pain
With which they impacted you
You are always on the move
And nowhere you are stagnant
You invariably keep nursing
A thought of becoming something
45
What you are not presently
At that point of time
And never you know
Whether you have become that
Something which you want to
Become sometime before
You keep counting
On the experiences
Of the left behind situations
And you are hopeful of
This being helpful in
Shaping you to that
Which you want to become
You keep swinging from
What you were and
What you want to become
With no time left to you
For assessing what you are
Being aware of
What you are is wakefulness
Being lost in
What you want to become is
Ignorance as
Every thing ahead is in total darkness
Being is enlightenment
Becoming is ignorance
Bashyam Narayanan
46
But to wish the butterfly and its flower, a happy bright future
But to wish the butterfly and its flower, a happy bright future
She was moving around like a butterfly
Our home plenty of joy always in supply
Gracious her looks and no creams did she apply
All natural, we thought it’s all a permanent ply
Her presence gave us all warmth and love
Our worries disappearing at the very sight of this dove
Never once she failed to get us that oil of clove
To help us all the teething problems solve
Her voice so sweet, save we have sugar
Her manners so gentle, save we have feather
Her touch so soothing, save we have softened leather
Her mood so enthusing, we were all in liquor
From where came the world wide connection
It connected the universe but our home in dissection
She got trapped in the web of ether borne words of affection
We had no clue of happenings through computer projection
She fell in love with a guy at last
Who took away her heart and she lost
All the reasoning and wisdom blown in blast
She surrendered to her love, which she says, is vast
We did not know her whereabouts for days fourteen
None of her friends told us and came out clean
To make us know what happened in between
At the end found out, after a search on web-site screen
She said she is now happily married and threaded
To a guy whom she came across in a studded
Website, and she claimed he is a great guy, and added
No one to be saddened as to no vice he is wedded
We cannot say a word at this juncture
As the butterfly flew off from us, striving to nurture
To a flower, of course with nectar, but of unknown nature
But to wish the butterfly and its flower, a happy bright future
Bashyam Narayanan
47
Change has come indeed, but it is becoming increasingly difficult
The changes we were looking for
Have indeed come
But with a bigger bang
And bitter challenges like
Economy
Education
Healthcare
Housing and what not
Any amount of helping
The industries and others
Seems to be not capable of
Fetching the results
We would like to see
There is no point
Looking for changes outside
Now we need to change within
Oh, fellow countrymen
We need to come together
Share the resources
And that is only way
To combat the challenges
Already existing and
In the making
If you love your country
And if you want that back
On the original track of
Growth, Development and Opportunities
Try to understand this
And put the same into practice
If you visualise your nation
As a mansion
Its strength depends on the
Quality of the bricks
You used in building the same
The bricks of a nation
Are nothing but the families
It is holding
Family is a small organisational system
Comprising blood related individuals
And the quality of the family
Is the bonding between members of the family
And their quality and value systems
If you want to do any good to the country
You need to improve the bonding
48
Within your family and
The quality of family members
Any attempt in this direction
Will bring all members
Of your family together
And this will make
You understand the strengths
And weaknesses of
Every one of you
Your determination to be
Together will make you
Share the resources
Which will make you
Understand your
New strengths and hidden potentials
Your being together bonded
Is of a great help to the nation
As your resouces' consumption
Will drastically come down
You will not be needing
That many houses
As your house-occupancy
Will be far far better
Your energy bills
Will be only a portion
Of your present bills
You may not be needing
That many cars
I know, it will be difficult
To get into this mode of thinking
As all these years
You have been free
And enjoying privacy
This suggestion will
Definitely rob you off some of the
Freedom and privacy
But when your very
Survival and existence
Is under threat
I am sure you will not mind
Compromising
And again you will understand
That freedom does not mean carefree
Real freedom means 'carefully free'
Privacy is more like give and take
If you do not damage other's privacy
49
Your privacy is assured
Give a chance to your family bond
Face the challenges effectively
And help your nation succeed
Bashyam Narayanan
50
Chase and chase
Chase and chase
As you can get only those things which you chase
Naturally, all those which you possess not
Are those, which you did not chase
Chase and chase
Chase and chase
Chase and be at it always
Not just to beat it but to reach it
Might be time and pains taking
Take time and enough pains
Chase and chase
Chase and chase
As things do not come by otherwise
Things evade and keep changing
Keep a track of changes, change your self
Chase and chase
Chase and chase
But know, learn and practise the art of chase
The quality of your chase tells
The quality of your taste
Be meticulous, systematic and
Ensure no sidelining
Chase and chase
Chase and chase
With a vision and act on a mission
Understand where are you in the chase
Know how far to go and how to go
But, keep ever moving towards things you chase
Chase and chase
Chase and chase
Those, which have wider benefits
Not those, which are going to serve you
Things chased for self ends
Invariably have disastrous ends
Let things of your chase be
For the welfare of those, who do not have
The strength and skill to chase
Chase and chase
Chase and chase
Nobler things with the
Faith and confidence that
You will leave a mark as you depart
And not a scar on the community that beholds you
Chase and chase
Bashyam Narayanan
51
Christ - The painstaker
Christ, the painstaker
On this day of Xmas
Let us recall with love and reverence
the Christ, the painstaker
His message simple, clear and loud
Love thy fellow men and reach out to help
You will ever be remembered
the Christ, the painstaker
Born in the darkness of midnight
He enlightened us with the brilliance of
Awareness on human love and compassion
the Christ, the painstaker
Earned the name good shepherd
Demonstrating again kindness to
Even the innocent, much innocent
That they know not even who the caretaker is
the Christ, the painstaker
He preached us many things
But practised many more
All pointing out to one important
How to turn simple from being wise
the Christ, the painstaker
He showed that to become powerful
You do not require to have power
But all you need is love
the Christ, the painstaker
It is time we stopped moving away and away
From our own people in the name of growth
Let this Xmas make us more loving and loveable
the Christ, the painstaker
Bashyam Narayanan
52
Come again and embrace, drown me in solace
Feeling you, oh the village wind
Is like feeling into the hidden me
The more I think about you
The more I understand me
What is so special in you, oh the village wind
That keeps me locked unto you
What is that swing thing
That runs through me
Each time you pass on by my side
Your fragrance is wonderful, oh the village wind
And inviting me to your proximity
What is that smoothness
Whenever my fingers flow over you
How intoxicating your wordless whispers
That have opened to me
A new language window
Each time I meet you, oh the village wind
How I wish let this relation remain for ever
Each time you talk to me
How I wish let this dialogue last for ever
Each time I smell you
How I wish let this ether hold this ever
Each time I am with you
How I wish let this heaven stay on for ever
Time a ruthless murderer, oh the village wind
Whenever you are there nearby
He holds his sword behind
And ends up with an unkind cut each time
Parting me from the glorious you
Burying me into fine grains of sand
Though, I come out of it always
Only to be sent back for burial
How do you manage to light a fire, oh the village wind
Deep inside in this unkind heart
A heart that is filled with the
Unmoving dirt of envy and jealousy
The same you quench that fire
With just your cool presence
I always feel a changed “me”, oh the village wind
With lot enthusiasm and a fresh charge
Which all vanish once you
Leave and go off view
Come again and embrace
Fill me fully with your grace
Let me be relieved of all worldly menace
Oh village wind, drown me in solace
Bashyam Narayanan
53
Come again another day
We plan
Act, but not always adequately
So we run short
Of what we planned
We say
Come again another day
We will accomplish
What we have in our mind
Comes that day
We act, not adequately again
We console ourselves
Come again another day
Days pass by
Turn into weeks
Months and years
We keep telling
Come again another day
We never get that another day
Entire lifetime
We spend in search of
That another day
All of us know
Which day is that day
And which day has no
Another day
No one knows
How far or near that day is
So
Plan, strictly adhere to the plan
Accomplish your tasks
Then and there
Even if they fall short of perfection
Before landing on that day
When you cannot any longer be telling
Come again another day
Bashyam Narayanan
54
Come again sometime to enlighten this soul groping in unawareness
Will there be another time
I will be coming across or meeting you
A question that comes to my mind
Always when I cross a person
Of unique characteristics
The person could be a male or female
Young or old
In school uniform
Or in a casual, but tastefully-select attire
Even a beggar lying on roadside platform
Under a tree looking at a distant dream
A kid sitting in a car
Insisting parents to buy something
From a street vendor
An aged fruit seller
Impressing buyers on the taste of
Fruits of his basket
And so on and so many
May be that person’s trait
The way he or she looks
The way the person talks
The scent left behind
The careless freelancing ways
A striking beauty
And so many other things
That would have drawn me to them
May be this is the last ever time
I came across them
Whatever it is
I experienced an impact
Because of their presence around
And there arose a desire in me
To be near them or they be around me
Most of them I have no clue
As to what they are
Where they hail from
Where do they go and
For what purpose
Definite it is
I got impressed by some of their
My-attention-drawn qualities
And I would like to
Imitate them if given a chance
Each one had something to convey
And I was not able decipher the message
55
I see in them teachers
Indirectly and silently
Conveying great many things
Which my limited wisdom
Does not understand
That is why
I feel
Will there be another time
I will be coming across or meeting you
Come again sometime to enlighten
This soul groping in unawareness
Bashyam Narayanan
56
Dawn of the New Year 2009
Dear all
Let the dawn of
New Year 2009
Shower on you
A better revealing light
Comprising
More and beyond the
Traditional seven colours
And let it provide you
An awakening and
Enlightenment into
A wider knowledge base,
A positively oriented attitude and
A set of new productive skills
Helping you
Perform excellently,
Effortlessly and
Enthusiastically for
Common good
Bringing
Happiness and Prosperity
To you and
To every one around
Ensuring
Peaceful co-existence
For
Years,
Decades and
Centuries ahead.
Bashyam Narayanan
57
Dear all poem lovers
Dear all
Thanks a lot to you for having chosen to read this. I know very well that as a poem
lover, you will be a nature lover too. You will also appreciate that all of us need to turn
environment-friendly for sustenance and continuance of our very existence.
This is not a poem or poetic impression, but a request to you to contribute your bit on
the occasion of World Environment Day, which falls on 5th June 2010 (for that matter
each year) .
This year let us observe, rather not celebrate, World Environment Day.
Let us resolve to restrict the use of all natural non-renewable resources, especially the
fuel resource.
As a sequel to this resolution, let us undertake a walk for at least 15 minutes anytime
between 8.00 am and 10.00 am on 5th June 2010, a Saturday. We will walk with a
pinned up message as shown below
WALK
YOUR
WAY
TODAY
WORLD
ENVIRONMENT
DAY
on an A4 size paper on your front and back in your streets or roads demonstrating your
concern for environment. You need not be in groups and there need not be any
slogans, just a silent walk. I would even suggest that this be done when you leave
home for market, for leaving children in school, for ATM, for that matter any walk with
a defined destination and a planned purpose.
You demonstrate this to show that you will not miss opportunities to walk walkable
distances and to cut short the consumption of oil resources. The other purpose you
serve by the display is that you are reminding others also of the importance of World
Environment Day.
You may enlarge your commitment, if possible, by not using your petrol or diesel
driven vehicles during 8.00 am to 10.00 am on that day.
This is posted well in advance so that, if convinced with the idea, you may like to
propagate the same, and bring in a lot of people in this silent way of observing World
Environment.
Thanks.
Bashyam Narayanan
58
Develop in you a weakness for music
Music has no language
All of us know
But, you also note,
It has a huge heart
With its heaviest-duty heart
That has a very huge pumping capacity
Music keeps circulating
The blood of love
To the entire humanity
All of us, human being
Are nurtured, nourished
And many a time enriched
By the positive emotional
Nutrients of this
Colourless, groupless
Blood of love
Flowing from the
Boundaryless
Huge heart of Music
Search in you
The taste for music
And pave way for music
To fill you with
The highly precious
Richly rewarding
And ever enthusing
Bliss and emotional balance
Just give music a chance
You do not require to learn it
You just know how to lean on it
Especially, when you need
An emotional support
Discover those modulations
That are soothing to you
And keep yourself repeatedly exposed
Develop in you a weakness
For music and
Discover in you
A new emotional strength
Bashyam Narayanan
59
Diwali, let us make it a celebration for have not's as well
Diwali whose original name is
Deepavali
Meaning row of lamps
Is the main festival of the
Indian Subcontinent
Its puranic reference is that
This day Rama goes back to his Kingdom
After 14 years of forest living
And thus marks the beginning
Of a just and fair ruling by a King
While many other festivals
Are celebrated collectively on a community basis
Diwali is celebrated personally
And by each family in its own traditional ways
As in other festivities
Sharing of sweets and other edibles
With neighbourhood and family friends
Is also there
But the celebration is totally personal
And you decide your extent of celebration
Buy new clothes
Buy new ornaments
Buy new utensils
Buy crackers
Buy sweets
Celebrate Diwali
There is of course a need
To think about those
For whom all the above are luxuries
And people celebrating Diwali
Provide for those
Who cannot afford a celebration of this sort
A visit to orphanage
A visit to old agers home
And a small gifts to inmates
Can go a long way
In giving a special meaning
To these celebrations
Let us do something
And make Diwali
A celebration for
Have not's as well
Bashyam Narayanan
60
Do any of you know
A man and a woman
Came to my place one evening
I was playing with my dad
In the lawn in front of my home
These people got down
From the car
And my dad helped them
Unload a number of luggages
They approached me and
I was able to recollect
I have seen them somewhere
But quite long back
Not an issue
They were all kind to me
And they missed not an opportunity
To hug me and hold me on their shoulders
They did a lot to my mom
Especially while she was feeding me
As I was fussy about eating
They were with us for long
I started enjoying their company
And there were a number of evenings
When my mom and dad
Would silently disappear
Leaving me under the care of these visitors
I developed intimacy with them
They, for that matter, enjoyed
Taking care of me
I used to even feel that
These guys are better than my parents
These elderly people
Never scolded me nor threatened me
It looked to me they love me
The same way my parents do
Gone a number of days like that
I am in comfort
With all the love, care and attention
Of my mom, dad and these people
Despite repeated training
And insistence from my parents
I was not able to call these people
Grandma and Granpa
These people accompanied
me and my parents
Wherever we went in my dad's car
61
One fine day
There was a lot of discussions
Between all the elders at home
And there were preparations
As if some people are going somewhere
We all boarded the car
With huge luggages
And my dad was driving
We reached a place
These luggages were unloaded
I was put in a stroller
And the elderly woman
Left the scene pushing me in my stroller
And the other visitor
Came along
A number of things happened
I just then noticed
None of my parents
Went with us
It is now a week's time
I have not seen my dad or mom
But I hear them talking to me
Over the phone or the computer
It is sure I am not going to see them
For quite some days to come
Why worrying or crying
Over the absence of my parents
I am now settling with these visitors
Who took me away from my parents
But for what purpose
I do not know yet
Why me to be separated
From my mom and dad
Do any of you know
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helping my mom
Bashyam Narayanan
63
Do not be serious, be sincere
Don’t have career or academic goals.
Set goals to give you a balanced, successful life.
I use the world balanced before successful.
Balanced means ensuring your health, relationships, mental peace are all in good
order.
There is no point in getting a promotion on the day of your breakup.
There is no fun in driving a car if your back hurts. Shopping is not enjoyable, if your
mind is full of tension.
Life is one of those races in nursery school, where you have to run with marble in a
spoon kept in your mouth.
If the marble falls, there is no point coming first.
Same is with life, where health and relationships are the marble.
Your striving is only worth it, if there is harmony in your life.
Else, you may achieve the success, but this spark, this feeling of being excited and
alive, will start to die.
One thing about nurturing the spark – don’t take life seriously.
Life is not meant to be taken seriously, as we are really temporary here.
We are like a pre-paid card with limited validity.
If we are lucky, we may last another 50 years. And 50 years is just 2500 weekends.
Do we really need to get so worked up?
It’s OK, bunk a few classes, scoring low in couple of papers, goof up a few interviews,
take leave from work, enjoy with your friends, fall in love, little fights with your loved
ones.
We are people, not programmed devices.
Don’t be serious, be sincere.
Bashyam Narayanan
64
Do not feel you are special, let others feel so
It is natural that
Each one of us is
Special and unique
In his or her own way
Problem it becomes
When we feel strongly about it
And when no others
Come up and tell
You are special
We all do things
But will not do things
The same way others do
We have our own way
And style of doing that
Others gauge our performance
Based on the quality of the outcome
Punctuality, consistency
And very importantly
Our attitude to what we do
All of us differ in all these aspects
And in that we stay special and unique
It is but human nature
To expect others to
Recognize what is done
And come out with a word of appreciation,
Which is a sort of motivation
But others are not that generous
To tell great things about what you have done
Often they are quick to find out
The lapses in your performances
This is where, all of us get stuck
And feel bad about it
You have the right to feel
You are special and unique
But do not expect others
To feel that
You can, however, make them feel so
And recognize your great things
By the quality of performance and
Your attitude towards it
Do not feel special about you
Let others do so
By your excellence
Bashyam Narayanan
65
Do not just long for a change, know how to accept it
Nothing is permanent
Except the change
Change is a necessary phenomenon
In an active system
Changelessness is deadly
Change is continuous
Steady and driven by a cause
Nature and extent of change
Depend on
Nature and extent of cause
We all look for
And indeed long for a change
And we have specifications
Many a time
The occurring change is
Not the change we were
Looking or longing for
We turn excited or sad
Because of the change
Many a time we are
Unprepared for the change
Though we were longing for it
Often we find it difficult
To accommodate and
Accept the change
Nothing wrong
Longing for a change
But desiring itself not enough
We need to create such
Causes that will lead
To the change we look for
Many a time these causes
Are not totally under our control
So, it is well-advised
To be prepared for the
Deviations from your specifications
Then you will find yourself
In a position to accept
The change whole-heartedly
Long for a change,
Plan actions accordingly,
Execute and wait
Change has to come
But, again be prepared
To accept the change
Despite its falling short
Or exceeding your
66
Specifications
Bashyam Narayanan
67
Earn Happiness, Get tuned to the fact 'This too shall pass'
This too shall pass
Is the famous adage
And is inscribed on a golden finger ring
Which, when worn
Changes the mood of the person
He/she turns sad, if happy before wearing
He/she turns joyful, if in sorrow before wearing
The requirement is that
The wearer should read the inscription
Message is simple
And telling great many things
It says
Things are changing and always
Are in a passing mode to another phase
Examine your life
It should be having
Enough number of samples
Depicting this message
Your entire life has been
Only a passing of events
The day you were born
Was celebrated and it passed
You were a kid and brought
Happiness and joy to your elders
And those days to passed
Milestones in your life
Whether celebrated, suffered, or mourned
All passed
Events which were pleasant at the time of its occurrence
Turned otherwise with the change in time
And similarly sad events
Had reasons for your joy later
Do not get stuck to an emotional impact
Of an occurrence
As the same event
Will make you feel totally otherwise
As time passes
Check your emotions
Do not overindulge any emotion
Understand that
Over a period of time
Things shape up
Nurse in you a positive approach
And train your intelligence to be confident
68
That things occurred are for good only
If they are otherwise
They are bound to turn in your favour later
Earn happiness
By this great schooling that teaches you that
This too shall pass
Bashyam Narayanan
69
Easy and Difficult
Easy and Difficult
Easy to get a place in someone’s address book
Difficult is to get a place in someone’s heart
Easy is to judge the mistakes of others
Difficult is to recognize our own mistakes
Easy is to talk without thinking
Difficult is to control the tongue
Easy is to hurt someone who loves us
Difficult is to heal the wound
Easy is to forgive others
Difficult is to ask for forgiveness
Easy is to set rules
Difficult is to follow them
Easy is to dream every night
Difficult is to fight for a dream
Easy is to show victory
Difficult is to accommodate defeat with dignity
Easy is to admire a full moon
Difficult is to see the other side
Easy is to stumble on a stone
Difficult is to get up
Easy is to enjoy life every day
Difficult is to give its real value
Easy is to pray every night
Difficult is to find God in small things
Easy is to promise something to someone
Difficult is to fulfill the promise
Easy is to say we love
Difficult is to show it every day
Easy is to criticize others
Difficult is to improve oneself
Easy is to make mistakes
Difficult is to learn from them
Easy is to weep for lost love
Difficult is to take care of it so as not to lose it
Easy is to think about improving
Difficult is to stop thinking and putting it into action
Easy is to think bad of others
Difficult is to give them the benefit of doubt
Easy is to receive
Difficult is to give
Bashyam Narayanan
70
Enjoy this inevitable run of life
Life is just a run
Not a race
As in a race
We compete with others
And the quicker we run
We reach the destination
Ahead of others
And get declared a winner
Life is just a ran
Not a race
As in life
We have only one track
Drawn exclusively for us
And we only and alone run it
No one else is running this track
And nothing like
Winning or losing
It is only living
Life is just a run
Not a race
We reach our destination
With a speed
That is determined by our skills
And with an ease
That is determined by our attitude
While speed is no matter
As we do not compete with others
Ease varies with our attitudes
Life is just a run
Not a race
As the track you run is
Exclusively laid for you
And know, you run it alone
Till you reach the dead end
There is no victory stand
There is no spectator
There is no medal
There is no honour
You are the spectator
You honour yourself
You clap and celebrate your victory
All alone and in silence
Life is just a run
Not a race
More than anything else
With how much you ease
You ran it
Will be remembered
71
So finetune your attitude
To life, people around
And the environment you are in
To enjoy this inevitable run of life
Bashyam Narayanan
72
Enjoy, be comfortable and celebrate each moment
Each moment is fleeting
No moment stays on
Irrespective of your having
Enjoyed it or otherwise
Been in comfort with it or otherwise or
Celebrated it or otherwise
Each moment is fleeting
It is your normal desire
To hold on to each moment
And to consciously enjoy it
Allowing the next moment to come in
At your will
You will enjoy, be comfortable and celebrate
Each moment of yours by
Non-emotionally acting upon
Issues of the moment
With your best of skills so that
You are out of the issues effectively
And relieved of the same once and for all
You will enjoy, be comfortable and celebrate
Each moment of yours by
Helping others in your possible ways
So that they can help themselves
And by sharing your resources
To the possible extent with those less resourceful
So that they can build up their own resources
And become self-reliant
You will enjoy, be comfortable and celebrate
Each moment of yours by
Involving yourselves in activities
That will create and pave way
For newer strengths in you
To broaden your resource-base
So that you will await new challenges of time
With a better vigour and wider knowledge
You will enjoy, be comfortable and celebrate
Each moment of yours by
Being creative, innovative and by
Exploring your inner potential
In artful and soul soothing initiatives
So that you are always alive
To the demands of the situation
This will help you relieved of
The reminiscences of the painful past
And the dreams of the non-existent future
You will enjoy, be comfortable and celebrate
73
Each moment of yours by
Seeking divine guidance and assistance
In taking positive decisions
When being confronted with
So far unknown challenges
Enjoy, be comfortable and celebrate each moment
Which is just fleeting and will soon not be yours
Bashyam Narayanan
74
Experiment with truth, now with instrument
Experiment with truth,
Now with instrument
A TV programme is
Presently being aired
Where telling truths
Will help a person
Win rupees to the tune of a crore
Truth is here defined
As telling what is there
In the thought
Truth is sharing your thought,
Which most of us
Will not like to do
As many of us
Nurse bad, wild and ugly thoughts
This programme
With the award it projects
Induces people to come out
With what they thought, think and will think
At a specific a past, present and
Probable possible future event
An instrument, they call it polygraph
Detects whether what is said is true or otherwise
As it is capable of
Recording changes in
Blood pressure,
Pulse rate,
Electrocardiogram
And similar other
Changes in circulatory and nervous systems
That occur
When a person misrepresents
His thought
This programme is held
In the presence of persons
Involved in the participant’s life
All look fine till the time
When the truth shared by the person
Revolves around him/her and
Does not surface the actual thought process
With regard to the relationships
With others,
And especially those who are on the stage
And witnessing the event
Though the participant can
Have the satisfaction of
75
Having shared his/her thoughts
People in his/her life
Are coming to know
Who actually the participant is
And this understanding
Has the potential to break relationships
Beyond repair
While truth pays
It lays foundation
For hatred
Experimenting the truth
Within is spiritual and
Experimenting the truth
Without is commercial
Truth triumphs
If a clear cut battle line is drawn
Between truly true
And truly otherwise people
Truth never changes
But in this instrumental experimentation
With thoughts forming the base
So called truths change
As thoughts change with
Changing environ and experience
So branding some of the
Declarations of the participants
As True or otherwise
Is unacceptable to those
Who believe in truth
Truth wins wealth
In this programme
But, truth really wins people’s hearts
And brings them nearer
Not breaks their relations,
Which this declaration for the sake
Of winning currency can do
It is enough if you know
What you think
You need not put them across
To earn a wealth
As this could threaten
Relationships on which foundation
The entire human race rests
Be truthful
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For the sake of being truthful
Not for the sake of becoming rich
Truth is truth
Only when it can unite people
And it is not truth
If it can bring in disunity
Even the life sustaining oxygen gas
Has to be inhaled with
Other gases as well
And then only it will be
Beneficially absorbed and be helpful
In ensuring survival
So too is truth
Truth is like fire
Play with it safely
Unsafe and overindulgence
May engulf human race
Bashyam Narayanan
77
Explore your potential and earn the heart of the world
Village mud road
Afternoon and the hot sun
A buffalo in its own slow pace
On its back a half naked boy
Sweat droplets twinkling
Seated and enjoying a mango
Making all efforts to extract
The entire flesh upto the seed
A clean and white seed
Now in his hand
Aiming to hit a crow
Sitting on a milestone
Innocently glancing left and right
Threw the seed at his full speed
Thank God, the crow flew unhurt
The seed finding its way
To a mud-ridden drain
With its drowning deep
Bubbles appearing
Pronouncing the end of
A mango fruit
But it was only a beginning
The seed fighting all odds
Sprouted establishing
In the stinking waste water drain
Growing steadily
To a sapling first
Then to a big tree
Now standing tall
With branches in all directions
Bearing sweet fruits
Now being exported and
Earning foreign exchange
Apparently a useless seed
Had this potential
Which when rightly exploited
Earned global recognition
Explore your potential and
Earn the heart of the world
Bashyam Narayanan
78
Fantastic friend
A good friend
For me
Friend is one
Whose intentions are transparent
And who behaves in a fashion
Not deviating dangerously
From my expectations
I have a friend
Matching well my above specifications
Who makes it clear to me
That he will never try to understand me
Any amount of my
Explaining him my stance
Has no meaning for him
He simply refuses to understand me
He will also not mince words while telling me
Please make no attempts
To make me understand
I am determined not to do that
This deportment of his
Is comfortable to me as
I enjoy accepting people as they are
With no great efforts made
To understand them
As it is my weighed belief that
I have not understood any thing so far
My great friend
Has also understood this
And demonstrates the confidence
That there will not be any time lost
In the fruitless unnecessary efforts of understanding
And so,
We, when stay together,
Enjoy the company of each other
And each second of our association
Is spent only to enjoy the presence of
A compatible companion to the other
With none posing to be leader of the situation
With none driving home a point
With no goals fixed
With no targets to be reached
Each second spent in his company is
Memorable and whenever I am left alone
I recall with pleasure
The painless pastime
79
I had with this great friend
On a previous occasion
Whenever he is with me
Each unit of time, say, second
Will stand before me
Ask me whether it can lapse
Leaving space for the
Next second
This great glamorous friend is
None other than my
Four year old grandson
Bashyam Narayanan
80
Fathers’ day
Fathers’ day
I was greeted by my children
I looked back as to
What I have done to them
Nothing much
Or more than what all fathers would have done
To their children
They greeted me saying
That I am a great dad and what not
To what extent I deserve this
As far I know
I have not demonstrated
Any unique signs of love
I have not, of course,
Disciplined them nor
I have given them specific
Instructions
I used to feel
Whether I have missed to tell them
The importance of being organized
Being ambitious
And being industrious
So that they can become
Something more different from
What others (of their age) are
I chose this approach
Because of my staunch belief
That lessons learnt of their own
Have more beneficial impacts
Than just sharing your experience
I would have guided them
Into pains taking paths
So that they have better gains
As per my estimate
They have grown on their own
And they were never tamed or trained
In a particular fashion
I feel I have given them enough freedom
To choose paths or faiths
After their experimenting
With different approaches
I believe that they have the strength and confidence
To decide the appropriate step
81
And to take care of themselves
Even in demanding situations
I examine myself as to
Whether my children
Felt they are important
And they are consulted
While taking vital decisions in the family
Sometime children used to say
“Dad, your letting us to our way
Helped us evolve and not just grow”
While this is a compliment from one side
I used to complaints as well
As my wife feels that I have not
Contributed enough to help children
Shape up their future
I still stick to my belief
That evolution is more important
Than just emerging
As the former has a better sustainability
And a stronger foundation
Than the latter
It has been my suggestion to my kids,
Not necessarily an advice
That they should do things
Which they enjoy doing
Though initially I did not enjoy
What they were doing
I saw a change in them
I started marking they started
Doing sensible things
That would have a say on their
Overall development and growth
A self-assessment of mine
As a father
Makes me feel that
I should have done more visible things
To demonstrate my love to them
And should have extended
Still a wider broad based
Emotional support
Though I can claim to have
Accepted and accommodated them
As they are
I did little demonstration to make them appreciate
That I am making efforts to understand them
82
I used to get appreciated by them
For my inputs, which, they say
Have triggered them to develop better insight
So that they can understand
Events, emotions and appearances
I thank them
For their sincere love and affection
For not forcing me to act in a manner
That would displease them
For their innocence and expressions/outbursts therefrom
I love them
I cry when they are pained
I am proud of them
And will be ever so
On this fathers’ day
I would launch upon
Efforts to make them
Feel my affection towards them
Bashyam Narayanan
83
Fondly wish you to cross many more milestones so far unheard of
Fondly wish you to cross many more milestones so far unheard of
It was at a tender age
When Sachin Tendulkar
Started playing international cricket
Facing the hardest of play ball
Bowled or hurled at breathe-taking speed
It is unfair to call him little master any more
He proved himself to be a tall master
The mark he scaled yesterday,24 Feb 2010
Against South Africa at Gwalior
Will remain unscaled for long years
It was his day because
He did all the 50 over batting
And all the 50 over fielding
Twenty years in cricket
Plenty of runs to his credit
It is not just bat hitting the ball
It is not simply the technique
It is not again the physical strength
It is the combination of all these with perseverance
And a mind to be there, remain focused
On the requirement of the time
Executing his potential with perfection
No doubt, he has to scale this height
He is vocal when it comes to nationalism
And minding not the wrath, he voiced
To displease a group of his own linguistic state
With regional fanaticism
He made Indians proud
By registering himself to be first person
To reach a score so far untouched
He is a nationalist
As he chose to
Dedicate the full credit of his yesterday’s feat
For Indians
Nothing else can crown him better
But this national outlook
He does not require any further advice
But needs to be wished well
For a long, healthy and happy living
Only to cross many more milestones so far unheard of
Bashyam Narayanan
84
For any wrong happening, do not run to your gods, blame yourself
A childhood friend of mine
Seemingly very much devoted
To the faith his family belonged
Never missed a day
To visit the places of worship
In our big town
Never missed a day
To complete the
Daily rituals with which
He was baptized long back
Fled the town overnight
In search of earning opportunities
Went abroad
Got a job
Things did not end there
Convenience and comfort made him
Change his faith
Got married to a woman
Of a different faith
And settled there
Unaware of these his parents
Went ahead for his marital alliance
Which he also accepted
Got second time married
Without disclosing his earlier wedding
In all his traditional ways
Expressing devotion to all gods
Of his original faith
Through the second marriage
He was blessed with twins
When everything came to light
His parents were turned practically mad
Who, otherwise, were an enthusiastic couple
And his second wife
Fell seriously ill, not terminally,
But beyond recovery
His twins are now practically parentless
And in shattered childhood
I was induced to ask the gods of these faiths
As to what were their roles
When this person kept his faiths
They looked at each other for a while
And both said in chorus
You only have created us
And you only have decorated us with powers
But, you would never ask for
Correct help or guidance
85
You would act on impulses
And on the demands of your sensual pleasures
If anything goes wrong
You would look at us
Seeking reasons and explanations for the mishap
For any wrong happening
Do not run to your gods
Blame yourself
Bashyam Narayanan
86
Freedom, as you have others too have it
Cool moisture laden breeze
Early morning
Just brightened eastern horizon
Dispersed sunlight
Bright enough for a brisk morn walk
I was on that
When I saw a sweet little street dog
Moving in a strait close to its mother
Enjoying freedom
Zigzagging the road
Glancing front and forth
By the sides as well
Demonstrating a desire
To be noted by all that
It can walk alone
And at a speed of its mother
Mother dog keeping a watch
At all possible vulnerable locations
It looked as if
The mother dog is training her offspring
For a full time free go later
Any way, it was nice
To watch this demonstration of freedom
And a care free moving of a
Young living being
My pleasure was not to last more
As one more trainee appeared on the road
The boy was riding a gearless two wheeler
Presumably, with his dad sitting on the back
And training
The trainee on the walk
And the trainee on the wheels
Met at a point
When the former overstepped
On the route of the latter
The latter did not expect this to happen
And failed to apply brake
Injuring, luckily, only lightly our walking dog trainee
Trainee on the walk
Realized its mistake
And was now walking
As a polite soldier following the path of the captain
But slightly limping
Trainee on the wheels proceeded further
As if nothing happened
Freedom does not necessarily mean
That you are totally free
As others too have it
Bashyam Narayanan
87
Friday morning five o' clock
Lost my job
Recently when my company
Took right sizing measures
To meet the global economic challenge
I am a carpenter
By profession
And all these years
I have been shaping
And sizing woods
To meet the requirements
Of company furniture
A good number of
My colleagues
Were relieved of
Company’s services
With three months’ salary
And it took care of
My family comprising
My wife and ten year old son
For almost six months now
Thank God
Thanksgiving day
Neared and I got the job
As a well-wisher in
One mart,
Which claims itself smart
I joined them a month back
And I earned my first fortnight wages
Which made me feel
That not everything is over
I too have a life ahead
Came the thanksgiving day,
Which falls on a Thursday
And on the Friday morning next
Our mart is offering
Attractive super offers
I was to take care of an entrance of the mart
As there will be a crowd waiting outside
To rush in and avail the best offers
As some of them are very limited
Friday morning five ‘o clock
I pulled shutters up
And there came in a flood of people
Most of them out of control
Someone knocked me so harsh
I stumbled and fell down
Crowd did not stop
88
Minding not the fallen me
And many stamping me
It took no time for me
To realise that I was
In a stampede
Soon I was attended
By doctors
And I could hear them
Telling that I am a gone case
I was wondering whether
In the name of financial wisdom
People are becoming
Economically mad
My store mart
Has its slogan as
“Save Dollars, Live Better”
It would be right
If it reads
“Save Dollars, Live Better –
Even if it means killing our staff”
Bashyam Narayanan
89
From a beloved mother
If you can mine, why should I not
You discovered use of metals
Long back
Your civilizations are chronicled
By the unearthed material
That was at use that time
Like
Stone age
Iron age
Copper age
I was happy initially as
You were exploring me
With an attempt to extract minerals
For the use of common man
But now
You may not know
I am threatened by your
Ways of winning minerals and fuel resources
And by the quantum of them
You are consuming
You are planning to increase the consumption
And you do not appreciate how dangerous
It could be
What all you did manually
Have now been mechanized
It hurts me, the way
You drill, make bore and blast holes, blast
And what not
Your beneficiation techniques too
Devour my precious resources
And you have no concrete plans
To recharge the resources you are drawing
I thought
Why should I not demonstrate
As to how I take out minerals
From beneath
My process is very simple
No prospecting,
No exploration,
No drilling,
No blasting,
No shoveling,
No dumping,
No overburden
90
With the geothermal heat inside me
I melt the matter to be mined out
With imbalance created within me
By your activities on the surface
I build up pressure on the molten material
And pump the molten ore out
Like a fountain
In all directions
With no conveyor or other transporting facilities
I know some of you will be affected
But I cannot help it
The fact is that you people make me less sensitive
To your miseries
As you show no concern for me
And for the turbulence generated in me
Because of your activities
Remember, the more you dig
Bigger will be the fountain
Larger will be the quantum
If you can mine, why should I not
Your beloved mother earth
Bashyam Narayanan
91
From a biologically-not-belonging daughter
I was born to a couple
Who, probably did not want me
Left me in an orphanage
Even before I was born
And when I was a fetus
I passed through uncomforting
Situations, when my
Biological parents
Had a lot unpleasantries
To exchange
And it did not give me shock
To know that
I am in orphanage
One day
A couple came
Chose me from
A lot of orphans
Each looking for
Love and care
And waiting for
Such caring couple
I am in a new environment now
Both my biologically-not-belonging parents
Pouring love on this
Infant, and presenting me to others
As their long awaited pride
They saw with awe
My little movements
Each stage of my growth
Brought to them immense pleasure
And they gleefully shared
The growth changes in me
To their friends and relatives
Every other day someone
Visited me, invited me to their waiting hands
Watched this little me with wonder
And showered their affectionate blessings
The care of this
Deserted and disowned little girl
Saw its peak when my “parents”
Arranged for my first birth anniversary
I was decorated with earring
Though pained initially
I am proud of this, as this is the symbol
Of their love
I could not keep a count of how many
92
Attended to me
Assumed kidding roles to amuse me
And make me smile
With my four incision teeth exposed
Many a gift and lot of love
I felt for the first time
That this earth’s crest is held tight
Not because of any thing
But because of this love
Shown to a girl
Of unknown origin
It was not my birth anniversary
But was that of a
Self-imposed parenthood
Bashyam Narayanan
93
Gains to both the invader and the invaded
Long long ago
So long ago
No one knows how long ago
There ruled a king
By name Vasanthasena
Who had an army
That was not trained
To fight enemies
And had no weaponry
They had no training camps
They had done no testing of missiles
They were just at the border
Guarding the great nation
The only thing they knew was
How to keep them self- amused
They had fun and frolic
Their main training input was
How to keep enthusiastic
Happy and innovative
How to keep laughing
Energetic and enthused
Came once an external army
To engulf and capture
The country
Our cheerful army
Greeted them
Made them feel
They have not come to fight
But to get united
With the cheers and laughter
Dropped their weapons
Joined the greeting cheerful warriors
Enjoyed the hospitality
Of the king Vasanthasena
The so called invaders
Lost track of their mission
Got dissolved in the happiness
Of the country to be invaded
They understood
If weapons win war
With a lot blood shed, miseries and loss
Love and togetherness win hearts
With no loss
But gains to both the
Invader and the invaded
Bashyam Narayanan
94
Going ahead with living in a better way than most of you do
Kingdom of the blind
Welcome to our kingdom
Where we all stay blind
None having the sense of vision
None having the idea of colour
None able to dream a scene
As none can hold a figure in mind
But thanks to Braille,
Who made us read and learn
We study not to win a certificate
But to develop our physical
And mental skills so that
We can serve our community
We get up and move in a set direction
And after making a set number of steps
We reach our work site, which can be
A work bench or paddy field or any other place
Like the one where you people work
When we work, we work only
When we eat, we eat only
And when we sleep, we sleep only
We too have families
Sons and daughters and all of them
Blessed with blindness
We too laugh and we also cry
Only at the appropriate occasions
We never become emotionally down
For a thing that has not occurred
Nothing frightens us as the
Darkness, the most frightening, is always around us
We look ahead for a right future
And are not after a bright future
As you people long for
Though blind, it was never dark
In our mind, but it glows with peace and love
Love pervades our hearts,
Which are not penetrated
By the external just-material-revealing light
We know happenings around the world
We hear news, but do not see events
We do not desire much
The only desire we hold to our hearts is
95
To keep alive the desire to learn
And to apply what little learnt
For the benefits of our fellow beings
We may not have the sense of vision
Our other senses are in tact
And make up fully whatever lost
Because of this deformity
We hear, better than most of you do
We feel for others, better than most of you do
Our olfactory system is a bit more sensitive than yours
We fail not to smell the scent of soil
And the fragrance of even a little blossom
Our touch is more soothing than your touch
Many of us get a cure from our touch
We move with heartful of love
We live with a heart, full with contentment
We nurse a bubbling enthusiasm
We invite you all to this wonder world
And to enjoy the hospitality extended
By those, whom you think suffer
And struggle for survival
You will understand
Though we had a physical non-function
We are not handicapped and
Going ahead with living in a better way
Than most of you do
Bashyam Narayanan
96
Grace the world with your glow of happiness
Do not chase happiness
Search within you
There are lot many things
Inside you
Which have reasons
To make you happy
You pursuit or search for happiness outside
Does not take you anywhere
As what seemingly has a stock of happiness
Once you reach or achieve it
You realize that happiness
Lies further ahead somewhere
And you hunt for happiness
Takes a new turn
And this goes on and on
Only to make you understand
That you are back in square one
Devoid of happiness, your original search
Happiness, thus, cannot be anywhere else
But within you
Do not be on a stealthy stalk for happiness
Simply because others do so
Search within and discover
The happiness in you
Do not be on a race for happiness
But grace the world
With the glow of
Happiness within you
Bashyam Narayanan
97
Gracious glance of innocence
Just snowed winter afternoon
Post-thanksgiving sales
Attractive less expensive shopping
My wife, our son and I
In one of the big retailers of US
Tired of this buying spree
I found a place to sit close to the entrance
And watched the people shopping
Entered a stroller
Holding an infant
Well protected
With a toy nipple in the mouth
I could make out
It was a baby girl
Very cute
Looking around with her
Inquisitive eyes
That had a grace
It occurred so
That I was in her focus
When her stroller passed beside me
Within a metre or so
Her mother was moving around
Things displayed in that side of the shop
And I was in the field her sight
During most of the time
Of her mother’s shopping
The first glance of the kid
Was telling me
“My glance by itself auspicious
Can make glanced at things
Auspicious too”
The second glance of hers
Which struck me
Beneath a displayed pink gown
Told me
“My glance, you know,
Can free you from all bonds,
If you are a person
Seeking that path.
My glance, at the same time,
Can grant worldly pleasures too,
If you are after them”
Her third glance
After a hide through a pillar
98
Revealed to me
“My glance has the power
To clear all your doubts
And to shatter
Your negative mind-set,
So that you ever remain confident”
As the infant was
Going out of shop
Her glance had a message
“My glance can purify you
And wash off all your sins
And dirt of your previous actions.
Do not you realise now
The power of
The gracious glance of innocence”
(A modified rewrite of Adi Sankara's meaning of one of the thousand names of Lord
Vishnu)
Bashyam Narayanan
99
Happy New Year 2011
Let it not be another new year
With the same usual celebrations
With the same usual great wishes
With the same usual demonstrations
Of happiness and gay
Instead of the New Year showering you joy
You shower it
With a vouch to
Keep yourself happy
Keep yourself healthy
Keep yourself enthusiastic
Keep yourself at peace
Keep yourself cheerful
Keep yourself loveable
Keep yourself simple and least complicated
Keep yourself non-complaining
Keep yourself ever in a ‘growth’ path
And
Keep yourself all that
Which will pave way
For a really lived-life
For years and decades ahead
With you at the centre
And the entire universe around you
Watching with wonder and
Cheering you
At each of your earnest effort
Bashyam Narayanan
100
Help me reach my mother, sweet earth
I was a bright shining
Green leaf
Attached to the tall tree
Standing by the side of a busy road
I know no one would have noticed me
As each one has an important reason
For ignoring my presence
But, now I am a
Brown dry leaf
Lying on the pavement
And over me a number of people
Pass and again none took a note of me
Each moving vehicle, big or small
Flushes over me
A harsh wind
That keeps me airborne
For a short while and
I am getting displaced frequently
Making me feel
I am unwanted and I have no place
Of my own on this great earth
I was quite busy when I was attached to the tree
If you look at me
You can see prominent veins
Which kept supplying water to
Each cell of mine
And my cells in turn
Were very active
Producing carbohydrates
From the trapped carbon dioxide
Making use of the sunlight
With the help of the green chlorophyll
Compacted in them
Very importantly
Breathing out oxygen as a bye-product
For the benefit of human beings
I dance with the wind
However, mild or wild it may be
And never had I thought I am going to be
Separated from my tall tree
I came out of fresh branch
Tender, soft and silky
Nutrients flowed in me
And I reached my full growth
In a fortnight’s time
I was proud as I was almost
On the top
Receiving full sunlight
Cool breeze keeping me comfortable
I kept doing my job
And I thought I would continue this
Through my entire life time
101
After three months
Supply of nutrients dwindled
Water availability reduced
I started turning yellow
The twig holding me on to the branch weakened
And a strong wind made
The unkindest cut
And fell from the tree
Floating in air for sometime
And being carried away from my mother tree
I looked at her from a distance
I heard her yelling
“Sorry my child
Your time has come
And one day I too will fall
Do not worry
Mother earth will take care”
Since then I am in search
Of my new mother
All these days I am either on
A cement-slab paved pathway
On a tar-topped road
Where is my mother earth
With her sweet soil
That will silently devour my nutrients
For recycling them to
Standing vegetation
And help me have a
Peaceful, but beneficial death
Dear any one
Who knows and appreciates my plight
Help me reach
My mother, sweet earth
Bashyam Narayanan
102
How green this lawn was
How green this lawn was
Two years back, when did I trespass
Thick green on each blade of grass
Shining in sunlight and dancing at each wind cross
Alas, there are patches in yellow
So many that the land piece looks fallow
Paining and placing me in sorrow
How I wished the entire scene changes tomorrow
I asked the trim and erect watchman
Keeping vigilant near a portico van
What happened to this graceful lawn
So well kept extending greenly greetings each dawn
Was it because the soil turned hostile
Or it because the ants established their domicile
Or it because of the chemicals those weed sterile
Tell when soon the lawn will get back its soothing smile
Oh, sir, are you in this world, ever on galloping
Economically marching ahead and developing
Where is time for any one to attend to this soil topping
We are on the progress mode nothing be stopping
We know what are our gainful spending
And where should we stop depending
And which are going to keep revenue sending
There is no end to this economical expanding
In this great economic value addition
Everything is in cash denomination
No longer loyalty, love or passion
All aim towards cost-to-the-company reduction
Growing trees is no longer a feat
Nature care has to take a back seat
We are preparing for those days ahead so sweet
When this lawn will not be of grass, but of currency sheet
Bashyam Narayanan
103
How I wish I go back to that safe, harmless dark fluid pool
I was far beneath
In a fluid pool
In the company of
Harmless friends
All looking alike
Though dark
It was safe for me
And my friends
With a lot of freedom
To swim around
Playing hide and seek
Suddenly penetrated
A large dia pipe
Into our rocky cave
With a deafening sound
And I was sucked into
With many of my friends
Being taken up against gravity
Only to come up onto the
Earth's surface
We all fell into a container
Only to be cocked
And again we were in dark
With much little space
To move around and play
We felt we were always
On the move
Only to be later
Heated and separated
Into different components
Now I was able to see
That all friends were
Just similar
We were still moving
At times in a pipe
Or in a container
And at last we reached
A pool, which appeared
To have breather
Helping us to air
Our exhaustion
One day I found myself
Moving up in a smaller pipe
And we were filling a
Very small metallic tank
With a very limited space
104
And it was hardly
Possible for us to breathe
After sometime I was drawn
Into the thin tube
And I was in a hot chamber
Where we were just burnt
And we expanded suddenly
Pushing a piston back
I saw myself in totally different company
All my earlier associates gone
And when the piston moved towards us
We knocked out in the open
Through a pipe with a thud
Along with a number of
Foul smelling dark guys
Whom I have not seen before
I am in the association
Two similar looking allies
Who always tease me
Making fun of my smaller size
Nagging me
Moving round and round me
I am now air borne
Finding it difficult
To manage these naughty neighbours
As I am looking for a separation
From these two friends
I hear a slogan
'Kick the CO2 habit'
This may help some of my
Friends down there
Continue to stay where they are
And
How I wish I go back to that
Safe, harmless, dark fluid pool
Bashyam Narayanan
105
How much sinful are thee?
Sin, what is your understanding
Mine is this
Any act that will have reasons
For you to regret later is a sin
“Act” here includes even
Your thought process
“We are all sinners”
Declares a religion
“I am the most sinful”
Is the description of the self
By most of the yesteryears'
Hindu religious preachers,
Who are even now talked about
And held in great reverence
They declared themselves sinful
Probably because they only knew
Their thought processes,
Which would have fallen in 'sin' category
All these point to one thing
That we are bound to commit sin
Physically, verbally or mentally
Modern or scientific
Definition of sin could be
Any act that will load with you
Negative charges leading you
To unproductive or anti-productive
Physical, verbal or mental acts
It is, therefore, apparent
Physical act or verbal abuse
Alone does not constitute a sin
Your thought process, too
Can be a sin
If it conforms to the
Above description
Be watchful on your thoughts
Know how frequently
You entertain negative or sinful thoughts
The more frequently you give room
To such thoughts
The more sinful you become
Bashyam Narayanan
106
I am a beggar; I have a choice, but
I am a beggar; I have a choice, but
I have been begging since long
Since the time I started realizing
As to what I am doing
I beg, again, to differ
With the common phrasing that
Beggars have no choice
I decide my beneficiary,
The one who is given the opportunity of
Lending me a help, however minor it may be
I do not beg everyone passing by
I choose my potential helper
By his/her look, gait, and what is going on in his/her mind
I can do mind reading too
I can make out that
Someone is in a hurry to a workplace
Someone is much relaxed
Someone is sure of what is ahead
Someone is working out details of investment
Someone is planning a great spending
Someone is worried with health issues of someone in family
And so on
This mind reading helps me decide my beneficiary
I may not get the help each time is
Another story
But, note I have a choice
I know where I will get free food matching my taste
I know when to go which temple
For the midday mercy meals
Again, I have a choice
I decide also the place where I beg
Temple entries are good fetching
Mosque entries on Fridays
Church entries on Sundays
Provide me with resources more than what I need
See, I have a choice
I see great opportunities for examining my own self
When I beg
The inner me coming closer to me
As others go away from me
For fear of being asked for help
I do not see these opportunities
With most of others
Who rush to somewhere
Toil for fixed hours as assigned to them
Wait for alms at the end
The only thing I do to get help is
To ask for it
I am happy with what I am doing
I am a beggar; I have a choice, but
Bashyam Narayanan
107
I am not able to say anything further, as I am gone once and for all
I came to life
With a gentle electrical shock
And a mild tremor
When an egg from my mother’s ovary
Was invaded by my father’s sperm
Thousands of sperms around
Showed respect and withdrew from the race
Allowing me to enjoy buoyancy
In the pool of uterus liquid
I moved slowly onto the wall
Where I settled and started getting nurtured
Through the umbilical chord from my mother
I grew from a cell to mass of flush
It was a great stay in comfort
With watery cushion all around
Most of my organs in their miniature form
Nothing to disturb
Except for those tight embraces
With an emotional outbreak
“Thank you, you are bearing my child”
“Our first child, should be a boy”
A whisper shared in private
Between my parents
I am yet to know as to
Whether I am a boy or girl
“We do not conduct tests
To know the sex (it should have been gender)
Of the fetus” declared a voice
But continued
“As a special case we will in your case”
Every thing was normal for sometime
Suddenly I felt the impact of
Adrenaline that got pumped
Into me through my mother’s blood
I was in discomfort
For long and adrenaline level
Did not come down to my comfortable level
“It is a female.
We need to medically terminate the pregnancy”
Was what I heard in the same voice
That glorified my mother sometime ago
For having borne me
Oh, this is the reason for adrenaline
Now I understood
My discomfort showed no sign of
108
Abating, in fact, it was growing
Probably my mother being
Emotionally down
Suddenly pierced a sharp knife
And penetrated the tranquil
Watery heaven to cut
The link between me and my mother
And I am out in the glaring light
As a starkly naked flesh of no specific shape
On a kidney tray in a
Irritatingly smelling room
All my comfort gone
And now I was gasping for life
I know I will soon be dead
But I cannot stop wondering
How do these people know not
That I also possess the reactor
Which their mothers have or had
And which housed them for nine months
Shaped them and gifted them
To this world in their full shape
What wrong did I do
To be punished with termination
O God, if at all you can give wisdom
Bless them with that
So that the entire human race
Is not terminated
I am not able to say anything further
As I am gone once and for all
Bashyam Narayanan
109
I have no more tears to shed
I am Moshe. Two-year old curly haired little one
Just the other day I was with my mom and dad
An unfamiliar person entered our premises and
He had a lot to say to my parents
Of which I could not make out a bit
Then what happened?
The stranger aimed at my parents the weapon he carried
It was all in seconds ny parents fell back,
First my mom. followed by my dad
The stranger left
I had no idea Whether he marked my presence
I reached my mom. ran my palm over her face and
bent over her for an affectionate kiss
Normally she used to hug me intently for a similar act of mine
But she did not move. I shook her head. no response
I shook her hand. no response
And I saw a pool of blood below her motionless hand.
Which held my father’s
I felt something odd
And started crying
Do not know. how long I cried
When my nanny appeared from somewhere
And took me away into the open
It did not take long for me to realise
That my mom and dad are not any where near
I ate whatever offered as I was hungry
Woke up in between.
Only to know that my parents are not nearby
And then to cry
During my entire wakeful hours
I kept crying and
I kept eating something
As and when I felt hungry
Suddenly I was in the midst of a big gathering
Only my nanny was to be seen
The things that went on made me understand that my
Mom and dad have gone quite a far
And it will take long, much longer
Before I could see them again
110
First time I smiled
At a kid of my size
Stopping my cries
Without realising
I have no more tears to shed
Bashyam Narayanan
111
I prefer death and departure
I prefer death and departure
I prefer death and departure
From this wonder world,
Which has been my school
All these years
Making me learn something new
Each second, minute, hour and day
To the torture
Of your not being near
Each second of your absence
Kills me but not squarely
Only to bring me back to life
And torturing
Your presence
Though I used to feel painful
At times
Because of your intervention
Through my unhealthy means
You always demonstrated
Love and care
Your efforts to meet my needs
Exceeded ever my expectations
And my requirements
Were more than met
You came to unearth
My fallacies one after another
With our association growing
While your list of occasions
Where I fell short of your hopes
Increasing day by day
My list of your potentials
Kept elongating with
My discovering newer strengths in you
This is a kind of relationship
Where one’s weakness
Makes the other stronger
Come soon and join me
Before death takes over
Bashyam Narayanan
112
I see no point in
I see no point in
Understanding, as
At the end of it all
I am misunderstood
I see no point in
Visualizing
As in that process
I get drowned in dreams and inaction
I see no point in
Loving
As in its demonstration
I am either hurt or in hatred
I see no point in
Accumulating
As what is accumulated
Makes me its accumulation
I see point in
Teaching
As I am a proven failure
In unlearning
I see no point in
Giving
As I take pride in that
And am made arrogant
I see no point in
Becoming (something)
As I nurse the gnawing
That I am not that yet
I see no point in
Braving
As by that I proved
That I feared something
I see no point in
Praying (for something)
As it amounts to telling
That I am a beggar
I see no point in
Suffering
From something
As I prefer to struggle to overcome
I see no point in
Writing
113
As I will not be there with you
To say why I wrote this
Bashyam Narayanan
114
I see only thought clouds and, not people
I do not see people
But I see only bunch of
Thought clouds
In different shapes
Colours and volume
A sage declared
While addressing a gathering
He was elaborating
That these clouds
Keeps changing very fast
In their dimensions and shades
Indicating the swiftly changing
Thought processes
In the human mind
He added your thoughts only
Seed your words and trigger
Your actions
I would rather attempt to identify people
By not what they talk
By not what they act
By not what they look
Only by what they think
Civilized living
Had trained us and taught us
Not to talk what all we think
And not to act on what all we say
The gap is widening
To the extent that
Though thoughtful
We cover up our original thoughts
With sweetened phrases
And with pleasing-others actions
He was in a hurry to add
That you are what you think
And you are not what you do
Nor what you say
So I see only thought clouds
In crowds
Not people
Do not but ask me
Whether you know what others think
I must say, I do not know
It is my enlarged vision
Which sees only the cloud
Not its content
115
These thought clouds
If they are similar
It gives the gathering a much larger strength
Than what you can imagine
And it has great energy
That is why I advocate
In large gatherings
Nurse great and noble thoughts
Which have potential
To serve the communities
With all required strengths
And wisdom to perform
For a common good cause
I see only thought clouds and, not people
Bashyam Narayanan
116
I stand alone away from you desanctified and disfigured
It was a brightly lit afternoon
I saw a four legged machine
Descending on me slowly
I could understand that
It was an airborne vehicle
And it was effectively
Controlled and guided
So nice to see all its four legs
Touched my surface
The same time, making
The landing smooth and gentle
White fine dusts rose
From each point of contact
And I had to cough a bit
In a slight discomfort
From a window of the vehicle
Rolled down a ladder
And there peeped an image
Perhaps, a human being
Finding way through the window
And slowly climbed down
Carefully stepping upon me
“That's one small step for (a) man,
One giant leap for mankind'
I heard a male voice
Yelling his safe arrival here on me
He moved slowly
Jumping each step
Making good use
Of my gentle gravity
Generating a white cloud
Of dust at each step he made
Another similar image also
Came down on me
And both spent about 3 hours
Collecting the powdery white soil
And rocks on my surface
They planted a flag on me
And also a plaque with
Images of a man and woman
As if I did not know
From where they landed
They came from that half lit
117
Crescent seen on the horizon
Which just reflects sunlight
As I do on it
I know men and women on earth
For centuries now as
Many poets, mostly of Indian origin
Held me high and they gave me
A roll in their storyline
I would be witnessing
Lovers in their intimate togetherness
Or I would be asked to convey
Sweet messages between them
Many heroes and heroines
Shared with me their pains
Of separation from their sweethearts
Indian Astrology gave me
A place in the horoscope tables
developed by them for individuals
And made predictions
Based on the cell I am standing
Old system of medicine
Gauged unsound mental conditions
With my phases
Assurances were given for a cure
As I cross a particular phase
And now I wonder
Why at all these visiting earth folks
Left on my surface depicting
Their images, as if
I have no familiarity with them
This moon landing a giant leap
Of mankind, though
Spoilt my image in the hearts
Of those who made stories
Around me
Lovers no longer look at me
I too feel I have no influence
On the mental performance
Of people on earth
Astrological predictions
Made, based on my positions
In the horoscopes proved otherwise
I have lost my status
Because of that one small step
118
Just like a reflecting mirror of sunlight
I stand alone away from you
Desanctified and disfigured
Bashyam Narayanan
119
I will be in comfort and others in peace
Down under and deep inside me
There sits a judge with a hammer
Beside a big old wooden table
With a eye-folded statue and a
Tossing balance
No one around,
No attendant or clerk in front
Only the accused
In the stand meant
No witness, nor arguments
No lawyer for or against the accused
No mention of sections or provisions
Of any law or regulation
And the judge is ever ready for judging
And comes out to declare that
This is good and that is bad
Which law school he is from
In which law he is a specialist
I know not a thing,
But he is always judging
And makes me act on his judgments
Normally we address
“The learned judge”
I know how “learned”
The person judging
Sitting down under deep inside me
Most of his judgments and
Subsequent acts of mine
Made me regret
And put others in discomfort
I have a request to
My inside judge
“Oh, Noble but lowly learned judge
How nice will it be
If you stop judging'
I will be in comfort and
Others in peace
Bashyam Narayanan
120
I will be there
I will be there
When no one is there for us
And you think no one cares
When the whole world walks out of you
And you think you are alone
I will be there
When the one you care about the most
Could care less about you
When the one you gave your heart to
Throws it in your face
I will be there
When the person you trusted
Betrays you
When the person you share all your memories with
Cannot even remember your birthday
I will be there
When all you need is a friend
To listen to you whine
When all your need is someone
To catch your tears
I will be there
When your heart hurts so bad
You cannot even breathe
When you just want to crawl up and die
I will be there
When you start to cry
After hearing that sad song
When the fears just will not
Stop falling down
I will be there
So you see I will be there until the end
This is the promise I can make
If you ever need me
Just give me call and
I will be there
That is to all the friends
That I have
And all the friends that I have lost
And to all the friends that I have lost touch with
Just to let you know that
I will be there
Bashyam Narayanan
121
I will love myself first
I am a flower
With a set of eight long petals
Shaped a bit long oval
Coloured sky-blue at the bottom
Turning bright-yellow at the top
And with long pollen sticks
White-headed peeping well out
I am an attraction to
Butterflies which keep probing
Me for the sweet nectar
I too attract insects
Very small in size
And which enjoy sliding into me
Along the slope of my petal
I hold for you a mild scent
That resembles the smell of jasmine
But because of the high ethanol content
In my fragrance
I smell with a fruitish tinge
While jasmine has a season to blossom
I am in blossom all through
Either it is winter, summer or raining
Lovers prefer me to rose
As I am big by look and thorn-less
Some devotees come to my bush
Every day and pluck me
And offer to Krishna
The God of the town
I appear much less in numbers
Compared to jasmine
But keep many garden corners
Smelling sweet with my
Special fragrance
I thought I am fine
And everyone else is also
Fine with me
Till that evening
Someone telling his lover
Not to pluck me
As he does not like the way I look
Next day morning
A mother was instructing
Her three year old son
122
Not to go near me
As my smell is allergic to him
It took just a day
For me to realize
There are so many others
Who have reasons for disliking me
Any way I cannot do anything
To change my looks
Or to change my scent
So determined was i
I will keep my colour
Looks and fragrance in tact
Whether people like it or otherwise
I will keep my glow
Whether insects get attracted or not
I am a creation of nature
I will enjoy being what I am
With all that nature has gifted me
And I will love myself first
Without bothering much
To know whether
Any one else loves me or not
Bashyam Narayanan
123
It is fine, let us learn from swine
It is fine
Let us learn from swine
The flu that has inflicted millions nine
And made them confine
Suffering in pain
With a totally new fatal design
Defying all understanding developed to define
An infection and its ways malign
And with the ability to make medicines resign
Forcing us to redesign
Our medical approach and tune-fine
It is fine
Let us learn from swine
What we have not learnt from the virus
That made our immune system porous
And created a situation disastrous
More than three decades of research rigorous
With no solution really vigorous
To put an end to that problem stupendous
It is fine
Let us learn from swine
What we failed to learn
From tsunami that raised concern
And killed millions to earn
A notorious name all over, but we failed to discern
The cause of this killer govern
Tsunami was only a word to learn
From a dictionary till then, but when we saw its thorn
We came to know how far we were torn
It is fine
Let us learn from swine
That all the above only showcase
The greedy ways
Of the human race
In the name of developmental phase
With no regard for nature’s grace
To see that every one has
What all his needs surface
It is fine
Let us learn from swine
Bashyam Narayanan
124
It is not going to be easy any more
It is not going to be easy any more
Is what we all cry
And it was also the cry of our parents
Look back
It was only your perception that
It is not going to be easy any more
It all happens as designed by nature
All that happen, we should know
Have a reason behind
Many a time we wonder
Why this happened
We wonder because
We are ignorant
You become enlightened
Once you stop wondering
And just get to know the
Reasons behind a happening
So that similar happenings
Can be prevented, if unpleasant
But, be sure that each happening
Has a reason,
And you cannot have an excuse
For not realizing this
It has happened because
That was the way it has to happen
Accept the happening
Then, act appropriately
Never turn emotional
Emotions retard logical thinking
Emotions lead to non-fetching actions
Stay free, act and smoothly sail over happenings
And you will stop telling
It is not going to be easy any more
Bashyam Narayanan
125
It is still a long wait in the dark
It was a long wait in the dark
After I got conceived and shaped
In my mother's watery womb
I was not able to breathe, talk, walk or eat
I did not hear anything
I did not see anything
I did not know a thing
Was in toal darkness
Wondering as to when there will be light
It was a long wait in the dark
Came out
Grew, started walking, talking
Seeing, listening and understanding
I did many a thing
And the taste of so-called successes
Maddened me and blinded me
Making me ignorant
Of the true awareness
And it turned out to be dark again
Not being to able to make out
The real from the virtual
When am I going to be out of this wild darkness
It is still a long wait in the dark
Bashyam Narayanan
126
It was a less mourned death
A person of strong
Likes and dislikes
Expressed his feelings
Irrespective of their
Being palatable or not
Earned mostly bad names
Because of his ventilation
Of what he feels
Most of us camouflage
Our real feelings and
Come out with only sweet and
Untrue expressions
He was a person who demonstrated
True love and in that
His advices were bitter a times
But always held a load of
Pure love and affection
Even those people,
Who have nothing but
Complaints against him
Enjoyed his voluntary services
And which he rendered without
Any expectation but only
To demonstrate his love for them
How many of us are going
To remember him for his
Great qualities
The same outbursts of
His unmasked opinion
Did not take him far
And did not allow him
To have a life most of us
Normally enjoy
Till last minute he lived
His life his own way
May be true, he did not
Do sacrifices to maintain
Relations because he might have
Thought his love is sufficient
Enough to do that and he did not
Believe in convincing people
That he is right
And the day he breathed his last
His soul departed alone and unsung
127
I am sure his soul will always be around
Those, whom he dearly loved
But my heart knows
It was a less mourned death
Bashyam Narayanan
128
It was not yet another day, today
It was not yet another day, today,
As I happened to meet you in the bus
The gleeful you personify enthusiasm
And care-freeness
This day, I will remember, till the time
I have hold over my consciousness
It was not yet another day, today,
As I had a look into your eyes
The penetrating eyes of yours are
Powerful, conveying at each wink a message
Which this lowly wit soul cannot decipher
How gently they wink, the upper eye lid
With its shining lashes, not hurting the lower one
It was not yet another day, today,
As I heard you talking
The most melodious voice of yours
Was so sweet, as if your vocal chords spray
Honey as air passes through them
The whole world would have realized
The purpose of hearing, as you spoke
My heaven was waiting to descend
Holding on for you to address me,
Which of course, you did not do
It was not yet another day, today,
As I smelt your fragrance
The soothing smell of yours
Had triggered my olfactory cells
And maddened them so
They failed to record the aroma of jasmine
It was not sandal, lavender, rose
But what it was, was my whole day wonder
It was not yet another day, today,
As you chose to sit by my side
The exuberating vicinity of yours
Electrifying and benumbing my nerves
I lost all my senses and got immersed
Into a feeling ecstasy and how I wished
Let the whole day pass like this
It was not yet another day, today,
As I got totally intoxicated by your
Impressive presence
I overshot my stop by three ahead
Was fined five hundred bugs by a ticket checker.
Yes, indeed, it was not yet another day, today.
Bashyam Narayanan
129
Jai Ho, Jai Ho, Jai Ho, Jai Ho - Be Victorious
Jai Ho, Jai Ho, Jai Ho, Jai Ho
Be thou victorious, be thou victorious
Be thou victorious, be thou victorious
Come on in and join us under this big
Well decorated and tastefully coloured shelter
Come on in and join us under the
Glittering blue sky and celebrate thy victory
Be thou victorious, be thou victorious
Despite the fact that thou know
As each day passes thou art nearing thy death
Be thou victorious
Be thou victorious and dance on
The ever burning earthly turmoil
As the flames of black coal
Dance with the waving wind
Be thou victorious, be thou victorious
Blow away thy sleep
From thy ever bright eyes
And in thy demonstration
Show to the world
That thou art victorious
Be thou victorious, be thou victorious
Extend thy tender fingers to reach out
The shining stars on the sky
Brushing aside the dogma around them
Be thou victorious
Be thou victorious, be thou victorious
Overcoming all the obstacles
Bottlenecks between thou and the victory
Let thou be crowned with victory always
Be thou victorious
Be thou victorious, be thou victorious
Despite thy knowing thy weaknesses
But thou know how to harness thy strengths
And emerge victorious
In all challenging situations
Be thou victorious
Be thou victorious, be thou victorious
Be thou victorious, be thou victorious
Come on in and join us under this big
Well decorated and tastefully coloured shelter
Come on in and join us under the
Glittering blue sky and celebrate thy victory
Jai Ho, Jai Ho, Jai Ho, Jai Ho
Bashyam Narayanan
130
Joy greets you at doorstep, Sorrow awaits you in drawing room
Half moon in the mid of cloudless sky
Chillness in air despite nearing summer
Things looked bright even with not-functional street lights
I was enjoying a merry running to the street corner shop
To fetch betel leaf and nuts for my mother and aunt
Both resting at home after an eventful festive evening
And a grand reasonably early dinner
I was happy because at home there was peace
And all kids, including my cousins, having a great time
I felt lucky for having been chosen to perform
This service
I was proud as the women folk at home said
That I would get the best betel leaves
Tender and juicy, as I know how to pick up
These made me rush from home
And ended up in a joyful double up run
Everything was fine
Some elderly was asking me, whom I did not answer
“Why running, my boy”
That was the mind set with which
I kept running
I had to stop suddenly because
A thinly built but taller than me boy
Also running opposite jumped in front of me
Before I could understand and say something
The boy slapped on my left cheek
Did not say a thing
Moved towards my right and
Continued running
It took sometime for me synthesize the happening
I stood there for seconds
Looked back to see the running hitter
As I am not knowing even now
The reason for his slapping
Was it because I came on his way
I quietly walked; I dropped the idea of running,
Fearing another slap
Bought the leaves and nuts
With no words uttered and in a
Very thoughtful mood
Returned home with no cheers
But a saw in my family the same joy, they had when I left
131
Who was that boy
Why did he slap me
Joy does not last long sorrow comes immediately after that
Was the lesson I learnt
And this lesson proved to be right
As the very next week my mother breathed her last
Bashyam Narayanan
132
Keep looking for loose ends; Keep alive and kicking
Keep looking for loose ends, Keep alive and kicking
The very essence of survival among
All living systems lies in the
Locating of loose ends and fixing them adequately
Making of another million
May be one’s loose end while
Winning the next meal
May be that of some one else
Growth of his industrial empire
May be the loose end of an entrepreneur, while
Moving on to the next stage in the spiritual path
May be that of someone different
Getting a loan for building own accommodation
May be some other’s loose end while
Paying back the availed loan
May be the loose end of a third other person
Keeping in tact his political position and
Getting a suitable placemen
May be other loose ends, which are common
Building a new nest may be a bird’s loose end while
Snatching the next prey may be a tiger’s loose end
Thus all are after loose ends
The fact is that locating a loose end is not really the end
As loose ends by themselves are no issues
Loose ends get entangled and invite
New and unknown complications
Some know their loose ends
They seemingly do not think or act on these
May be they are confident of meeting the resultant
Complications effectively and adequately
Some are lost in worrying over the complications
And they find no time to fix loose ends
Loose ends remain loose anytime to blow up
With unexpected implications
It is indeed, the desire that fix loose ends
This desire leads these people as how to fix them
They act on the knowledge and secure loose ends
Loose ends are really fixed by
Emotion-free and knowledge-based actions
So,
Keep discovering loose ends
Develop a desire to fix them.
133
Know how to go about and
Importantly and finally act
Keep alive and kicking
Bashyam Narayanan
134
Keep the chain of human race unbroken
Made in heaven
Are marriages
Is an adage
But this phrasing is slowly assuming
The status of just a saying
A woman and a man
Are declared wife and husband
To stay together and united
So that an institution called family is
Established, maintained and sustained
With the great responsibility of
Begetting children and helping them grow
Into worthy human beings
The prime motive is to
Ensure continuation of the
Genetic order Homo sapiens
Togetherness and union among the couple
Are directly proportional to the
Emotional, social and economical interdependence
Both of them feel and display
Initial display of mutual interdependence
Immediately after marriage
Is enormous, as it is natural love and affection
And sustaining this is necessitated by arrival of kids
With the advent of civilized living
Social contacts and economic dependence
Demonstration of mutual interdependence
Wanes and as of now it is less uncommon
To see couples fall part
As the sacred heaven-designed relation is strained
There is a need for the couples to
Get committed to relations
As it is the only way for
Keeping the chain of human race unbroken
Bashyam Narayanan
135
Keep your windows open and get connected to the world
My job is to let in sunlight
And to keep inside ventilated
In the process dusts airborne
As vehicles move find their way in
And settle on things kept inside
I am on a mud wall and
And overlooking the paddy field
Across the untopped road by the side
Women and men at home
Peep through me if they hear
Something odd from the road
I am a silent spectator to all that
Happen inside or outside this
Small well kept mud floored hut
At times I breathe air laden with
The fragrance of the paddy field in blossom
And the aroma of garlic
Fried in a corner of the hut
I overhear often the romantic whispers
Of the husband and wife inside
I am also used to the cries of the
Children and their quarrel
I see village folks carrying plough rods
And driving the pair of oxen
I hear the shrill call of a woman
Selling fish and vegetables
In the early morning hours
A number of times I get frightened
By the yells of the differently dressed
Village soothsayer and I pray within
Let him not have to predict something
Unwanted to the people of my hut
Rain water finds its way into the hut
Through me and I feel bad if someone
Shuts my doors hurriedly and with force
I may give an impression I am insensitive
But I only know I rejoice within when
People around are comfortable
And I cry within when they are in distress
I long for many good things to happen
To the family that my hut houses
I wish the children grow well
With enough skills and knowledge
Not only to take care of themselves
But also the community
Let them not stay innocent and starving
136
As their parents do
Let them be enlightened and evolved
With enough maturity to understand
People nearby and their ways of thinking
Let them have enough riches
And a mind to share the same with others
Let them grow considerate
And have commitment to uplift
Themselves and their kin
I am none other than the window
Of a village hut
People open me,
Get a fresh flow of cool breeze
And exclaim
“Oh, what a wind” and that is why
I am known as Window
Let the world understand
I am connecting this hut to the universe
I am an ambassador of this family
I am a well wisher to them
And to all for that matter
Keep your windows open
And get connected to the world
Bashyam Narayanan
137
Last of the thousand kisses
Every thing has a beginning
And every thing that began has an end
Good or bad
Pallatable or otherwise
Joyful or saddening
Things have an end as they had a beginning
Though, most of the times, we know as to
When things began
We do not really know as to
When they are going to end
There is a need for us to be
Prepared for the nemesis
Whether such an end is
Acceptable to us or not
We really do not know
Whether it is the last of the thousand good things we have done
Whether it is the last of the millions of breathes we have taken
Whether it is the last of the billions of beats our heart has performed
Whether it is the last of the thousands of suppers we had
Whether it is the last of the thousands of the tear droplets we shed
Whether it is the last of the thousands of hearty laughters we had
Whether it is the last of the thousands of affectionate hugs we made
Or
Whether it is the last of the thousands joyful intimacies
We had with our life partner
So
Let us enjoy every bit of every thing we do
Let us be involved
Let us be immersed
Let us be lost
Let us be perfect
Let us be self-satisfied
Let us be exciting the beneficiary of our deed
With whatever we do
As if it is the
Last of the thousand kisses
Bashyam Narayanan
138
Leave a mark by your special ways of playing your role
You are hired
Only to be fired
Or to be retired
As desired
By the person
who hired
This fact need to be dared
When you are up flared
And for hiring declared
By the person who chaired
The selecting group un-deferred
You know your worth
And you should know your work
You know what you should be doing
More vitally, what you should not be doing
Jobs, whose skill requirements
Are below your skill level
And those whose skill requirements
Are far above your level
Cannot be performed by you
At the same time
Do your work diligently
With a passion for it
Tasks performed without love for them
Turn into toiling
With no satisfaction
Either to self or the beneficiary
We are not born
To work or toil hard
But are born to enjoy working
With a never dying enthusiasm
Enthusiasm aided with innovation
Makes the work
More enjoyable
Monetary returns
And other work-related benefits
Cannot be charming always
But, what keeps you going
Is the self-satisfaction,
Your unique contribution
And your specific touch
Be ready to accept the fact
You are not indispensable
139
Someone will replace you
To play your role
But, leave a mark
By your special ways of
Playing that role
Bashyam Narayanan
140
Let each of us light a candle against terror
Let each of us light a candle
On the evening of 26 November
Against terror
That burnt Mumbai
The same day last year
And had been a threat to
The very human race
For decades now
While earlier terror attacks
Were just strikes
The 26th November Mumbai episode
Was indeed a war and battle
War of fanaticism on innocence
War of rage on democratic thinking
War of so called faith on peace
Will lighting a candle
Wipe off the terror
Equipped with bullets, rockets and grenades
Yes, it will
As your lighting a candle
Is going to bring destructive mind blocks
To the glowing brilliance
Of wisdom
And make such terror drawn minds
Realize that the
Ultimate winner is
Human love and kindness
Your lighting a candle
Sends a message to terror
That it is an error
On their part to think
That terror will only rule the world
But the fact is
What rules and unites the world
Why the world only, the entire universe is
Human love and kindness
Let the number of candles lit
Be as many as
The number of people living on this earth
And elsewhere in other planets
Let that number outnumber
The total number of fatal weapons
Held by our terrorist friends
(I do not want them to be branded as foes)
And any others in the world
141
Let your lighting
Unite not only the peace loving people
But also bring into our loving fold
The terrorists with a changed mindset
Longing for peaceful co-existence
Of the entire human race
Bashyam Narayanan
142
Let me realize I really love you
I really do not know
Whether I love you
You did many things for me
For so many years now
And are still keen to do
I really do not know
Whether I love you
You came in my life
As my loving wife
But how soon you turned
Out to be my mother
Caring me as a
Mother to a child
I really do not know
Whether I love you
You carved your tastes
To suit mine
While my tastes
Remained in tact
You dressed to please me
You sported smiles
To declare your comfort
Even at my rash approaches
I really do not know
Whether I love you
You enjoyed my joys
You shared my cries
You bore my kids
And helped them shape
And glow with justful thoughts
You sacrificed a lot
In holding us together
In well-knit and well-meant bond
I really do not know
Whether I love you
Let me mend my ways
Let me train my thoughts
Let me discipline myself
And let me realize
I really love you
Bashyam Narayanan
143
Let my God be not there
The God in me
Was planted by
My parents and caretakers
And I have grown with
Certain believes and faiths
Which have struck
Deep roots in me
It is difficult and
Just impossible for me
To disown these
Faiths and philosophies
And probably in me
There is a potential
For growth of a
Destructive power
Similar to what
The world had been
Witnessing for years
And has witnessed very recently
In India
Taking away lives of
Innocent people
Sparing no one
Who came across
And showed signs of
Resistance
Oh, my God
Contain me
From becoming
Such a demon
And smoothen me
To accommodate others
With different ways of thinking
Build in me tolerance
Put me in the path of non-violence
In thoughts, words and deeds
If you are not ensuring
This at once
I may have to do away
With you as well
And declare to the world
“Let my God be not there”
Bashyam Narayanan
144
Let us celebrate
Celebration means rejoicing
An achievement
An advancement
A successful accomplishment
A commemoration
In all these
There were efforts
Struggles against odds and
Challenges
Greater the effort
Tougher the struggle
Grander the celebration
Examine the celebrations
We launch normally
We celebrate birthdays
Wedding days
Marriages
An elevation in social or professional status
An acquisition of property
Nationally or politically important events
A range of festivals depending on the faiths we tag on
How many of them
Deserve being celebrated
You will come to know
Some of them, if not many
Need no celebration
As there were no efforts of ours
And there were no struggles
Then why do we celebrate
We celebrate because
Others do so or
We can afford to do so
Time has come
Where there is a limitation on resources
Resources here mean
Those we are endowed by nature
Not those that are man made
And available at a price
Many celebrations denude nature
Of its priceless resources
And we consume these non-renewable and
Non-replenishable resources
Just to show we can do that
And in the name of celebrations
Which do not really mark any
145
Achievement or accomplishment
Following our effort or struggle
Let us celebrate
But let us restrict the number of celebrations
So that the future generations too
Will have something to celebrate
Bashyam Narayanan
146
Let's demonstrate we are civilized in the real sense
The tilling of land
The finding of the use of fire
The discovery of wheel
The advent of metal usage
Marked the way for
Civilization
And we have been
Civilizing ourselves
Since then
Our ways of living improved
Generations after generations
Our comfort level kept increasing
We are at such a peak
That a peak further ahead
Looks impossible
But we are yet to be
Civilized in the real sense
As we have no regard
For the resources we use up
And consume so much
That many of us run short
And we have no clue as to
Whether our future generations
Will have at least a taste of
What all we have consumed
And we say we are developing
Each second
We are termed more and more developed
The more we devour the resources
Minding not whether something left
For others, leave alone for generations ahead
God said
Be fruitful, multiply and replenish the earth
He, probably, meant
Stay in comfort
Generate fruits, grains, vegetables and other edibles
Eat well
Ensure the continuity of the human race
By multiplying in number
And make sure
To replenish the earth
For its continued and uninterrupted support
We are fruitful
We grow grains
Develop farms
We are multiplying ourselves
Some of us in dangerous proportions
But
Are we replenishing the earth
No way
147
We are not sending back anything to the earth
With which she can support living blocks
What we send back to the earth
All rubbish
And some of them
Even remain a challenge
For the earth to digest and assimilate
Some of them are threatening
Life support systems
Which, the earth developed
Over millions of years
Let us examine the way we live
Let us check the wastes we generate
Let us demonstrate
We are civilized in the real sense
With a farsightedness that will
Help future generations
Enjoy living the same way we do.
If not better
Bashyam Narayanan
148
Life a school, learning the living
Life, a school
With no class rooms
With no black boards
With no one standing before you and teaching
With no tests
With no exams
With no marks, ranks and promotions
With no books
Life, a school
And you are in the same standard or class life through
Who is teaching, but
Everyone you come across and
Everything nearby
From just born to the one waiting to depart
The leaf dancing to the tunes of the wind
The car that is speeding by your side
The plane flying up in the sky
The water flowing gently in the stream
The stars twinkling in the dark sky
The colourful horizon at the other end
The mist, cloud, smoke and emission
The small ant busy carrying a much-bigger-to-its-size dry leaf
The butterfly jumping from flower to flower
All have potentials to teach,
If you have the desire to learn
What do they teach
To remain happy ever
To help others improve their status of happiness
To keep yourself balanced in all situations
To go ahead with your work emotion free
To stay healthy and be kicking
To be special of your own
To be social and sociable
To lead and to be an active part in team
Not to lose time in dreams and wasteful thinking
Not to be lazy and lost
Not to feel unwanted
And quite a number of other things for lively living
And to apply what all you learnt
And just not remeber and pour it out for scoring marks
Who assesses performance?
You and you only
As you only know what was taught
And you only know what was learnt
The more you apply what you learnt
The better is your performance
Know your performace from
How long you stay cool
How many derive benefits of your existence
149
How many call on you
And how many you call on
How do others respond to your requests
How you respond to their requests
How innovative and creative you remain
How many times you laugh in a day
Assess yourself, if not satisfactory,
Apply more and more of what is learnt
At the same learn more and more
What is the syllabus
It is for you decide
As you are the examiner
You are the taught
You are the student
You are the evaluator
You are the Vice Chancellor of your Life University
Set the syllabus yourself
Check then and there how far you are covering
Fail not to apply, whatever is learnt
What happens if you fail
You will remain where you are, not an inch ahead you can move
You become stagnated and start stinking
No one will be there near
No one play with you, laugh or cry with you
You will not be special, but a specimen
You will have life, but really, are dead
People say
Learn to Live
Let us change that a bit
Live to learn
As life is a school
and learning is living
Bashyam Narayanan
150
Life just 10% of what happens and 90% of how you react
Life 10% what happens and 90% your reaction on the happenings
We are free to choose
Our response in any given situation
But we are not free to
Choose the consequences of those actions
Our actions,
Those governed by right principles
Bring positive results
Dishonesty in dealing can
Bring social consequences,
Depending on whether or not
We are found out
And
Also are our natural consequences
Fix result of our actions,
Which Indian Philosophy puts as Karma
That means our choice of response, in a way,
Is our choice of consequences
The important and decisive factor in life
Is not what happens to us
But, the way
We take towards what happens
Bashyam Narayanan
151
Live your life and let others do theirs
For you to
Conform to what is said in the title
You need to understand
The following
Though you own a house
You are not that house
Though you own a car
You are not that car
Thus, though you own your body
You are not that body
You are not that anything
Which has a relation with your body
So, you are not a father or mother
You are not a son or daughter
You are not a brother or sister
You are not a man or woman
You are not a professional or otherwise
You are just a soul
Occupying a body and controlling it
The second important understanding is
That you are not doing anything
Your eyes have seen, you have not
Your ears have heard, you have not
Your intelligence has understood, you have not
Since you are not your eyes, ears or intelligence
Or anything that a relation with your sense organs
You have not done anything
Anything done by your body
Of which you are the soul
Is nothing but the response
Of your sense organs
To the their respective stimuli
Third understanding you need to have is
That the soul in your body is
A part of a super soul
Whom, you may call as God
And He is aware of and witnessing
Everything happening around you
And elsewhere
What you need to do
With this understanding
Direct your body
To selflessly and non-emotionally perform
Those duties
Which have been assigned
Naturally and
Which have been assigned
152
Based on the skills
Acquired by your body
With common good in mind
And with no attachment to the results therein
Guarding against
The possible arrogance
Of having performed
And seek for guidance
From the super soul
For sustenance of the
Above knowledge and performance
While dedicating everything
Done by your body
As an offering to the super soul
Keep you ever attached
To the super soul
By directing your thoughts, words and deeds
Towards Him
Sustain these
And
You live your life and
Let others do theirs
(An attempted retelling of Bhagavad Gita with an appealing twist)
Bashyam Narayanan
153
Look at me please, I am just above you
Look at me please
I am just above you
Overlooking the
Movement of each of you
But no one finds time
To look at me
And appreciate
The great services
I am rendering
Look at me please
I am just above you
On a branch that has
Taken a sun-light driven bent
And magnanimously
Arching over the busy road
Where all types of vehicles rush
Day in and day out
Look at me please
I am just above you
And am busy always
And busier when sun light
Falls on me, as I have to
Do a lot of processing
Within me and help my holder
Grow, blossom and fructify
For your use and later
For establishment of
My holder’s replicas
Look at me please
I am just above you
Capturing your carbon dioxide
Emissions and converting them
To energy molecules
But, you see, we are engulfed
Nowadays with so much of that gas
And finding it difficult to make use
Of everything you emit
Factually, we are suffocating
With the same gas, which used
To be our food delight
Look at me please
I am just above you
And I am none other than
The broad leaf attached
To the teak tree planted
Long back within your
Office boundary wall
Got established and standing tall
154
Despite being not well taken care
Thriving just on the little water
And the soil nutrients
Sapped by the root system
Look at me please
I am just above you
Working for you
Breathing out
Your much required
Life supporting gas
We, the nature’s creations
Do not do anything in excess
We aspire only for
Decent and sustained living
We act matching
Just the demand of that time
Look at me please
I am just above you
Please do not do anything
That can create
A non-manageable situation
And that will end up
In elimination of
All living beings, including you
Check your energy-intensive habits
That is the only way
For your sustained stay
Bashyam Narayanan
155
Love others and take them along in your great ship – Friendship
It was a blossom in my life otherwise a desert
To have a friend and to open up my heart
To exchange what I feel and to assert
In me a confidence that there is someone to support
My friendship is not only to exchange joy
Also it share moments that have potential to destroy
My mansion of pleasures and smooth convoy
That I came over them, efforts I did not deploy
My friendship is a flower of all season
It shows up colours, emits fragrance for no reason
It is all understanding and sharing in person
An effortless display of love beyond horizon
My friendship requires no exchange
Of greetings, cards or flowers in orange
It tells me what my friend feels even in strange
No words spoken and everything is known in all its range
My friendship is god given honour
It is a strength on which I can corner
All successes and go beyond the banner
At the same time I remain ever a happy runner
My friendship is to me so special
That I protect it, as I do my essential
It is a bond made of thought potential
Will stay lifetime with great credential
Come on, we need to understand friendship
It is a relation generated mainly on courtship
It is a thought-driven process built on partnership
So, love others and take them along in your great ship
Bashyam Narayanan
156
Make each day Valentine's Day and create a heaven of earth
We all know
That we are here
On this earth
Because of love
And we are sustaining
Because of love
Generations ahead
Depend on the love
We are going to demonstrate
We have been advancing
Our ways of living
And enhancing our levels of comforts
In the process we lost sight
Of the above fact
And we need a day’s celebration
To keep us reminded
Of the above universal truth
It looks
We started believing that
Life is driven by the fuel of
Money, power and fame
And no longer
Life is to be lived and enjoyed
With the nectar of love and affection
And it is enough we live a day each year
Demonstrating our love to others
On this Valentine ’s Day
Let us make
Each day Valentine’s Day
Express and demonstrate
Love for all people around
And for all living things around
And create a heaven of earth
Bashyam Narayanan
157
Marry a person worth being your height
On our 23rd wedding anniversary
8400 days of pleasant togetherness
1200 weeks of shared dreams
276 months of intimate pleasantries
23 years of happy living are
What all I am blessed with
After my being made one with you
How come you did not change a bit at all
While I feel I am changing at each minute’s fall
How readily you accepted me and mine
In spite of our accommodating you was not that fine
How wonderfully you blossomed and spread fragrance
Despite my worthlessness and thoughtless arrogance
You may not know the great feelings I went
Through, whenever you were beside with your own sweet scent
Love for you is a spring and like a well
It is always full and in fact, tends to swell
As time passes I apprehend it will be a hell
Without you nearby with lot many things to tell
I know my philosophical ways and spiritual moods
But never came to know in full your thoughtful routes
To ways of living and winning friends striking roots
Deep in their hearts thus performing feats of loots
I lost my mother long long back, keeping the gnawing
Alive for a motherly care and love, and my belonging
To you quenched once and for all this painful longing
As you demonstrated an affection ever growing
You bore my children and the pains thereof
For which I do not have words to pour off
To thank you adequately and to share of
Your struggles to see that things are well off
Come what may, go what may, with you by my side
I can stand and come over any great slide
I only wish in your next immediate birth, decide
And marry a person worth being your height
Bashyam Narayanan
158
Me, the Poet? and She?
Me the Poet? and she?
Any time I am to handle her
It is a pleasure to both
She accommodates me so well
And accepts all my maneuvers
With silence and giving me
Signs of her enjoying
Each move and touch of mine
It is always a new experience
When I approach her
For negotiating her
As each time her curves and shades change
Apparently exciting me
The product of our association
Is also a pleasure to us
And to others as well
As the outputs always have
Something new to convey
And something new to show up
They display more the
Reflections of me while
They invariably inherit her beauty
The conception of the product is
Instantaneous and it is triggered
Mostly by the environment we are in
While I have words to express
My longing for her
She never once uttered a word
On the love she has for me
But she herself is an expression
More than her love
It is her blessing I am able to
Maintain my relations with her
She at times chooses to stay
Off me when I am drowned in
Thoughts not congenial for our getting close
Her inviting beauty
Her flexibility to suit my moods
Her tolerance to my non-sense
Her exciting curves
Her awesome shades and
Her intoxicating scent
Made me lost to her
Whenever I am in her vicinity
And I am a lifetime prisoner
159
To this marvelous creation
Hold on friends
Stop your imagination
Written in love for
The language I use while scripting
Me, the poet and
She, the English
Bashyam Narayanan
160
Memorable Cries of Mine
We cry
When we are in pain
Pain can be physiological
Pain can be psychological
As the intensity of
Physiological pain abates
It is likely
The cry associated with it
Dies down
At a rate similar to the
Rate of abatement of pain
As we mature
We develop the tact of
Bearing a pain
Practically not crying over it
Psychological hurt
Stays long
As an emotional scar
And has the power to
Make you cry
And shed tears
Even after a long pause
As kids and in the total care of parents
We would have cried
To attract attention
And get things done
In our favour and the way we want
As we start understanding the realities
Of a practical world
We stop crying
But grumble within
A tearful cry is
An emotional outburst
Of a pain or a stir within
Most often
Cries get dry
As we plan ourselves
To act
To heal the hurt or pain
With a high level of maturity
We hardly see ourselves crying
Two cries of mine
Will stay ever in my memory
One, when I was in the total care of my parents
This cry is special to me
As I had no reason to cry
My mom, serving us food,
In that late evening,
161
Was in a mood to sing
Definitely, she should have sung
So well bringing out excellently the modulations
Associated with that tune or raga
Probably I was listening to her so intently
That my emotions got stirred deeply
And I started crying
Tears rolling down
My mom was able to read my mind
Continued singing
Despite one listener’s sobbing
Would have probably thought
The song would soothe me
It did something in me
Was it a feeling of helplessness
Was it ecstasy of being to able enjoy a unique emotion
I was not sure what made my cry
It was a long cry
And lasted
Even after she finished the song
The second cry occurred
When I was in a foreign soil
The task before me and my wife
Was to take away our grandson
From his parents
And keep him with us
Till the time they return to our land
This was a long drawn process
As we prepared ourselves very carefully
To the new responsibility of
Rearing the just two year old
Matching his temperament and unique needs
The day of departure came
All, except the kid
Were in a frame of mind
That allowed us not to exchange the usual pleasantries
As the time to depart approaching
I suddenly realized
That I would not be in a position to
Stand the pain of the kid
Who is getting separated from his parents
The emotional outburst came out
As I saw myself crying
Tears swelling, running down, wetting the T-shirt
My wife, daughter and son-in-law made attempts
To console me
But nothing helped
It took sometime for me to get over the pain
And to be confident
Of accepting the pain
162
This does not mean
I had no occasions earlier or in between to cry
I would have cried as many times as
Others of my age would have
But these two occasions were special to me
As in the first one
I had no definite reason for crying
And in the second
I felt so helpless that I would not be able to help even a kid
Bashyam Narayanan
163
Mosquito-bite free Goodnight - from a mosquito
I am a mosquito thriving in a tropical country
We, mosquitoes, feel highly disturbed
By the crusade against us
Attempts are always on to eradicate us
The reason quoted is that
We propagate diseases
You say we spread malaria, encephalitis
And so many others including the disabling polio
You learned people know that
We have not created any of them
But it so happens when we suck blood from any of you
The disease causing pathogen comes along with the blood
And it is passed on to another person, if we go for his or her blood
You will admit we are not really the culprit
But the person who has already hosted the disease causing agent
Blame him or her, not us
You have not protected your own people from an infection
But conveniently pass the blame on innocent and silent blood suckers
A lot of research is going on in
Arriving at the most effective repellent against us
And in most of the tropical countries
Night through your own people are inhaling
The repellent laden air
We wonder in this process your own folks will end up
With new health disorders with the ingestion of
These newly discovered repellent chemicals
And you will not hesitate to blame us
For this mishap created by your own researchers
Keep it only with you that
We are also developing resistance to most of these repellents
And soon none of them will work against us
Leaving you all to sleep in fools’ paradise
Instead of chasing us
Chase out the disease-causing agent
And if still not possible
Protect yourself against being stung by us
With rightly designed physical barriers
Never go for chemical means to drive us out
Not only you will fail, you may end up with new disorders
Mosquito=bite free good night
Bashyam Narayanan
164
My dear alcohol
My dear alcohol
How nice are you to us
Your ingestion takes us to heaven
We float with confidence
We feel we have solutions for
All problems
Your circulation within
Makes us understand
The purpose of our living
What magic you perform
Within us is a still wonder to me
Medical science says a
A number of things
You can do to us
While you are present
In our blood stream
I do not understand a word of it
But, yes, I experience
Such a good person like you
Cannot harm us
But, not less frequently
I hear a number of
Uncomforting things
About you
You are quoted often
A reason for a number
Of road accidents
You, I, understand
Affect the human liver
You, probably, do not know
How important this organ
Is for human beings
My knowledge, though, limited
Says that the liver has a major role
In digestion of food
They say you enlarge liver
And you have the potential
To cause liver cancer
Which can be fatal
The one great strength of yours
Is that you make a person addicted to you
And make the person dependent on you
You do this especially to
Our poor fellow folks, who
Do not earn enough to feed
Your hunger when you are inside
Most often they are the
Ones, who become the
Most blessed of your grace
165
And bear the brunt of having consumed you
In good faith
Our efforts to
Prohibit or restrict
Your human consumption
Failed miserably
And the painful episodes
Associated with you
Still continue unabatedly
Take it from me,
We do not find fault with you
And your nature
It will be unwise on my part
To request you
To develop a distaste in us for you
On your first consumption
Though I can request you this
Can you change a bit yourself
Intoxicate your consumers
In their first drink itself
So much that they cannot
Even lift the glass a second time
Bashyam Narayanan
166
My sweet little kid says
My sweet little kid says
He is employed and it pays
Well, ahead are great days
Cautiously glad, in private I amaze
Sweet little kid, my child
Spot reactive, at times wild
Suppressed feelings, being mild
Are the ways for relations to build
Had he picked up all these
Which alone will put him at ease
I do not know, this troubles my peace
And I pray he grabs this gainful cheese
This is a world of competition
Success should come in repetition
Then only you are for recognition
And are in the way of elevation
Stay away from unhealthy habits
Nurse not ill feelings even in bits
In your race these are falling pits
Steadily forward even if through slits
Shy not challenges in your way
Success through them make you happy and gay
Ever remain alert night or day
Ensure great service as it does pay
Love and respect people all around
Irrespective of from where they ground
As only in human bond you are bound
And the main in you is always found
Bashyam Narayanan
167
No destination is too far, provided....
No destination is too far
Provided
You keep moving towards it
Regardless of your speed
It was a vow
To walk 370 long kilometers
Linking two pilgrimage towns
In South India
Srirangam and Tirumala
Left Srirangam one evening
Raining, still walked
Taking rest during nights
Walking the entire day time
Night halts anywhere
It was either a temple,
School building, Government office
Lodge, roof top of a hotel
Or even a cattle shed
Uncertain food intakes
Drinking water shortages
Suffered injuries
Cramps, biting footwear
But one thing was ever on-going
That was walking
Reached the destination
On the 10th day night
Looking back it was
Highly satisfying
Undertook similar walks
But of smaller distances
110 kilometres and later
155 kilometres
One simple lesson
No destination is too far
Provided
You keep moving towards it
Regardless of your speed
Bashyam Narayanan
168
Not a doomsday but a boons-day
Mayan Prophecy – The doomsday
I do not know
How many of you watched
And came across
Programs and
TV clippings on the above
Mayan prophecy
Indicates that
21st (some say 23rd) December 2012
Will be the day
For the beginning of a new era
And it means
The present era will end
All pertaining to that will perish
I, you, everyone and everything around
Will not be there
After that fateful date in December 2012
If the above prophecy is true
How do you plan your departure?
I have some suggestions
Let us all resolve that
We will extend love
To everyone and everything around
We will put aside all
Much extended future plans
And focus only on living happily
These remaining days
With whatever we have
And whatever we can earn
We will be healthy throughout
Till the time the
Vital blow of doomsday hit us
We will not grudge or complain
We will remain honest and sincere
And not nurse any ulterior motives
In any thing we choose to do
We will garner all our
Strengths and potentials
Direct them to achieve
Common good
We will not harm anyone
Nor think in terms of hurting any
169
“No need to be smart any longer
As we all are soon to be smarted by nature”
Should be our understanding
And guiding value
In all our actions and deeds
If we could do all that
The day will not really be
A doomsday
But a boons-day
As we would have understood by then
Our worth and purpose
Bashyam Narayanan
170
Nothing else belongs to you except the passing pulse of time
Nothing else
Belongs to you
Except the pulse
Of each passing second
You cannot hold on to it
Nor can store it
It is just fleeing
But you can recall each moment
When you have something
At that time to rejoice
So never waste a second
In an unpalatable manner
As time is like the
Food that just entered
Your mouth
You bite, chew
And get the feel of its taste
in a wonderful mix
Of saliva and
Digestive juices
Once you swallow
The food is no longer there
You cannot and
In fact, do not like to
Get back the swallowed food
So too, time once passes
Has passed for ever
You cannot get back
Even the previous second
Just trickled
So, as you enjoy food
When it is in your mouth
Enjoy time
Assimilating energy
And nutrient from
Each bit of happenings around
Instead of losing it
Without any gainful use
To you and
Others nearby
Remember, the most precious
Possession you have
Is your time
With each second slipping
171
Become wiser
More learned
Enhance your knowledge base
Ensure happiness
To you and to yours
Let you not regret
Having wrongly spent a second
As, such a regret simply amounts to
Your having swallowed
An unpalatable
Tasteless food item of
No nutritive value
Bashyam Narayanan
172
Observations of an octogenarian
Observations of an octogenarian
An octogenarian, aged eighty seven
Physically in some discomfort, but mentally strong and even
Has been striving to keep his living space a heaven
Has a number of things to say,
Which, when practiced, will our living soften
He is none other than uncle R Mahadevan
Listen to him in his own words
All your intensions good or bad, are subject to criticism, objection and observation.
Your attitude determines the altitude.
Ignorance is pardonable, negligence is negotiable, but deliberation is punishable.
Doctors are supposed to treat the ill, but not to extend ill treatment.
Your destiny will lead you to your destination.
When you do not understand, you always misunderstand.
You cannot quench your thirst by thinking of water, but only by drinking water.
Too much of thinking may result in confusion and indecisiveness.
You cannot judge one’s sincerity from his words, but from his deeds.
Worship, relationship, friendship and hardship.
Be free, fair, frank and fearless.
If you can be a lamp, you can throw light on others.
Do not deprive your desires to please others.
Service to humanity is greater than service to God.
You cannot escape from your faults and sin by shouting or protesting.
Always be courteous to others.
You can observe many formalities and courtesies without any cost, but many fail to do
that.
Your determination and hard work lead you to peace, success and happiness.
Satisfaction is stepping stone for happiness. Be happy with what you possess.
See God within yourself, if you could not find, go in search of Him.
173
Good and bad are the results of companionship. Associate with people of qualities not
of quantities.
If you want to be always clean, keep away from the flirt.
A seed sown today fetches a lot tomorrow (yield) .
Never think or say “I do not care what others think of me”.
Do not lie, steal, borrow or be greedy of others.
Do not conceal facts for petty benefits.
Since body is controlled by mind, keep it clean, steady and strong.
Beauty concealed is more attractive than what and when exposed.
Always keep mind, body, words and deeds clean.
Before you polish or clean anything, remove the stain first (applicable to anything you
say or do) .
Nobody should wish to be a father, who cannot protect the prestige of fatherhood.
To save or protect a sinner, do not abuse the innocent.
When you cannot regain what you have lost, you should retain what is left.
When you do not have anything, you do not wish for anything.
One’s creations are good, but preservations and results are not satisfactory.
We have done our duty, but in many cases, it is a hidden or unknown beauty.
Try to observe, serve, reserve, preserve.
In this modern world, no human being deserves to be worshipped or flattered.
Collected from the voice of a bitterly grieved person, who has attained old age. He had
every thing in life, now, he says, he is left with his life only (feeling) . He has lost his
son, but has not lost the sun from his life (practical) .
Bashyam Narayanan
174
Oh, Mother Earth, on your day
Earth,
Mother Earth
In the big cosmic space
She is just a drop
Of about 7900 miles dia
Solidified on the surface
Still holding a lot
Molten hot lava within
She has been making this clear to us
By a number of ways
And this time she is so revengeful
That entire North Europe is facing her wrath
Let us not examine
When this droplet
Got separated from
Its origin
Though scientists puts the earth as
4.54 billion years old
But, let us celebrate her birthday
Today, the 22nd April
She is supporter of
Everything that stands upon her
And every thing thriving beneath
Either living or non-living
Mobile or immobile
No one knows for precise
The entire life support systems she is housing
All depend on her not only for a basic living
But also for other luxuries
She helps them grow, get aged and decay
Everything goes back to her
Only to come up again in a new mould
She gives birth to everything
She nourishes them
She has been supplying all that we need
And our demand keeps increasing every second
As we bring into use new devices and facilities
We are also discovering new things beneath the surface
And held within her
That can be of use to us
We term those, who cannot use the down under resources
Under-developed
We take pride and credit
For having consumed more and more of these
Un-replenishable resources
175
Will she be able to sustain this supply for any long
We need to understand
That we can sustain this growth and development
Only if we help mother earth
Keep supplying all the resources
Which we are putting to use right, left, top and bottom
On this day let us resolve
To make effective use of the resources drawn from earth
And to do everything possible
To restrict unmindful indulgence
Oh, mother earth
We stand before you humbled
We have no words to thank you
As we cannot fittingly express it
For all the good things you have been supplying
We bow before your immense tolerance
To all the thoughtless misdeeds
We have been doing
We pray that you soon cool down
As millions are under stress
Because of your Iceland outburst
As a kind mother
You help us understand means
And implement them to
Gainfully replenish you
So that you can support
All living systems
Above and beneath your surface
For millenniums ahead
Bashyam Narayanan
176
On your wedding day
On your wedding day
It gives me a chance to say
And wish that united you stay
For many, many, many more years in gay
I know the love between you
Stays fresh as the morning dew
Glittering in the bright sun’s view
It will ever have its glamour and hue
The day you were solemnized
As husband and wife, was indeed recognized
As a new value system got institutionalized
For the entire human race, though personalized
It was a different path altogether
From the day that year you both became one-for-the-other
But you both in unison made your way to gather
Experiences of life whether pleasant or with issues to bother
You created new values to living
Ensured continuity of human being
Implanted great characters in your offspring
Your efforts praiseworthy in their upbringing
You two are a model family builder
It is not just made of brick and boulder
But built by the right mix of love tender
With strict adherence to great values to ponder
We all need to thank you, great couple
For holding high the stay-ever-in-love principle
That makes your residence a temple
Where your bond makes divine presence twinkle
Bashyam Narayanan
177
Planting a kiss on the wrong cheek
Great gathering
Welcome speech
Presidential address
Special speakers
All praises
Laurels won
List of achievements
List of benefits to the society
Nature and number of beneficiaries
The vision
The mission
The efforts
The perseverance
The compassion
At the end of it all
A shield
A medallion
A citation
A cash award
The recipient
Thanked all
And added
All the good words said of me
Were possible
Because of the contribution
Showered on me
By the nature
By the people working with me
Or for me
By the people who participated in my programmes
By the people who were benefited
By the assistance and help from so many others
I feel this appreciation is like
Planting a kiss on the wrong cheek
Bashyam Narayanan
178
Points of contact
Points of contact
We travel and keep moving
Each time you move ahead
You should have stepped at a point
Ensuring the grip of the point
You might have pushed ahead
And you make your next step
After reaching the next point of contact
You push ahead
Exerting the force of the push
On the point of contact
The more frequently you
Meet the points of contact
The faster is your movement and going ahead
The point of contact acts as fulcrum
That ensures your push becomes a movement
Thus, you will agree,
Points of contact
Help you move
Regardless of the direction
And regardless of the destination
Quality of your movement
Depends a lot on the
Quality of the points of contact
A slippery, less firm point of contact
Makes you slip
And end up with failure
Your journey terminating not
Helping you reach the destination
Despite all your skills
And efforts towards pushing ahead
You understand that
Points of contact need your attention
They need nourishment
Maintenance and care
The Point of contact need not be
Just a material or stone
Or a step in a ladder or staircase
It can also be a person
Who helped you in your movement
Some time, some where and some how
It is also a requirement
That you be in touch with them
Demonstrating your care and love for them
179
Your life journey
Either through vocational career,
Or through domestic living
Or through places
Require the blessings of points of contact
Take care of them
Nurture them
Ensure that they are fit and strong enough
To carry your weight
And help you go further ahead in life
Bashyam Narayanan
180
Prefer to feel embarrassed and forward you go
It’s an embarrassing situation for you
When you are caught unawares
Of having done a thing
Or having spelt out a thing
Which you should not have
Done or spoken
You, of course, have the choice
To feel embarrassed or not
People of lower orders normally choose
Not to feel so
While people on the path of improvement
Choose to feel embarrassed
For they see opportunities
In such situations
You might have acted so
Or spoken so because
You were not aware that
You were not supposed to do so
In this case
You will come over the situation
Pleading ignorance or innocence
At the same time
In private, you feel relieved
Having learnt a lesson
And come to know a new set of rules
There is also a chance that
You might have acted so
Or spoken so
Having taken a conscious decision
Even though there is deviation from norms
And at the same time
Thinking that no one will come to know of it
Here, you make attempts to cover up
Coming out with reasons
For having done or spoken so
If you have the mind to examine,
You will come to realise
That by feeling embarrassed
Either you learnt something new
And are clear of your roles and responsibilities
Or you discover new ways of
Doing or communicating
Despite its non-conformance to
Existing rules and norms
There is also a possibility
That the rules get revised
181
And your ways become the norms
More often than not,
We do not do things or speak out
In an attempt to avoid
An embarrassing situation
And thus miss possible
Opportunities for improvement
So, act and express
And if in a discomforting moment
Prefer to feel embarrassed
And forward you go
Bashyam Narayanan
182
Prepare the world for the pleasure of being fair
Many a people do not live
They are just alive
It is not, believe, not a lie
But as true as the blue sky
Not that they can’t try
They are always lost in a cry
Over spilt milk and fry
Their enthusiasm in thoughts dry
Never take that this does mean
That they are weak and mean
They are as strong and clean
As each one in any clan
Make them understand and feel that
My things are mine
And they are like a mine
Unexplored and a lot remain
To be discovered and made fine
And that
My things are much more
Than what surface above the floor
Rigorous search brings them to the fore
As exercise only makes you sweat more
Teach them how to be assertive
Help them become sensitive
Quite sure, they grow positive
Productive and thus effective
The ultimate is to make everyone share
The things, they think, are rare
And only for them, and to prepare
The world enjoy the pleasure of being fair
Bashyam Narayanan
183
Reach us back safe and in tact
Nice to know you will be back
It did not strike me
When you left
That there would be a vacuum around
I did not mark earlier
That you were filling up
Lot many things in our life
And I do not know
Whether such a gap and shallowness
Would be created
If I happen to leave
When you are nearby
Your worth goes unnoticed
And when you are not there
It did not take much time
For me to realize that
Everything around me
Was only you
And as you leave
Everything disappears
It was much longer
Than what time units say
And it was really tough and testing
For me to manage and
Live with your absence
How nice to know
You will soon be back
It has already started
Showing up that
You are there
With everything around
Brightening up and waiting for
Your magic touch which
Helps them glitter
Winds cooled down to greet you
On your arrival
Sun is less harsh
Clear night sky
Holds a bright moon
That spews additional chillness
To the already cool night
And the brightest Mars
Shining located very close to the moon
184
The problem with me, indeed, is
The discomfort of your absence
Has swelled and become less tolerable
As that discomfort
Will soon get eased
As wisdom says
A nearing comfort
Makes an existing discomfort
Highly intolerable
Everyone and everything here
Await your arrival
Reach us back
Safe and in tact
Bashyam Narayanan
185
Realize the big ocean in you
How many times you might have crossed
Me without even noticing the happening
Down under
While you hurry up there upon the
Bridge above me
With a number of
Uncertainties in mind
I am flowing slowly and steadily
With a clarity of mind
As to where I will be reaching and when
I am none other the Brooke
With a very clear water
Gently crawling towards east
In the midst of the pine tree land
Of New Jersey
Where is time for you
To look at the spineless tadpole
Kicking on my clear surface
Or to glance at the glow worm
Whisking around the dark green bush
On my ever wet banks
Have you ever seen me helping
Squirrels, hares and others
With very clear mineral water
For which you pay
When bottled and sold
No big game animals appear these days
But a number of small gamers
And at times even snakes
Take refuge on the comfortable
Wet sand along my flow
Why do not you
Come once
Follow my track
See how
I keep growing enroute
And at the end of it all
I become a very big river
Only to be called
A little later the biggest ocean
This journey of yours
Will help you realize
The big ocean within you as well
Bashyam Narayanan
186
Relieved again was I
A summer afternoon
Sun hidden in clouds
That formed a thin screen
Over the entire sky
Dispersed sun light
Crows flying in a formation
As I was witnessing
Through a window from
The sixth floor
Doves fluttering from
One window to the other
Hot wind blowing but
Adding some comfort to
The sweating and mildly drenched body
And wiping off some sweat inside
Busy traffic down on the roads
Exhausts’ spewing
Screaming brakes
And sudden halts
Sleepy gulmohar leaves with
Yellow little flowers on top
My eyes shifted to a bee
As it passed near my face
With a zing and a sharp sound
How quick and smart it was
I stopped watching outside
But inside the balcony
My eyes following the fast bee, our hero
Oh, my god he got stuck
Onto to a spider web
A net spread to catch a prey
“Our hero bee is a prey now”
Was my inner cry
No he was not letting that happen
Struggling with his legs
And trying to get out of the web
A big spider in the middle of the web
Woke up off its sleep
Because of ripples in the web
And fast approaching its prey
Struggle on one side
Chase on the other
Spider almost reached its prey
With its legs placed in a position
Over the struggling bee
Spider lowering its body
Onto its prey for a fatal bite
187
It was a fraction of a second
Our hero succeeded in
Breaking the web and fleeing
Bee came off but took sometime
Before getting his original speed
A disappointed spider went back
To the centre of the web for its
Afternoon nap
Bee again flying around me
In merry and gay
How relieved was I
I looked back and recollected
“For what I am here”
On this sixth floor
Yeah, it was a hospital
My daughter admitted
And was laboring to
Deliver her first kid
Walked towards the
Labour room
And my wife nagging me
“Where did you go? ”
I had no answer, but
Before I started answering
A nurse appeared and
Said to both of us
“Congrats, it is grandson”
Relieved again was I
Bashyam Narayanan
188
'Social Animal' or 'Simply-the-Animal'
We are a billion
We move in millions
Everyday from here to there and to where not
To earn our living
We travel far and far
Before we reach the place
Where we work with a number of gadgets
To produce things of common use
And to tell the world what we do
And to sell things we produce
It is agreed while on travel to and fro
We do not see here or there
As we normally have to burry
Through long thoroughfares
Crossing each second hundreds of
Of our own fraternity,
We have no idea or care to have an idea
Of people who pass on with us or cross
It is not expected from any one
To bother to know why the other one
Is on the move and is in hurry
May be that person is rushing to attend
An ailing parent
A suffering child
An eight hours hard work
A death of a relative or
An interview that fetch a job or appointment
It is also not expected from any one
To stop and attend to a
Bleeding person
Person gasping for life
Injured person involved in accident
Person suffering a stroke
As our job is to reach the work spot
Before the check in time
It is not exaggerated to say
Whether at all we will come across again
The same guy by our side this morning
While in the bus
in our life time
How many unknown faces
All with some expectation or the other
All with some worry or the other
All with some excitement or the other
All with some dream or the other
We keep moving every day
189
The same time the same far
For adding economic value
To our lives and keeping an eye
Every other day on how much
Worldly worth we have become
We have become robots
Acting as a per a system
Developed by some one
With a better wit so that
We keep enhancing
The financial status of
A group that claims to be
Enriching the nation and its people
Let us examine whether
Still we hold the status of social animals
Or in our desire for economic development
We have become simply-the-animal
Bashyam Narayanan
190
Solitair, a teacher
Solitaire is a card game
Developed for playing
By self with no opponent
The fact is you are
Playing your own self
This is what
Solitaire teaches you
You shuffle cards
You distribute them
Upside down
Over eight or ten rows
Not knowing which card
Lays where and in what order
Keeping only the top layer open
You start arranging
Cards in descending order
As you move an open card
The card immediately under
Opens up
The card opening up may or may ot be
Matching your requirements
While opening up card
Depends on your luck
Card moving is totally
Left to you and
A lot depends on your skill
But you keep playing
Till the time either you win
By accumulating suits in order
Or when you get stuck
With no more moving of cards possible
And you lose the game
Life is like that only
And as in solitaire you play it alone
Though you seemingly have partners
And you must know that
You are all alone playing your game
You act on visible opportunities
And as you act upon this
New venues opening up
One by one
Either to your surprise or shock
Still you keep playing the game of life
Expecting each time when you act
There will be favourable changes
And with further scopes for gaining
The only difference is that
You quit the game in solitaire
191
But in life the game leaves you
At its discretion
Leaving you to wonder
Whether you are a winner or loser
Bashyam Narayanan
192
Solve problems with your creative cue
Problems, no issue
Solve them with your creative cue
Reach heights which others did not pursue
You are born only to win
If not realized, it is a great sin
It is a fact, not just a design
To make you work hard and take pain
The creativity in you should be awakened
Otherwise, the already tired you further weakened
Realize the strengths in you, your focus sharpened
You can go quite a far, so stay determined
Do not just depend on your abilities,
Fine-tune your approach to opportunities
A lot of them waiting, not they are difficulties
But steps to success and crowns to your dependabilities
Keep an open mind to the problems you face
They are to be understood deep, not just the surface
Collect opinions of others and ensure gainful interface
All problems have solutions; it is what you will phrase
Always nurse in you a desire to excel
Enthuse others too to get into this cell
So that all collectively purposefully marshal
To achieve beyond universal and goals very special
Enter not into an argument, but in discussion
As we are here only to share a vision
Not to prove a point should be our mission
All points, we all know, deserve admission
Decisions are ways to realize a collective dream
They should be clear and transparent like a stream
Every thing smooth, following a natural theme
Without hurting, you are sure to win the cream
Shake up the creative abilities in you
A lot hidden and so far did not come up to view
Redefine problems with your creativity giving a lot cue
Solve them and reach heights, which others did not pursue
Bashyam Narayanan
193
Star, still a kid
Star, still a kid
A national function
National Child Achievers’ Award
For demonstrated excellence
In far-reaching talents
In art, science, mathematics
And for skillful display
Of courage and valour
President, Prime Minister and
A host of great dignitaries gracing the function
Minister for Human Resources Development
Herself reading out the citation
And presenting the awardees
The medallion and the certification
A kid of nine years
Chosen for the award
For the ability to solve
In a very short interval
Problems in mathematics
Requiring complicated calculations
And for the skill in reciting
From memory voluminous
Ancient scriptures
The child came on to the stage
The Minister read the citation
Decorated the kid with medallion
The President and the Prime Minister
Walked up to the kid
And greeted her
When asked how she feels about this
National Award
The Awardee started telling
In her own style and in a broken shrill voice
Today is Thursday
I will reach home by Saturday
I am in fact on the wait for
Monday to come
I will attend school that day
To show this medallion and certificate
In the school assembly
And on top of it
My class teacher will put a star
Against that day in my diary
For having won this award
Which is the greatest exciting thing for me
Yes,
Star, still a kid
194
Bashyam Narayanan
195
Steer through this ocean of emotion, which is your own creation
You are on an ocean
And on a small boat
Exclusively for you
You the lone passenger
You know what all could be there down under
The vast expanse of water
The marine life
Its varieties
Their beauties, strengths
And even their wild behaviours
You know also the
Great hidden treasure
At the bottom of the seabed
But you are always worried
About how to go about
Reaching the invisible shore
And you do not know
How far it is and in
Which direction
Rising waves raise fears in you
The unseen big marine animals down under
Occupy your thoughts
And threaten your very existence
There is shine
There is shower
There is cold
There is storm
But, you need to stick on
And to proceed till the time
You reach the shore
You are unaware of the
Nature of the shore
Where you will be landing
And in what shape
The above is the description
Of birth and death cycle
In Oriental thinking
The ocean personifies
The emotional turbulence
That occurs in you life through
Emotions are as strong as ocean
And they have the powers
196
To sustain livelihood
To create and to destroy as well
A check on emotions
Is the way you steer through
The ocean of life
Nurse those emotions, which are
Creative, proactive and productive
And do away with those
Which can drown you
And can be destructive
Seeking divine assistance
For safe landing on the shore
Is what these philosophies preach
Orienting yourself towards
Spirituality and self realization
Help you perform worldly duties
Without emotions
But, with passion and devotion
Steer through this
Ocean of emotion, which is
Your own creation
Bashyam Narayanan
197
Still you believe marriages are heavenly....
Our only daughter is our pride
Graduated in flying colours without a guide
Won a seat in Management, as she so did decide
Went ahead with a programme in marketing side
Her progress in studies was fantastic
Her plans were far stretched and truly futuristic
Her desire was to grow into a woman majestic
Ignoring others comments, even if sarcastic
We thought it was time she be given in marriage
As it is Indian custom to get the daughter married in right age
We came across a family that held a good image
We came to know the family is well knit in traditional cage
The boy, an engineer, working abroad
In our interaction we discover in him a mind broad
We thought he is the boy and requires no further prod
There was no reason for us to doubt any fraud
With friends and relatives around, marriage was solemnized
All got only good things to say and all were pleased
With the bridegroom and his family that further released
Us of all anxieties and worries, we thoroughly eased
We happily saw off our daughter to the foreign soil,
Where her husband serves and which is peaceful with no turmoil
We kept track of their welfare and we heard nothing that would spoil
Our moods, we felt our daughter and her husband are in smooth sail
Months passed and our daughter started discovering
The other side of her husband and his family, who were bothering
Her for money and other favours, but she told us she is gearing
Up to set things right with the strength of her educational bearing
Alas, one day we heard that our loving pregnant daughter was thrown
Off by her in-laws from a dashing car in the mid town
Suffered multiple fractures and hospitalized and down
With coma, paralyzed and most of her organs drown
With no one attending to her, either in-laws or husband
We rushed to her, attended and brought her back to our land
She recovered a bit, at times feebly smiling at those who stand
Around her, unable to move or shake with them her hand
She delivered safe her little cute daughter, the only solace
But she could not hold the infant, feed or embrace
She is our everything and was once shining with grace
Which this marriage, did totally erase
We do believe that marriages are made in heaven
But some can drive you to hell
198
Bashyam Narayanan
199
Suffocating me means suffocating yourself
Nature has created me to support
Combustion and thus help you
With heat and energy
I rush to the spot, wherever
You strike a spark and
Create a flame or fire
Let that be the tip of a cigarette
Or a gas burner
Or an engine
I enter you as well each time you take a breathe
Go into your lungs
Hurriedly pass through your tissues
Reach your blood
Get passed on to each cell of yours
For generating heat and energy
So that you keep performing
The mental and physical tasks assigned to you
And your body has its metabolism in tact
I do not require to say
I keep you alive, active
And kicking
Ensuring also
A life with comfort
You pray to your Gods, but
Have you ever thanked me
Leave alone worshipping me
As I ensure your survival
The same molecule of me
Now in this writer’s mind
Was circulating in the body
Of the most celebrated leader of
The most power country of the world a month back
And six months ago
Was struggling to help a poor child
In a poverty ridden nation
And before that was
Breathed in by a glamorous actress
Along with the costliest deodorant she has applied
But my job was the same regardless of whom I entered
But, of late, you generate a number
Of other unwanted things
Like smoke, gases, dust and emissions
And let them airborne
Which suffocate me
And I am finding it difficult to reach
200
The point of combustion, fire and your tissues
With my original strength
You need to check such activities as
Suffocating me means
Suffocating yourself
Bashyam Narayanan
201
Sweat is sweet
Sweat is
A metabolic outcome
Of an exercise
In a bio system
Human sweat is salty
But it is really sweet
As once you sweat
You are going to gain
It indicates the effort
That goes on inside
More the sweat
Greater the effort
Sweat is not always
The water droplets
Seen on the surface of a body
It may be within
And it could be a emotional outburst
But ensure such emotions are
Positive, proactive and creative
Whatever it is
Sweat is synonymous with effort
Greater the effort
More the sweat
And sweeter the gain
Often we think of
Doing away with sweating
And you natrually are
Doing away with the effort
The gain of such an effort
Cannot be that sweet
We take pride in not having sweated
In achieving a gain
But such a gain is not
Really a gain
Sweat, but, enthusiastically
With love and affection
Towards the effort
With the understanding that
Sweating is no suffering
Let it be a voluntary struggle
With clear goal and destination
In mind
You will understand that
Sweat is sweet
Bashyam Narayanan
202
Take a Pain and make a Gain
Only if there is a pain
There is a gain
And if there is a gain
There was a pain
Nothing like
Painless gain or
Gainless pain
If there comes a gain
With no perceived pain
Wait, do not worry
Pain is on the way
And if there is pain
With no apparent gain
Wait, do not worry
Gain is on the way
And if you are preparing
For a painstaking gain
You know for sure
The extent and nature of pain
And if you are planning
For a painless gain
You know not for sure
The extent and nature of pain
Many unexpected pains
Are because of the
Painless path you took
For a gain, for which
You are not really, eligible
Suffering is indeed the result of
Of such painless gains
Bashyam Narayanan
203
Take the human race to new heights of sophistication
Nature blessed me with
Great many things
The one gift I rate quite high is
That
You came in my life as an offspring
You gave me
All those pleasures
Unknown to me
Prior to your arrival
Your each movement was a marvel
Your each stage of growth was a milestone
Your each progress was an ecstasy
The first clear word spelt out by you
Was no less cheering than
What all great musicians would have done
In a soothing harmony
Your first independent step
Made me feel that I landed on the moon
Your first declaration that
You felt hungry
Made me feel
That a most sensitive kid is getting groomed
On your first day in the school
I was rehearsing
To welcome a genius back home
Your first flawless recitation of a rhyme
Elated me to that high
That I was creating a great actor
When you first located the
Lost-for-long key bunch
I saw in you a world class detective
Each first of your progressive step
Made me more and more proud
And wonder more and more
You continue to remain a pride
And you will ever be my pride
Even your dismissal and disapproval of my
Age-experience-biased views
Leave me to wonder how
Smart you are proving
I get amazed at each step of yours
And you remain a pride
The one thing I would pray the almighty
Is that
Let the admiration at the progress
204
Of my genetic down stream
Remain ever till that time I depart
Giving way for
A better carved genetic order
To step in
And take the human race
To new heights of sophistication
Bashyam Narayanan
205
The art of Marriage
The art of Marriage
A good marriage must be created
In marriage the little things are the big things
It is never being too old to hold hands
It is remembering to say
I love you
At least once a day
It is never going to sleep angry
It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives
It is standing together facing the world
It is forming circle of love that gathers in whole family
It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.
It is having the capacity to forgive and forget
It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow
It is not only marrying the right person, it is being the right partner
Bashyam Narayanan
206
The clock is clicking
The clock is clicking
It is clicking to show just then
A time span of one second
Has become the past
The clock is clicking
Each click means a step
Towards your progress and growth
Optimistic wisdom says
The clock is clicking
Each click means a nail
Onto your coffin
Philosophical wisdom says
The clock is clicking
Each click means the arrival
Of a child in India
Population expert worries
The clock is clicking
Each click means the committal
Of a crime
Police personnel observes
The clock is clicking
Each click means a travel of 2.5 km
In space of the earth's surface
Astromer estimates
The clock is clicking
Each click means a change
In fortune of an individual
Astrologer announces
The clock is clicking
Each click means the admission
Of a heart patient
Health specialist heaves
The clock is clicking
Each click means the drain
Of my battery
The clock cries within
The clock is clicking
Let the clock be clicking
Let any one have his or her inkling
Let us be lively and kicking
Let nothing stop us becoming a king
The clock is clicking
207
Bashyam Narayanan
208
The dateless day of September
All the gods of
All the religions
Of the world
Called on a meeting
Held on
12th September
7 years back
Because of the
Previous day’s
Heinous act
Which took away
Thousands of lives
And brought down
The hope of the
Entire human race
On the possible
Accommodative
And accomplishing
Human understanding
All gods
Were apparently ashamed
Their heads down
With no words to exchange
One, of course,
With tears and crying
“I am not able to stop
This from happening”
No other god
Dared to console him
The secretary god
Stood up
And took permission of
The chairman god
To present a resolution
And read
“People on the earth believe
That we have created them.
While we will not debate on this,
We want them to
Understand that
It is they, who, empowered us
With so many strengths
They did not give us the powers
To stop them from doing
A thing that could displease us
The yesterday’s happening was
The most disheartening one
And none of us expected
That such a thing in our name
Was in the making
209
To mourn this event
We all unanimously agree
That from now onwards
The month September’s
Eleventh day
Will remain
A dateless day henceforth.”
Bashyam Narayanan
210
The element of determination
I will be the last leaf
To fall
From this tall tree
This fall
Was my thinking
When I chose to strike
Three months back
On a much extended
Branch of this oak tree
By the side of the road
Things started changing
Over the period
And there was
A steady dropp in temperature
Many leaves much above me
And by the side of me
Changing colours
From yellow to purple
Waiting for the ultimate fall
But I am yet to change
Maintaining my original green
Active still producing
Carbohydrates with my chlorophyl
Despite the weak solar input
I was very happy
As most of the leaves
Have fallen
Changing the colour
Of the lawn beneath
From the grassy green to
The leafy yellow
It so happened
That I was the lone green leaf
In the entire tree
Left unturned to yellow
The very next afternoon
A scientist, botanist must be,
Reached over me
Standing on a ladder
Examined me with a
Magnifying glass
Ran his fingers over me
And to my dismay
Plucked me from the branch
211
Though crying within
I was glad
I am the last leaf
To fall
“Dr Wilson, what could be
There special in this leaf
Which managed to stand green
And strong so long
With no signs of falling
Even at the peak of
This fall”
Said Dr Van Buren,
The botanist
A portion of mine
Was bleached
A portion of mine
Was digested in acid
My extracts
Were chromatographed,
Electro-phoresised
Atomic absorption spectrographed
Dr Wilson
Phoned up to
Dr Van Buren
“There is nothing analysed
Abnormal and special
With the contents
Of the leaf sample
Given here for anaysis.
But, I could sense
The element of determination
In this leaf
Which made it
Strick on
Despite all odds”
Bashyam Narayanan
212
The fire of desire
Keep alive
In you
The fire of desire
As it only
Brought you to this
Wonder world
And so many
Other great things
Let it be
Any break-through
In science, art or literature
There was a fire of desire
That caused
The event to occur
Keep alive
In you
The fire of desire
But be on guard
To have good control
As the fire
Has the potential
To engulf you
And to devour you
History has
A great list of heroes
Who succumbed to
This very
Fire of desire
Still it is worth
You keep alive
In you
The fire of desire
With lot dreams
In mind
With lot milestones
To cross
With lot wins
To accomplish
With lot days
Ahead
Keep alive
In you
The fire of desire
Bashyam Narayanan
213
The glow of darkness
The glow of darkness
Darkness, in our normal understanding
Is bereft of the revealing light or perception
We are unable to make out or perceive
Things in darkness
And often prefer to blame it
And come out of it
Darkness is nothing new to you
You are in dark while you sleep
And you were in dark in your mother’s womb
Though you seem to be in light
More often you are in dark
As most of the things seen and perceived
Are in guise
So, darkness and your non-ability
To see are ever with you
Whether you know it or not
But, darkness by itself is perceived
And realized instantly with no aid
Even the visually challenged person
Can perceive darkness and understand it
While in darkness
At the same time, we try to
Perceive things so far you have
Never attempted to look for
Your inner vision in fact helps you
A great number of things
Which you might have seen
In bright light and broad daylight
You will agree darkness
Triggers the functioning of
Other sense organs and
They come to your rescue
In case you are in some trouble
Extending this understanding
Your wisdom comes to life
And you attempt to visualize
Less perceived things while being in dark
As an old Sanskrit script says
The person who sees inaction in action
And action in inaction is wise
And performs in totality
We end up with a corollary
That the person who sees light in darkness
And darkness in light
214
Sees things in totality
Your vision broadens
Your understanding widens
Your wisdom sees beyond
Your realization gets fine-tuned
When you feel you are in darkness
Darkness gives you an opportunity
To see the oft-unseen
To realize the oft-unrealized
To feel the oft-unfelt and
To perceivee the oft-unperceived
Attempt is not to eulogize darkness
Attempt is not to glorify ignorance
Attempt is to make you understand darkness
And to draw your attention that
While in darkness you keep yourself awake
And trigger your innovative initiatives
To see out-of-the-box possibilities
Do not curse darkness
And it will be wise to see a new light in it
And appreciate its glow
Bashyam Narayanan
215
The kid only kept me alive and helped me stand the pain
I was holding the tender
Left hand palm of the
Little child lying by my side
Seeking the kid
To bless me with strength
And a part of his enthusiasm
So that we keep alive
And see the light of the day
It must be early morning now
And I was able to hear shouts
Of people arrived at the spot of the mishap
We were survivors of a
Recent train accident
I saw the same kid yesternight
Playing with his mom
And dodging her efforts
To feed him with the most nutritious food
She could best afford
I do not know what time we went off in sleep
In this three tier air conditioned coach
But all came to a halt with a big bang and great jerk
All settled with cries of help
Emanating from all directions
And the cries also died down over a period to time
I was trapped between two berth slabs
The berth in which the child is sleeping
Getting crushed close to mine
But the kid was not injured and still sleeping
After some initial cries immediately after the mishap
I was holding that child’s palm
And praying all gods known to me
To help us come out
I was in great pains and was unable to
Move my legs while hands were free
Prayers of mine were answered
When I saw an acetylene torch
Cutting the ceiling and molten hot
Metal splinters started showering from top
I made shouts so that they could exercise caution
Which they did
And entered a pair of asbestos gloved hands
I carefully grabbed the sleeping kid
And handed over to the rescuers
Telling that the kid was fine
And requesting them to take a good care of him
I did not know what happened
After the child was handed over
216
When I became conscious
I smelt the disinfectant laden hospital environ
And I heard doctors discussing about me
I understood I have lost both my legs
And they were wondering how I
Withstood the pain of such a crush
At the same time saved the life of a kid
They did not know
The kid only kept me alive
And helped me stand the pain
Bashyam Narayanan
217
The language with largest vocabulary
It has only seven letters
And has the largest vocabulary
There is no dearth
Of expression
For any situation or emotion
One same thing
Can mean a million things
King Solomon deciphered
Ants’ impression using this language
Indian mythology has it that
A much revered teacher
Taught all his disciples
Using this language
Clearing their all doubts
On any subject
It is not written
It is not spoken
It is not heard
But has in-depth meaning
And a lot application
It is not formally taught
As it has no syllabus
People pick up this
In their life paths
Some do not just pick this up
But, make excellent use of it
And successfully overcome
Difficult and challenging maneuvers
This language came into being
Long before the creation of this universe
Yes, it is not a just a global language
It is a universal language
This is in use world over
This is a common language
But often not used
This language has no grammar
No problem of spelling words wrong
There are no present, future or past tenses
There is no subject, predicate or object
As there are no sentences framed with this language
When used the person can still keep smiling
Often understood as a consent granted
Even the just new born is
As much as much eloquent
With this language
218
As the person who is preparing for departure
There is none to teach
But the language is learnt
The language is quoted as golden
As it can hurt no one
Much learned people resort to this
When they are to negotiate
Challenging situations
Some great philosophers
Teach their students
Comprehensively with the use of this language
By using this language
You are sure to win
Great many things
Use this wonder language
Effectively and appropriately
The language of silence
Bashyam Narayanan
219
The last thing I have, to offer you
Not long back
I was standing tall with
My branches spread
Upwards, downwards and
In all directions sideward
It was green all around my trunk
My leaves glittering in the bright sun
They fell just after winter
Only to strike again with full vigour
I used to blossom in yellow
With pendant like red dots in the middle
And my flowers shared in secret
The whispers of young lovers in my town
Some offered my flowers to their gods
And felt blessed by the divine
These flowers attracted insects
And colourful butterflies
Who returned intoxicated
Totally nectar drunk
I bore cherry red fruits
They were feast to sparrows
Squirrels and crows
Children of the town
Squeezed my fruits
And enjoyed the sweet flesh
Coated over the big seed inside
My branches housed nests
With young birds waiting for
Their mother's return to feed them
And my thin branches helped
These young birds launch their
First flights under their mother’s guard
At times over my dark rough bark
Snakes ran up to the nests
To prey on the eggs and young ones
I was happy never once these snakes succeeded
My roots were ever busy
Tapping soil nutrients and
Sending them up to each of my tip
My leaves waved and ensured
Regular flow of oxygen rich cool air
Adding comfort to those who chose
To rest a while beneath my mammoth shadow
It was all pleasure for me
220
To see many around me in comfort
With whatever I can offer to them
All these came to a sudden end
When an unkind lightning struck me
I received the shock of my life
A hot wave ran through the entire me
From the top to the root bottom
And what happened
All functions in me
Came to an abrupt end
My leaves turned yellow and brown
To leave me and they fell in silence
My branches dried and turned black
The fruits did not ripe
I started drying up with no more
Supply of water from the ground
I am stark naked standing like a
Threatening skeleton
Birds, insects and people
Do not visit me
Am I turning useless
But let people know I have some thing
Also to offer
Delay further not and cut me
Burn me and enjoy the warmth
Of my heat and of my burning heart
The last thing I have, to offer you
Bashyam Narayanan
221
The latest lesson of my grandson
Four year old
Daughter's son
Just started talking
In some kind of comprehension
Returned from school
The other day
And there were some guests at home
Some of who were to
See our grandson first time
And it was my daughter's role
To introduce each
Of the guests
To her son
She is your aunty
Say 'Hi' to her
Which my grandson did
He is your 'Anna'
(Anna in Tamil means elder brother, it can be cousin too)
Say 'Hi' to him
Which my grandson did
This your grandma
Say 'Hi' to her
Which my grandson did
This went on
Till the time
All the guests were introduced
It is our practice
To give the child
A handwash immediately after
His retrun back home from school
And I took that charge
While I was helping him
In getting a wash
The fellow asked me
In a low voice like whisper
Are there no good person
Among our guests
Startled I asked him why
And he replied
Just today
School miss said
That all of us should
Grow to become a good person
Mom said these people are
Either grandpas, grandmas,
Uncles, Aunties, Annas or Akkas
But she said none
To be a good person
Bashyam Narayanan
222
The Lord said that the “I” in you is really me
The me in me is quite troublesome
And I know all the problems
I face is because this me
It has been a longing desire of mine
To get rid of this me
I said one day to Krishna
Let all my prayers I have offered to you
Help me getting a grant from you
Krishna said
Say that and it will be granted based on its merit
Krishna, I need only one thing
I do not require anything materialistic
My requirement is you yourself
I request you to occupy me
Totally vacating “me” from me
And you will take care of
Everything happening around me
Krishna did not answer
But, said
Hold on, your demand is quite on the higher side
Anyway I will consider it
Presently I am occupying someone else
And so I am not free to move into thee
Turning curious, I asked Krishna
Who is he and where is he?
Krishna made a smile
Did not answer and vanished
Days, weeks, months, years went by
I have been talking to Krishna all through
But I did not hear him saying a thing
The other day
I did call on Krishna
And renewed my demand
This time Krishna responded
Hi do you not know
That I have already occupied you
And I only am running things around you
Krishna, is it true?
I am not able to realize so
Things seem to have changed
I feel the same way as I used to feel earlier
I talk the same way as I used to talk earlier
I perform things the same way I used to perform earlier
I get saddened or gladdened the same way I used to get earlier
223
No change at all
I cannot believe what you say
A smiling Krishna said
I know you are going to say that
Now you renew your prayers
Requesting me to grant you this knowledge
Lord further said
That the “I” in you is really me
Once you land upon this realization
I will move on to another person
Who is waiting for my occupation
Bashyam Narayanan
224
The me in me
The me in me
The me in me
Feels, sees, hears, touches, speaks
And does all that I do
At the same time
The me in me
Becomes joyful or otherwise
Pleased or otherwise
Enthused or otherwise
Depending on its assessment
Of the event occurred
Or the situation in which I am
The me in me
Is my friend and my enemy too
It consoles me when I feel I am in trouble
And cajoles me when I am hesitant
It cheers me up and jeers me as well
It judges on people, things and happenings
And drives me to act
On the basis of its evaluation
Of late, I am of the opinion
That I have been taken for ride by
This me in me
And I need to stop it somewhere
I started requesting
The me in me
To free me of its clutches
And it says
It is upto you to go free
Or to stay locked up in me
I am unable
I am undone
I am bonded
I long for freedom from
The me in me
Bashyam Narayanan
225
The milestone marked nine
The milestone marked nine
I am by the side of a metro bus stop
Under the shadow not-so-fully grown gulmohar tree
Whose trunk is still protected by a tree guard
Crows and mynas perching on this tree
Often bless me with their droppings
But I remain in my shape
I may be a little over one foot tall
Wide enough for any person to rest on me
People, mostly elderly, sit on me
Preferring me to the tall stainless stool
Beneath the shelter
As they are confident of not tilting dangerously
I used to see dreams in the eyes of most of the people
Who wait for their bus to come
Some plan a future
Some ponder over the past pains
Some visualize their daughter’s wedding
Some think of a comfort after their son’s employment
Some plan for their retired life
Some have a dialogue with their unseen gods
Some keep talking over their mobile phones
Some sit on me minding not the bird dropping on their shirt
Some do not mind the spider spinning its web
Just above their head on the tree branch
Some smoke
Some keep munching fried peanuts
All keep busy themselves
Some may not have even noticed
This silent observer
The milestone marked nine
Bashyam Narayanan
226
The one game we all play
The one game we all play
We play games
To show our valour
And mainly to win
We do not mind going for coaching
If we feel we do not have the
Required strength to win
We play games
Either as a team or individual
The attempt is to demonstrate
That we are better talented
Than the team or member
Against whom we play
Nations enthuse people to play games
So that they add pride
Some games are played with
Gadgets and protective accessories
We have spectators to watch
The way we play
We have umpires and referees
Who ensure rules of the games
Are strictly adhered
And it is all a fair play
We play games indoor or outdoor
We play games in daylight
Or under artificial illumination
We score while playing
And the score achieved by a team or individual
In a specific time
Decides the winner
We telecast the games
We comment on the strengths and weaknesses
Of a team or individual
We conduct national and international
Tournaments to declare a team or individual
As champion
Irrespective of skills, race, gender
We all play a game
Which is played mainly to lose
It is an individual game
With no specific rules
227
With no umpire
With no spectator
With no commentator
With no TV coverage
With no scores
With no trophies
With no victory stands
With no top scorer
With no “player of the match”
But we play
Most of us like to play this game
Indoor and in closed doors
Decency and civilized ways
Do not allow this game being played in the open
There is no season for this game
It can be played any part of the day
And any part of the year
Summer, winter, monsoon seasons
Have no bearing on this game
The one requirement in this game is
Complete transparency and intimacy
Rules for this game
Vary from individual to individual
Rules also get refined
With the experience of the players
There are no restrictions to employ
Any method as both the players
Are determined to be the loser
Duration of play depends again
On the individuals
The game ends
Most often to the satisfaction
Of the both the players
In other games players declare
That they are retiring from playing
There is no retirement in this game
As players advance in age
They understand it is more a mind game
Outcome of this game
Are further more players
You guessed it right
It is the game of love
228
Bashyam Narayanan
229
The power of advertisement
That little boy looks for his kitty cash holder
All around his house and at last finds it
Shakes the same to ensure the availability of his savings
Moves off the house, travels in a tiny little boat
Holding tight his belonging and keeping it
Off the sight of the old boatman
Walks off the boat holding the kitty tight with both his hands
Steeping up the bank
The bankman with all love and respect opens a locker
For our little hero and gives him all hopes for its safe custody
How I wished I am holding an account in that bank
A romatic couple move around a fridge
She empties an ice tray from the freezer
Throws a piece of ice onto her beloved
He wastes no time in reaching another ice tray
And in turn places an ice piece on the cheek of his beloved
And this ice throwing game goes on
Till the time they reach the bed
Where they understand that they have something more to do
Than just getting cool with the ice
And this realization comes to them because
They own that fridge
I would have gone for that cooling device
Had I not got one at home
That just above middle age man is riding a cycle
Under a tree from where not leaves,
But currencies falling one after another
The man moves on narrating the fund support
He enjoyed from the financial services
Depicted as the above tree
He got his daughter married
He got his son well educated
I curse myself for being not wise
In going for an investment in that firm
An old man gets an excellent medical treatment
In a well equipped hospital at the hands of experts
He is fine now
But he refuses to go home
As the hospital charges are so low
How I wish I soon fall sick
And get an opportunity to be treated there
For the pleasure of self
And of my people
A man passes away
But, his wife seems undisturbed
She is sure of all funds
For her to run her family
To educate her children
230
And very importantly, to get beloved daughter
Decently married to a very handsome boy
She stands before her husband's photo
With tears welling in her eyes
Thanking the prudence of her husband
In choosing such a considerate life insurance company
However, I wonder still why there are so many widows
Finding it difficult to make a living, leave alone
Their educating their children
And ensuring their good living
There are many such presentations
Which has no bearing on real life
And how fair it is on the part of those, who advertise
With so much deviation from actual happenings
Bashyam Narayanan
231
The soul in me is really hers
I do not know how to make my eyes, which
Move impatiently around
To have a glance of her,
Understand
That she herself is my vision
I do not know how to make my ears, which
Long for hearing
The sweet voice of hers,
Understand
That she keeps singing inside me
I do not know how to make my heart, which
Throbs for an
Intimate togetherness with her,
Understand
That each of its pulse is triggered by her thought
I do not know how to make my hands, which
Are gnawingly desirous
Of caressing her
Understand
That I am yet to recover from the
Scintillation of her previous touch
I do not know how to make my lips, which
Restlessly bother me
With their thirst for a passionate kiss of hers
Understand
That I still hold on to
The taste of the previous experience
I do not know how to make my olfactory nerves, which
Consistently seek to get
The smell of hers
Understand
That the entire air
Is laden with the scent of her fragrance
I do not know how to make the soul inside me, which
In solitude
Cries for a heartful union with her
Understand
That the soul in me is really hers
Bashyam Narayanan
232
Think Good, Act Good and Help the World Live Good
Your thoughts
Form a cloud
When saturated
And get frozen
Bring down onto the earth
The Shower of activities
Your actions, thus showered
Believe
Add life on this soil
And help grow
The plants of
Pleasures and joy
As long as your thoughts
Are not contaminated
And seeded with
Anger, envy, distaste
Greed and many others
I leave it to your imagination
As an acid rain
Laden with pollution
Harms the soil
And the soil-dependent plants
Your contaminated thought clouds
Generate a rain of actions
Laden with vengeance and
It is definite to destroy
The entire human race
Nurtured by your action
Exercise caution on your
Thoughts and keep them
Ever associated with
Love, affection, honesty
Faith and confidence
So that you never turn
Into cause for concern
In the care of this
Beautiful world with
Wonderful people and
Other marvellous living systems
Think good
Act good
Help the world
Live good
Bashyam Narayanan
233
Think noble, Talk noble and Get Nobel
Noble are those
Who have self evolved
Humane values
And who stand by what they value
Not necessarily nobility
Of a person is assessed
On what they own or acquired
On whether they have power and authority
Any way present day requirement is that
A person needs to be rich and powerful
For he or she to be declared noble
Nobility enhances with popularity
The more popularity the greater nobility
The cumulative effect of
Power and popularity is
Immensely reflected on
The hurry in which one gets into
Noble cadre
Thus a person with
Self evolved humane values
Popularity, fame and power
Assumes greater nobility
In the society
But note the fame one acquires
Through notoriety
Does not and will add to his
Nobility scale
The person may even create
Controversies without, of course,
Affecting the social harmony
And remain noble
What about acting on your noble ideas
It looks from one of the recent
Nobel awardees
That you need not act
On your ideas
Just keep talking about them
In all possible gatherings
But ensure that the crowd accepts
Whatever great things you have to say
To become a Nobel Laureate
You require to do only these
Think noble
Just talk noble
And get the Nobel
234
Bashyam Narayanan
235
This be the last time we use the phrase 'Slumdog'
We, as Indians, have reasons
To be proud of having
Created history by the film
“Slumdog Millionaire”
At the same time, we, as human beings,
Have to have hung our heads for
Having created slums
Slum, as it means
An overcrowded area of a city,
Where the housing is in a very bad condition
And people live in unhygienic conditions
With no basic facilities
And who created slums,
Not the people residing there
But those whose greed has brought
These slum dwellers into these
Unfit-for-living conditions
The technicalities employed in
Filming this movie deserve all praise
While the different ways of living
Of the slum dwellers equally deserve attention
Of the entire human race
For correction and improvement
The film was declared to be
The best-directed
While the slum tribes have no directions
And they have no one to direct
The film was declared to be
The best film
While the slum where the film was shot
Is the worst place
For any human being
Let the recognition of the film
Bring to light the plight of slumdogs
To the fore
And let the human race do everything
Possible to move these people
Out of the slums, wherever they are,
And to help them live a decent, if not better, living
We shall be doing a great service
If this becomes the last ever time
We use this phrase “Slumdog”
Bashyam Narayanan
236
Till the last minute
You deserve credits
For you have been connecting ages
I know things of the past,
Long long-ago events
Because of you
I also know that generations ahead
Will come to know about this present
Only with your help
How much I become dependent on you
For the simple reason
That you help me communicate
And make me understood by others
The way I want them to
Understand me
Though I used to feel
I am being understood by others
In the same way
I understand myself
Later, I realised, more often than not,
That they have not understood me,
But, in fact, misunderstood me,
Which I could make out
From the reactions in response
To my communications
I do not know,
Whether I too have been
Misunderstanding others
In the same way
They have been doing me
It is all because of the guises
You can take
You look blue to me
While others see you as red
You smell jasmine to me
While others feel it as
Some other fragrance
To me you look opaque
To them transparent
And so on..
Though shapeless
You can assume thousands of shapes
Oh, my dear mother tongue
When I am going to do away with you
So that I am understood right
And I understand better
I hear you telling something
237
'Yes, when you breathe your last'
Bashyam Narayanan
238
Time and space
Time and space
Decide each happening
Significant or otherwise
Let us look back
Events all through our lives
You would agree
Events and things
That had an impact on us or otherwise
Happened just because of this
Meeting point of time and space
Each one of us
Came on to this earth
Because of the time and space synchronizing
At a time when millions of sperms
Were on a race to meet one single egg
Time and space only made the
Fertilization and development
Thus at the time of your conception
There was a probability of a meagre
One part per millions
With much greater possibilities
Of someone else being conceived
Extending this, you will agree
A thing to fructify or
An event to occur
The probability is quite low
If not a part per million
A part per thousands
You can be sure that
A thing or event will not
Evolve or occur without the role of
Time and space
Be also sure that
There is no point to blame others or
Curse yourselves
For your unaccomplished desires
But, understand that
Time is unripe and
Space is unoccupied
And that is why
Dreams do not fructify
Despite all your efforts
Skillful advancement
Towards goal
Keep trying
239
With all your knowledge and skills
With the focus on your goals
And aspirations
But, wait
Let there come about
The appropriate conjugation of
Time and space
Bashyam Narayanan
240
To a friend terminally ill
To a friend terminally ill
I wonder how you chose me as your friend
For what all I did to you troubled you
You are a great friend as you intervened
Me with your wisdom and
Prevented my fall into the pit of my foolishness
You minded not my indifference to your advices
But kept persuading me to take only the right path
I do not remember to have done even a single
Deed worth recalling and remembering
Nature played its havoc on you
And is determined to snatch you away
You know I am incapable of doing
Anything to stop this separation
I thought that I only ditched you
But your own blood mutated malignantly
Paving way for your painful departure
In one way, it was also good as I know
You are to depart; I will start caring a bit more
On my ways of doing as there will be none
To check my ruthless routes
I know, you have pains, but do not cry
But you see, we cry, simply anticipating pains
You are in light and enlightened
We in darkness not knowing where to look for light
You are ready with your baggage
We still searching, and if found, loading it further heavily
You play with death, a real friend, who has been
Gaming hide-and-seek in each breathe since we are born
And who is the ultimate friend
But we are afraid of him and believe
We can once and for all evade him
You know you are at the exit
We do not know where are we, who knows
We may be closer to exit than you
You are free from the shackles of life
We are bonded to the fear of death
You personify the glory of reality
We glorify the fallacies of the unreal
I do not require to say “Do not worry and
I will take care” as you know
I cannot do that as effectively as you have been doing
You know pretty well things happened,
Happen and will go on happening whether
You are there or not
I do not think you need words of consolation
As you know words are only words
And many a time they are not meant
241
I will not shed tears as I know
Your soul cannot stand it
I will not make efforts to remember you as you know
Your soul will be around me ever
I will not be talking about you
As you will be talking through me
I will meet you there, how soon or late I do not know
Not to burden you, as I have been doing
But to hold you in my heart
If you believe in another birth
Be careful not to choose a friend of my sort
Bashyam Narayanan
242
To a mother in the making
I thank you on behalf of the entire human kind for having chosen to become a mother.
A great mother you should be as you ensure the continuance of a genetic order, a
wonder design of nature.
You are not only the mother of child you bear, but a global mother taking care of all
with your kindness and affection to the little one, you are helping to land.
You are already a mother, as you became one from that moment, when the little one
established itself in your nourishing womb.
You must be proud, because there are not many, who climb to this pedestal of
motherhood.
You are lucky to tell the world loud and clear, that the human bonding is still there, as
you bear the sign of it.
You are proving yourself the symbol of love, perseverance and patience.
Caution but, do not become possessive of this great gift to the world.
The child you bear is a gift you give to this waiting world.
Whether it be a son or daughter it makes no difference, but ensure in it are implanted
your nobler thoughts.
Let that be Ram, the great son and the loyal husband
Let that be Sita, the personification of patience
Let that be Shiva, the perfectionist
Let that be Krishna, the granter of happiness
Let that be Buddha, the peace-loving guy
Let that be Christ, the painstaking path finder
Let that be Shakti, the symbol of energy
Let that be Arjuna, the great warrior
Let that be Karna, the great giver
Let that be Bheeshma, the great son and the protector
Let that be Einstein, the great scientist
Let that be Shankara or Ramanuja the spiritual path finders
Let the child be any one
You are our great mother
Let your positive attitudes flow through its brain cells in the formation
Let your philanthropic views fill its small heart
Let your far sightedness invade this little one
Let your all-giving mind become part of its attitude
Let all your and its father’s good features constitute this colourful butterfly still in the
cocoon.
You will not entertain any bad thoughts now.
You will not consume anything that may hurt this little one growing in you.
You will not make the kid suffer the shocks of adrenaline that your blood stream gets
injected because of your anxious moments.
243
Nothing to worry.
All will be fine, as it is and as it was.
You may know with the arrival your arrival child there are two deliveries. One birth is
of course of your child and the other is that of a great mother.
Awaiting the arrival of a mother
affectionately
Bashyam Narayanan
244
To the child in the coming
We have been waiting
For almost nine months now
You were born, in fact
The day, when we came to know
You have been sown
And you have been established
Trust you are grown
Full in shape
With strong bones and muscles
And a kind heart
I know your mother's blood
Supplies you all that you need
Make good use of the supply
And build yourself
You know the whole world
Is waiting for your arrival
With lot of love and affection
And with an expectation
That you are going to be different
And special and capable of
Achieving greater and nobler things
Than those which we have achieved so far
Are you a boy or girl
We do not want to know it now
And it makes no difference to us
For what will matter are the
Great thoughts that you are
Going to nurse and your actions
Those realise them
Welcome to this world of wonders
Welcome to this world of love
Welcome to this world of passion
Welcome to this world full of
Opportunities for you to explore
Welcome to this world waiting for you
Your arrival is yet another proof
To the fact that God has faith in human kind
Your arrival is yet another proof
To the fact that Natural systems still prevail
Your arrival is yet another proof
To the fact that Love is the essence of survival
Your arrival will add yet another ray
To the glow of innocence
Your arrival will mark the beginning of
A New Era, new thinking, new hopes
245
And it will pave way for new
Sweet dreams not only for your parents
But to the entire mankind
Your arrival will make new sparkling marks
In our horizons indicating brighter and
Most prosperous days ahead
Come with an open mind
Come with a heart that is kind
Come with a lot of passion
And fashion a new generation
Bashyam Narayanan
246
Twenty year old friendship
Twenty year old friendship
It was this month
Twenty years ago
I came across you
And took you with me
Since then
You are my conscious keeper
I looked at you
For anything and every thing
I look at you
As soon I wake up
I look at you
As I take my breakfast
I look at you
As I leave for office
Whenever there are challenges
I look at you
And you always give me a breather
And you used to say
There is time still
When I look at you in the event
Of an unfavourable situation
You smile with your hands spread
And say
You should have done something about this
Much earlier
Whenever I am in a rush
Whether it is to attend a meeting
Or to catch a flight, train or bus
I look at you
You will say either there is time still
Or you should have left earlier
It is difficult to say
As to when I have not consulted you
Every now and then
I look at you
And you never failed me
You were prompt although
To give me the help I need
I will not say you kept me on my toes
But, yes, you helped me keep my times
Any event, joyful or otherwise
As soon as it occurred
I would look at you
You kept me telling indirectly
That things keep pace with time
And change
Your message was always
That time is the best healer
And is the best in sorting issues
As you know time puts things
247
At their right place
For all these I have done nothing to you
But to feed you
With a small disc
This feed is good enough for you
To keep yourself performing
For months
You might have fallen sick
Thrice in these twenty years
Never once I spent
More than the consultation fee, which I pay
To my medical practitioner
I see of late
You are running slow
Because of this long twenty years’ running
May be, soon I will stop
Consulting you
And I am planning to put you to rest
My dear, twenty years old Titan watch
Bashyam Narayanan
248
Ugly demonstration of affordability
Ugly demonstration of affordability
It is a 2000 students studying school
In a developing economy
It is a great feeling to see kids of
Varying ages crossing me
As I went to dropp my grandchild
While it is a pleasure to watch kids
It was paining me more to see
How these kids reach the school
Not less than 1000 automobiles
It can be a bus, car, two-wheeler
All crowding the entrance of the school
And all creating a traffic jam
In the main road adjacent
No one seems to be disturbed by this
A closer look made me realize
That it was more demonstration of affordability
Than really giving comfort to the
School attending kids
I saw more number of parents and elderly
Than the students themselves
Cars come with two or more
To dropp a kid
Two wheelers carried both the parents
To dropp their beloved kids
Three wheeler Autorikshaws, vans, mini buses
And so many countless vehicles
Crowd the school
At a time when
People rush to offices and workplaces
In the main road
We are thinking in terms reducing
Carbon dioxide emissions
While we introduce emissions
By using vehicles for a jolly drop
What message we are giving children
Is also to be examined
May be, child lives with the feeling
That this comfort will be ever available
As their parents can afford
Affordability is an individual assessment
But the demonstration of affordability
Is not expected to damage the collective sustainability
Surely, we cannot afford children
This comfort
As the world is thinking in terms cutting
249
The emissions by around twenty percent
Let parents give a rethinking
To this
Ugly demonstration of affordability
Bashyam Narayanan
250
Unattended and left to be on his own
Morning
Dad gets up what time
I have no idea
Mom gets up to get busy
In the kitchen
All moving here and there
Dad gets ready
Starts his bike with a kick
Mom climbs up on its back
With a huge bag
Carrying lunch for both
Both wave hands
And the same sentence
“Stay good and eat in time”
And they leave
A grandma at home
Always on bed
Most of the time sleeping
Rest coughing
At times I run to help her
With a glass of water or to
Fetch her medicines
She is, in fact, at home
To take care of me
No one at home to feed me
I eat, on my own, the rice
Kept in casserole at my reachable height
I finish eating with
Food paste smeared all over my body
I do not know what
Other children do at home
When left alone like this
I do not know when this
Struggle of mine will end
Maybe, when I am put in a
Boarding school
I will grow big like my dad
Study well and get a job
But, am determined to marry
Only that woman, who will not
Go for work and
Take care of her kid
Not the one like my mother
Who leaves her kid at home
251
Unattended and
To be on his own
Bashyam Narayanan
252
Understanding is only misunderstanding
When you say
“I understand”
You simply confess
That you are only trying
To understand
And you affirm
To guard against
Misunderstanding
Though this may not be true
In a technical discussion
This is always true
When attempts are made
To evaluate issues
Pertaining to minds and emotions
Let us admit
We have not understood
Any one and
Any of the thought processes
Associated with any individual
How many of us
Have understood our parents?
How many of us
Have understood our spouses?
How many of us
Have understood our brothers
And sisters?
How many of us
Have understood our sons
And daughters?
How many of us
Have understood our customers,
Employers and employees
Bosses and sub-ordinates
More you are confident
About these understandings
More likely
You have misunderstood them
Do not ever claim
That you have
Understood others
As you now understand
That
Understanding is only
253
Misunderstanding
Bashyam Narayanan
254
Unthought of calamities
Most saddening was
The news of a young enthusiastic boy
Studying a professional course
Meeting with a road accident
And succumbing to the injury thereto
God is kind they say
Is He really
This question comes to mind
As the boy died
Not because of his fault or rash driving
He was an innocent pillion rider
Which he became as some one
With a bike offered him a lift
Again, the bike rider too was not at fault
Do you call it fate or ill luck
If the cause and effect theory holds good
What was the cause for this fatal effect
What wrong did the boy
Or his parents do to end up with this irreparable loss
It is no less harsh than a tsunami for this
Well-knit small cute family
And do any of us have words
To console them
And even if you choose to talk to them on this
What will you be able to tell
One lesson is written on the wall
What is there in store for you
And what shock is awaiting you
No one knows
Let us keep seeking the divine’s grace
For adequate emotional support
Which will harden us
To face such
Unthought of calamities
Bashyam Narayanan
255
Varying moods
Varying moods
Our moods swing
From one extreme of joy
To the other extreme of sorrow
With the environ changing
Colour and shade can change
Sound levels can change
Sound modulation may change
Temperature outside may change
Wind speed may change
Harshness of sun may change
The bright moon may go under cloud
The person you are interacting with may change
The words, tone and language
Of the person talking with you may change
The news you heard may have an unexpected change
And many, many things keep changing
Each change or the combination of the changes
Trigger a mood variance
Closely examine
Moods vary not
Because of the changes outside
But because of your perception
Of the changes
You perceive that the change outside
Can have an impact on you
In your favour or otherwise
So, you start reacting accordingly
Effecting a mood change
Perceive objectively
Regardless of its impact on you
Act appropriately
Keeping your cool and
Effectively guarding against the
Varying moods
Bashyam Narayanan
256
Wait, things are shaping up
I approached a sculptor the other day
For carving a statue of
Gautama Buddha
He asked me a number of questions
Some of them were far stretched
Though I answered all of them
I was thinking within that
All these details were unnecessary
He could read my mind and said
These details were needed to help me
Come out with what exactly you were looking for
He suggested my coming to him
Two weeks later
Why so long and he said
Wait things are shaping up
Two weeks later
I saw practically no progress
He showed me a granite block
Which he said he would carve
As Gautama Buddha
He suggested me to visit him
Two weeks later
“Do you not think we are delaying? ”
I asked and he said
Wait things are shaping up
I went to him as suggested
No change at all
The block was under water
And carving had not started
He said that this curing process
Would help him understand
The quality of the block
And he opined
That we were lucky in
Selecting the right granite
And he suggested my visiting him
A week later
“Yes, I know you are wondering
As to why it is taking so much time”
How he could say even without my telling that
He continued
Wait, things are shaping up
A week later
No great change
But the block got castled here and there
No where near my expectations
“Come after three days and see”
But, he assured
Wait, things are shaping up
257
I made four visits later
At intervals of three, two and one days
I could not make out head or tail
Of what was happening
But, each time I returned
Hearing his words
Wait, things are shaping up
I was wondering
Are things really shaping up
Or am I being fooled
I did not visit him for
Full three months
As I was sure that
I would not be able to appreciate
The progress that the sculptor
Would be claiming to have made
One day, there was a call from him
“Come and see your Gautama Buddha”
I was not excited
I visited his place in all reluctance
And was preparing to hear
Wait, things are shaping up
But, what a surprise
Saw my Gautama Buddha
In a shape and carving
Beyond my belief
And I was not able to control my excitement
“I know you are wondering how this could be possible
But, you know, I was telling each time you visited that
Wait, things are shaping up”
We all do prayers seeking some change
And we wonder as to when the change would fructify
God, like a sculptor is shaping things
But, he never tells
Wait, things are shaping up
Bashyam Narayanan
258
We can also fly
A winter afternoon
Just snowed and
Everything white everywhere
I was waiting in one of the busy
Airports of United States of America
To board a flight to New York
Delayed flights
I was wandering in the lounge
Afternoon turning to twilight
So soon, was my wonder
Checking in,
Security checks
Announcements
Calling people by name to board
All were busy
And I was waiting for
The announcement for
Boarding my flight
Overlooking the aircrafts
And people boarding thereon
Through the tall glass panel
And I happened to see
Two sparrows
Chasing one another
And perching on cables
And wires those were running along
The walls of the lounge
Did I hear them talking
It looked like that
One sparrow telling
'Why they are so busy'
The other answering
'They have rescheduled
Most of the flights and
They are trying to accommodate
Everything within a particular time'
'Oh, I see.
But how come they are not taking
A note of us'
'Why should they take a note of us'
'Because, we can also fly'
'You only can fly
But they make others too fly'
Bashyam Narayanan
259
We need to believe as we need to live
We need to believe that
The days ahead are as bright and colourful
As the eastern horizon
On a clear dawn
We need to believe that
The opportunities awiting our exploring
Are as many as many
The number of starts that glitter
On a clear dark sky
We need to believe that
We have the skills to
Create and sustain
Systems with all intricacies
And to terminate them
Adequately harmlessly
We need to believe that
We have the knowledge
To judge right as right
Wrong as wrong
And to take appropriate
Measures if we are on the wrong foot
We heed to belive that
We have all the resources
To build a humanity
Cemented with love and affection
And to protect
All the living things around
Keeping others in tact
We need to believe
That we will leave behind
Enough of natural recources
For future generations
To enjoy and explore
We need to believe
That we have the capability
To motivate the entire human race
To understand and act on the importance
Of universal brotherhood and global welfare
Turning the world a fair place
And a heaven
We need to believe
That we need to believe all the above
As we need to live
Bashyam Narayanan
260
What could be your achievement
What could be your achiement
Your position
Your property
Your power
Your managing skills
Your wealth
Your happiness
Your health
Your fame and name
And so many other skills
None of the above
These all will vanish
And will go into oblivion
Once you depart
And you are on the path
Of disappearing
As each second, minute, hour, day
Is racing you nearer
To that ultimate end
All the above
Will go and you are
Likely to be lost
From the memory of
Your own near and dears,
Leave alone the world
All your materialistic acquisitions
Are likely to lead to family feuds
And there will be total discomfort
Among your own people
History is replete with such cases
You will, in fact, be cursed
For all the earnings you made
Be it by fair means or otherwise
We have seen small possessions of
Even great people
Created warring situations
When they came up for auctions
With regard to their realisations
Materialistic achievement is no
Achievement at all
Your achievement could be that
Which will make others remember you
For years, if not centuries, ahead
261
This achievement is possible
With your thought process
A process that will help others,
When they put your thought processes into action
Can enjoy a living
In total harmony with the nature and surrounding
In total love for all living things around
In total peace and happiness
In total control of everything happening around them
In total satisfaction of having lived
Your achievement is
That thought process
Which you leave behind expressed
Written or oral
In an aim to help
The future world live
In totally fearless and free society
With no hatred or threat
With no doubts regarding their future
Your achievement is
Your positive, productive and futuristic
Thought process
And make all efforts
To earn this great treasure
Bashyam Narayanan
262
WHAT DO WE DO WHEN WE MAKE STEEL?
This impression attempts to present an ideal work arena (of an integrated steel
company) , where human vaues and touch have special emphasis.
WHAT DO WE DO WHEN WE MAKE STEEL?
What do we do when we make steel?
We make the world understand and feel
That united we stand tall and reach
Far beyond others' imagination breach
And that we make a steel not of iron and its mix
But of a strong will moulded in our sense six
What do we do when we make steel?
We make the world understand and feel
That our vision is clear and fixed far
Moving ahead in a steady pace towards
Dashing and clearing all obstacles ajar
Each milestone crossed, planned at par
What do we do when we make steel?
We make the world understand and feel
That making steel has not hardened our heart
We demonstrate human love not in part
But full and gainful to any one we chart
To serve leaving them feel an independent lot
What do we do when we make steel?
We make the world understand and feel
That though profit alone sparks the business
Fuel is our customer delight, steering our righteousness
Acceleration our desire, brake our wakefulness
Road our work ethics, grip our togetherness
What do we do when we make steel?
We make the world understand and feel
That, if you take good care of people
Train them, and enthuse them to tackle
Odd occasions and situations of debacle
Steel gets formed on its own likea miracle
What do we do when we make steel?
We make the world understand and feel
When we mine, we do not explore and excavate minerals
We, indeed, dig out and bring to the world new talents and minds
Our blast furnaces do not knock off oxygen from iron oxide
But blow off the worthless ego deep inside
263
Our steel melting processes do not involve metal hot mixing
They are engaged in a more beneficial minds-and-hearts mixing
Our mills are not designed to press and run over billets
They bring hearts together and help reshape a collective dream
What do we do when we make steel?
We make the world understand and feel
That this is not just a Steel Company
But it is an enthusiastic Zeal symphony
Bashyam Narayanan
264
What is and what is not love
Love is not
Always exchanging pleasantries
It requires greater love
To stand by and support
During unpleasant and
More demanding situations
Love is not
Always being presented with
Most desired gifts
It requires greater love
To understand why a gift
Did not come up
And in the right time
Love is not
Always the unison of
Two bodies to copulate
And co-create
It requires greater love
To appreciate when the loved one
Is undergoing a stress
And requring just a caress
Love is beyond, far beyond
Satisfying these
Emotional, materialistic and
Physical requirements
Real Love
Helps the other
Grow spiritually stronger
After each demonstration
Of 'Love'
Love is
Nothing but the
Unmasked naked hate
Love is
To feel the liberty
To say “I hate you”
To the person loved
And only to declare the next moment
“I love you”
With a passionate kiss
And allowing a similar liberty
To the person loved
Love is not a lost liberty
But it is its demonstration
265
Love is
Freedom to share
Anything one has
Including the very self
At the same time
Not pitting efforts to share
With no expectations
From the person loved
Love is not a bond but
A freedom to be bound
Love is
An ecstasy
Only to be felt and experienced
Normally not explained
Beyond the realms of understanding
Enjoyed only by the persons in love
Keeping them high
And above
Love is not a burden
It is a float
Love and be loved
Enjoy liberty, freedom and ecstasy
Bashyam Narayanan
266
What is new and just born
What is new and just born
The one, which just began ageing and moving towards death
What is dead and gone
The one, which just began reshaping
What is telling a truth
The presentation of such facts and in such a manner
With universal welfare in mind
What is lying
The presentation of such facts and in such a manner
Leading to global disharmony
What is beautiful
The one, which enlightens the artful intelligence
What is ugly and obscene
The one, which aims at triggering sensual indulgence
What is a joy
It is the sorrow just denuded
What is sorrow
It is the joy just denuded
What is love
It is that emotion which feeds
The spiritual thirst of the another
What is hate
It is that emotion
That cremates the very self
Who is bold
The one, who stands upright for
Self-evolved values
Despite being threatened
Physically and emotionally
Who is a coward
The one, who has no
Self-evolved values
And bows down to
Physical and emotional challenges
Who is learned
The one, who makes use of
Whatever his/her intelligence has acquired
And adds values to the knowledge
Refining the same for common good
267
Who is unlearned
The one, who just remembers
What all his/her intelligence has acquired
And makes use of the knowledge
Only for self elevation
Bashyam Narayanan
268
Who is a beggar and who is not
Take your coin, I am no beggar
In our country
Beggars are less uncommon
They are there anywhere
Except
Cemeteries
Burial ground and
Cremation yard
They beg you so pathetically
That you are forced to dropp a coin
Pavements invariably
Irrespective of the city
House beggars
You can make out them
By the way they look
Women beg
Pointing to us the little child
They carry on their waist
Old ladies too beg
And they station themselves
Against you in your path
Making it difficult for you
To step ahead further
While you are on a wait
Either bus stop
Rail station
Park or beach
Some one or the other appear before you
Begging
Truly speaking
It hurts me to turn away someone
Asking for alms
Without getting them something
Some hold the view
That they need not help beggars
As they are not the one
Who made beggars beg
Begging should be discouraged
And to do that
Beggars should not be helped
Is some others’ view point
I am not quite sure
Whether to help beggars or not
I normally dropp a coin of least denomination
In the begging bowl or in the opened up palms of a beggar
Provided I have the coin
If I do not have a coin to part with
Or if I do not have the mind to help
I muster the strength
To tell the beggar
That I have no changes to spare
269
This morning
I was rushing to the office
After getting down from the bus
I saw a middle aged male
Who was rolling down on the tar topped road
Sitting on roller-fixed wooden plank
Pushing with the help of has hands
It appeared he had no legs
I decided to help him with a coin
As I got nearer
I came to understand that he was polio affected
Both his legs becoming non functional
Of late, thin and feeble
I ran my hand through my left pant pocket
Got hold of a coin of a better denomination
Than the one I normally prefer to drop
Stood by his side
As he was enjoying a puff of a lighted cigarette
On his lips
He did not lift his face
Having waited for some seconds
I decided to dropp that coin
I did the same
And started going towards office
I heard the rolling of wheels
When I looked back
The person on the wheel-fixed plank
Pointed his right index finger
Towards the dropped coin
About four metres on the backside
And said curtly
Take your coin
I am no beggar
As I reached the spot
And picked up the coin
I felt too small of me
And in fact, beg for the knowledge
As to know
Who is a beggar and who is not
Bashyam Narayanan
270
Who said what is there in the name
Just change a letter
In the name of a person
Who just now made history
By winning an election
In the most powerful
Democracy of the world
You end up with
A person
Who keeps threatening
The very existence of
The mankind
In the name of
Protecting the interests of
A particular believers
The former rose steadily
To what he is today
And won the hearts of his
Fellow countrymen in particular
And of the world in general by his
Inspiring words of wisdom
While the latter
Sprang to limelight and
Drew the attention of the world
By massacring thousands of lives
In a single attack
In the very land of the former
If the former is democratically elected
The latter is demonically nominated
If the former is in an attempt to
Strengthen the bond of human love
The latter is severing the same
In the name of faith and following
If the former is for development and growth
The latter is all set for destruction and death
As the same plant
Strikes a rose and a thorn too
The human race has
Both the former and latter
Yes, rose is a rose is a rose is a rose
And thorn is nothing but a thorn
Who said what is there in the name?
Bashyam Narayanan
271
Why it’s so only to me?
Why it’s so only to me
I was getting ready
To go to office
Dressed up
Reached dining table
For breakfast
I heard my wife
“The milk got spoilt
The bread got charred
Why it’s so only to me? ”
You were telling something
I asked my wife
“Just thinking something”
She said, making me realize
That I am now blessed
With the power of
Hearing what others think
“Why it’s so only me”
With this thought dominating
I stepped onto the road
I would not have made
Even 100 steps
I heard a voice
“My master is wonderful
He gets me anything
I can think of
But the problem is
He will not allow me
To piss on this good looking lamp post
Why it’s so only to me? ”
I saw a dog being guided
By an elderly gentleman
My sense is so sharp
It can decipher what animals
Can think
But again the puzzle
“Why it’s so only to me? ”
I reached the bus stop
I saw a middle aged lady
Running to catch
A bus already on the move
The door of the bus closed
And the bus left without her,
Who was gasping
“Late again today
Why it’s so only to me”
272
I could make out
It was her thinking
My bus came
I boarded the bus
And the driver greeting me
Passed my pass over the sensor
Took a seat
Followed me a youngster
Inserted a dollar currency
In its slot
Dropped two quarters
In their slot
But ticket did not pop up
“Probably one of your coins
Is not OK.
Insert a fresh quarter”
Youngster did that
And the ticket popped up
“Oh God, why it’s so only to me”
I heard his thinking
As he took his seat
The bus took off
But it was to be stopped frequently
Either against signals
Or against requests for stopping
“What the hell today
Why it’s so only to me”
I could hear the voice
Of the driver
And I knew it was his thinking
My stop came and I got down
While walking towards
Office entrance
I ran my hand through my pocket
My id card was missing
“Why it’s so only to me”
I was telling myself
And picked up my cell
So that I can request my wife
To bring my office id card
What a surprise
She got down from a bus
And handed over me
My card
I had nothing to say
But to embrace her
And planted a most affectionate kiss
273
On her lips
To the envy of all standing around
And watching this drama
“Ah, what is happening?
Get up and you said
You have to go to office early today”
This harsh awakening voice of my wife
Made me realize it was all a dream
Laughing within I slipped down from bed
With the answer to puzzle
“Why it’s so only to me? ”
And the answer is
“It’s so with lot many”
Bashyam Narayanan
274
Will there dawn wisdom and help us live in peace and freedom
You will bear with me for not being
Able to tell things coherently
As I am too immature to narrate things
But I chose to tell
Because of the plight I am presently in
All started, may be, two months back
We were living in a decent home
Not definitely, a luxurious one
True, we were in some comfort
We were asked to move out as
The army was assigned the job of chasing away, those,
Who they call “tigers”
Once tigers are out, we can be back home
Was what I was given to understand
We moved to a camp, dad and mom carrying heavy loads
Of our belongings
We were asked to shift to another, another, another camps
Each time we shifted, the belongings shrinking in size
Dad would go out in the morning
Only to collect ration for next day’s eating
And mom would move around to gather
Vegetable litters for cooking
This went on for a week
I could see the helplessness of parents,
Who were dreaming of getting me
The best food, dress, education and a number of other things
One evening dad did come back
Only to tell that he may be absconding
As the police expressed doubts
Of his being an informer to
The outlawed group
Next day morning dad was not to be seen
Mom is quiet
And she was repeatedly telling me to be quiet as well
Some people came to our camp
And they were enquiring about
Dad’s whereabouts
Finally they took away my mom too
It is now seven eight days
Since I saw mom last
No news about her too
I could not comprehend
As to what would have happened to her
People in our camp
Look at me differently
I do not know how to take it
Are they kind to me
Or are they sympathizing with me
Or are they pitying me
275
Or are they afraid of me
Even kids who used to smile at me
Keep away
All stopped enquiring me about my welfare
One thing is becoming clear to me
The people in power
Want to erase our entire race
Cleansing our mother land
Of her own sons and daughters
The phase ethnic eradication
Is beyond my understanding
But is it not that
The process will eradicate the
Entire human race
The earth belongs to all
In an equal measure
Whether rich or poor
Whether speak a language or the other
Whether follow a particular faith or the other
Whether white or black in colour
This is so simple to understand
How come the matured and learned
Fail to think in this line
I am still here in this distorted land
With no future visible nor the present in hand
Will there dawn wisdom
And help us live in peace and freedom
Bashyam Narayanan
276
Will this be my last breathe
Will this be my last breathe
A question or doubt
That occurs to us
At times and the frequency of which
Becomes more
With advancing age
The anxiety is not out of way
As we witness people
Dying suddenly of a number of
Disease conditions and
System disorders
Leave alone,
People in large numbers meeting their ends
In man made accidents and
Natural calamities
No one knows for sure
How, when and where the
Death would conquer him or her
It can be while sleeping
It can be on an operation theatre
It can be while partying
It can be any time, any where and any how
And one day
Any one has to depart
It is natural
When this thought strikes
One would quickly take a relook
Of the entire life path
The tasks unfinished
The dreams unrealized
The goals unaccomplished
The wealth left behind
The love and affection of dearest ones
And range of things
That impacted his or her living
Positively or otherwise
These days, the person struck by this thought
Would, very likely, think about the
Possible financial benefits
From the life insurance funds
To the kith and kin
One fact, most people miss to note
Is that
When this is really the last breathe
There need not be any more worries
As all worldly things associated with the person
Become insignificant immediately after this
277
If at all, any one is to worry
Are the people left behind
The nearest one worrying maximum
The extent of worry dilutes
With the distance of association
Peripheries not even making a note
Of one’s departure
Least worrying person
Is the one who departs as
Nothing really happens to him or her
Who is going to breathe last
The physical pain associated with death
And emotional pain of moving away
From belongings vanish all on a sudden
Traditional wisdom points out
To one simple thing
Keep your cool
Know and feel the fact
That you are relieved of all
Attachment and bond
Associated with this body
You are not the one to worry any further
It is for people around you to do that
As they will be the one to stand
The impact of your departure
You cannot in any manner contribute a thing
Towards alleviating their pain
Breathe your last in peace and comfort
Bashyam Narayanan
278
Winspiration
Winspiration
The inspiration
That drives you to win
Is
Winspiration
The question of winning comes
When we play a sport
Where winning is the ultimate goal
Defeating the other team
With a better scoring
And by fair means
This winspiration, of course,
Covers a broader range
And it includes
All games we play in life
In sports
The winning team can just walk away
From the scene and the losing team
But in life games
We need to be day in and day out
With the people with whom we play
And be with them
On a continuous relationship
Winspiration in fact provides means for us
Not only to win a game
But also gives
The people, whom were won,
A feeling that
Really they are the one
Who have won
Thus, winspiration
Creates an environment for
Win-win situation rather
A won-lost or lost-won situation
Continue to play life games
Win-inspired so that
There are only winners
All around
Bashyam Narayanan
279
With so much riches standing tall, proud and around
Pre-fall afternoon
Dispersed sunlight through
The rain-non-bearing white clouds
A less busy traffic
But a very important road
Of one of the top ten cities of
The most advanced country
People looking rich
And demonstrating their richness
By enjoying their lunch
In the open
On the pedestrian pathway
Both sides of the road
Devouring a wide range
Of cuisines
Gulping sips in between
Of their favourite beverages
Walking along
Made me feel the show of
Prosperity and the glory
Of the nation
With tall sky-scrapping
Business houses
Cars of others’ envy
Passing in dignified style
I was to believe
That this nation
And its people
Have no taste of poverty
As anything a human
Could think of having
They have
As I was walking on the
Very clean and neatly paved
Platform
I heard some male voice
Singing loudly
“Let this day prove to be
More prosperous
To you
Help me with a quarter ($) ”
The male voice
Coarse but in sustained pitch
Thrashed my belief
I had no doubt
Many of the people
Enjoying their food
280
Would have heard this cry
Of a fellow human being
Seeking help and support
It was not much longer before
I came off this shock
I saw a display
“Single mom
Struggling with the kid
Will any one help? ”
And a thirty plus woman
With a kid
On a pavement
And by the side of the
Colourful chrysanthemum
It has become a regular scene
On one side of the platform
Decently dressed
Eaters with laughter
And the other side
Close to the road
Seekers after probably a disaster
Had it been my country
The sight would be less hurting
As most of us
Are yet to see our ends meet
If our country is less fortunate
This country is most unfortunate,
Which is not able to take care of
The miseries of
A handful of have-nots
With so much riches
Standing tall, proud and around
Bashyam Narayanan
281
You are much more than what you think you are, you have much more than
what you think you have
You are not
What you think you are
You are just the force
Operating a robot
Whose physical and
Chemical dimensions
Are determined by
A permutation and combination
Of certain amino-acids
You are not
What you think you are
You are not
What you think you are
You are not a female or male
You are not a daughter or son
You are not a sister of brother
You are not a mother or father
You own not a thing
You belong to one
Nothing is yours
None is yours
The only thing you own
Is you
As said elsewhere
You are born a daughter or son
Only to the nature’s desire
To ensure continuity
Of a particular
Genetic system
Your emotions are thus unreal
Your pleasures are unreal
Your pains are unreal
Your sorrows are unreal
All keep changing
With your change with
Your attitude and out look
The only thing unchanging and real in you
Is you
You are placed in this robot
And operating it
Just to accomplish the
Unmet desires that you
Were nursing
Earlier in yet another robot,
Or in previous birth,
As some learned say
And if you so believe
282
Remain just a witness
To what all happening
Stay emotion free
Stay fear free
Stay in confidence
Stay in peace
Stay in balance
You will see
Great things got
Achieved by your
Effectively operating
The robot, wherein
You are placed
You are not
What you think
That you are
You are much more
Than what you think you are
You have much more
Than what you think you have
Bashyam Narayanan
283
You can stay in perfect bliss, if you so choose
It is all fine here
I do not see anything
Nor do I hear anything
No hunger
No sleep
Ever wakeful
All of us here
Do not wish or long for anything
Things are fine around
And we are in great comfort
The dull light available
Is good enough to make out
What is happening
How come everything,
Everything means everything
Including me and mines, near or far
Has become totally insignifcant
We have nothing to worry about
We have nothing to plan or act
We just keep moving here and there
In the thin air
Only thing we do to each other is to smile at each other
Regardless of the other taking note of it or not
Once a while we understand
That someone has left
For taking shape
And once again that someone
Will hear, see, cry and laugh
Travel to this world was smooth
Staying here is wonderful
I do not know how long will I be here
As I will also go to a shape anytime
Is what my understanding says
All of you will one day or the other come here
And that time you will recall
What all I said above
I will not invite you here
As you feel you are safe there
I will not say you will also be in comfort
As many of us feel
All depends on how much
Attached are you with things around you
The more attached there
284
The more difficulties here
But, note, your coming here
Is definite and inevitable
But no one knows
When, how and why
Nevertheless, do not be afraid of this world
It is wonderful, painless
You can stay in perfect bliss
If you so choose
From a just departed soul
Bashyam Narayanan
285
You have fallen in love with me
You want me to say I love you
But I won’t say that
As I simply love you
You want me to say I will die for you
But I won’t say that
As I have given up all for you
Including my soul
You want me to say I will care for you
But I can’t say that
As I do not take care of my very self
After your acquaintance
You want me to say let’s dream together
But I can’t say that
As I do not sleep at all in your memories
You want me to say I will do anything for you
But I won’t say that
As I am undone after your taking over me
You want me to say you are the most beautiful
But I can’t say that
As I do not see anything else, but you
You want me to say the world is nothing before you
But I won’t say that
As I am off this world in your presence
I won’t ask for anything from you
I won’t want you to say anything
I won’t demand you to promise anything
I won’t seek to know from you anything
As I have understood
With all that you wanted from me that
You have fallen in love with me
Bashyam Narayanan
286
You have the right to feel, you are successful
Success, sweet success
Success, it is waiting for you
To own and hold on to it
Success of any kind
Has easy access
If you are after it restlessly
Success is not indeed the end
It is the beginning of a
New chain of successes
Simple it is to be successful
So simple, you wonder how many of us are not at it
It all depends on what you feel
Success means to you
You may school your thoughts
And train your emotions
To feel successful on everything
That happens around you
Your retention of all your
Physical, mental and social abilities
Is indeed your success
Your ability to make friends
And help them out in times of need
Is indeed your success
Your ability to keep your cool
In emotionally competing events
And situations
Is indeed your success
Your ability to make your ends meet
Come over challenges, emotional or otherwise
At the right time and in a rightful manner
Is indeed a success
Your ability to stand up
And hold on to your values
Is indeed a success
Your ability to be able to
Discharge your assigned responsibilities
Is indeed your success
Your ability to objectively assess
People and events
Without painting them subjectively
Is indeed your success
287
Your ability to stay most of your time positive
Progressive and productive
Creative and innovative
Is indeed your success
Your ability to hold on to
Your original traits
Without succumbing to the temptations
Of becoming someone else
Is indeed your success
If this forms your scale to measure success
You have the right to feel
You are successful
Bashyam Narayanan
288
You need to learn a lot from us, the tiny creatures, cockroaches
We were a colony
I had no head count and
Cannot tell you how many were there
We must be in thousands
We were too crowded was the fact
No one can walk, all of us practically crawling
Our living conditions compare no where
Near the ways you live
Not that we were in discomfort
That is the way we live
This colony got established over a period
We were sure of getting food
Any time any quantity
We were thriving on whatever left over by you people
Our colony grew steadily
Along the road to its full length
It was not known to you people
That there existed colony of ours
Under your own nose
One of your lads
Stumbled in our colony
When he was cleaning the unauthorized canteen
Run on the footpath
Whose kitchen rejects were our feed
He was frightened at the sight of our crowd
And yelled
A war like situation came up
And our colony was invaded
By an army of people
With broomsticks, long flat wooden panels, etc.
In addition, they fumigated our colony
Making us rush out in the open
Young ones managing to run with their guiding mothers
Elder ones even flying
We were not sure as to where
We would be shifting
We crawled here and there
Crossing the road
Minding not the heavy traffic
Some of us got crushed too
We were fleeing for life
We got spread so much
The entire passers by had a feel of our unique scent
Some of them even holding their breathe
And some using out their handkerchief as respiratory protection
289
There was no need for this invasion
We were in no competing with any of your things
We were making a living of your left over
We were not seen in your midst
It is alright, if you want us to vacate
But, it hurts if you take measures to eliminate us
We were created by the same nature
That created you
We assure you
Despite your dislike and distaste for us
We will survive as we are determined
You should appreciate the strength
And steadfastness with which we survive
Even the toughest of conditions
Will not eliminate this gene
You need to learn a lot from us
The tiny creatures, cockroaches
Bashyam Narayanan
290
You need to thank God
You need to thank God
Because
You are able to open up this piece,
Read, understand
And appreciate or discard
You read it
Because you saw it
For which again
You need to thank God
You read it because
You are familiar with a language
You understood the contents
Because you were able to apply
Your memory
Squeezing your neurons
For which again
You need to thank God
A fraction of a second
Is sufficient enough to totally disarray
The large number of systems
Performing in you
They are in tact
Which only made you
Read this
Yes
You need thank God
Do not look for
Miracles to happen
And wait till that time
To thank God
Each second passing
And your being conscious of
The happenings
By itself a miracle
And
You need to thank God
Bashyam Narayanan
291
Your child your pride, Your grandchild your guide
True
Our children are our pride
They give you
Immense pleasure
With their glowing innocence
And
Such newly discovered expressions
Which you have not experienced earlier
Their growth
Is always showering on you
A sense of satisfaction
Their intelligence
Is always rated by you
To be much higher than
What you possesed in your childhood
Their observations are
Special to you
And you waste not time
In executing corrective or preventive actions
To satisfy their needs
And you do that all with great pleasure
There comes a gap
As they mature
And you are relieved to see
A new childhood again
When your grandchild comes in your life
You see a still higher degree
Of innocence
And intelligence in this generation
You feel your grandchild
Has much greater potential
To achieve than
Your own child, leave alone
The very your own self
As you have gained
Some more maturity
Than what you had when you reared your child
And have crossed
Hurdles with deeper troubles
Your association with the new arrival
Gives you more pleasure
Than what you had with your child
Not only that
With a renewed syllabus
292
In the study of life
Your grandchild looks a professor to you
Had you seen a teacher in your child
Your grandchild guides you
Through a research project
On this subject
And confers on you a doctorate
Or rejects
Based on your self searching skills
And learning abilities
Your child your pride
Your grandchild your guide
Bashyam Narayanan
293
Your grandchild has tougher lessons to teach
When your child was born
You might have learned certain lessons
As he or she was growing
The child would have been
Teaching lessons
Which you were not learning
From anywhere else
You would have found the lessons
Tough and difficult to absorb
As basics and fundamentals
Language used by the faculty
Methodology of teaching
Were quite different
Most of the time unstructured
Unmindful of your moods
The teacher would have kept you
Loaded with lessons difficult to decipher
The classes were far unique and
Very specially different
From any of the formal institution
Which were preparing you
For making a life
The lessons here aimed at
Making you live fully alive and aware of
Absolute realities
You would agree
Learning these never made you tired
And you were enthusiastically looking for
New lessons to come up
By the time
Your child has grown up
And stopped teaching you any further
Your grand child arrives
Now the lessons turn tougher still
Despite all the experiences in life and living
Your learning is quite difficult now
The teacher is in a great hurry
And often keeps changing
The course of lessons
You find new reasons
For things happening around
And you see yourself
In new enthusiasm
Which you feel will help you live
Longer still
With enough energy, strength and skill
In spite of the fact that
Your grandchild has tougher lessons to teach
Bashyam Narayanan
294
Your proximity means a lot to me
Your proximity means a lot to me
Yes, it means a lot to me to be with you
And to be intimately close to you
Not just a physical togetherness
But with a soulful oneness with you
You have been the drive of my life so far
But here and there I missed you
As I chose to act differently from your direction
You never let me down any time
You kept your watch on me
Not uttering a word
Though you maintain a silence I know
What you expect me to do
That will please you
Your directions are not always worldly wise
Your directions are not always fetching
Your directions are not always rewarding
Your directions are often different from acquired wisdom
Your directions are not taught in any school
We understand them from the experience of not life, but of living
Still your proximity means a lot to me
It leaves behind a great satisfaction
After being with you and after having acted upon your direction
When I look back
I understand that
Actions performed as per your directions
Never made me regret them
Though at the time of acting
I needed lot strength than what I require
When I am acting on the path of acquired wisdom
Your proximity means a lot to me
Oh my love, that is hidden deeply in my heart
And you are different from
The wisdom planted in the mind
And gathered in life
Bashyam Narayanan
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