I walk down through my memory lane,

Not too far off, just till the day when I recognized you,

Daddy, you are my hero in merry and pain,

Your index finger that I held during the walks on dew,

The little stories that you said of kings and queens,

I remember even the whacks that you gave for my future,

So many memories daddy, that has made me what I am now,

Many a good things that you had for me went unseen,

You are my first admirer for all the little poems I author,

You have always been the source for me to feel endow.

Daddy, you are my guide for me to learn this world,

In every walk of life, I have felt your strong shoulder safeguarding,

You have been with me whenever my dreams whirled,  

And always told me that there would be something better waiting,

Dawn to dusk I have bathed in your love,

Like a prodigal daughter unfathomed, I have brushed you aside,

But yet like a guardian angel you have always bestowed blessings,

You have always been there for me and so no one shoved,

Dad, with you besides me, my life has always been a joyride,

If not for you daddy there would have never been these writings.

Dog and I have not much difference,

Both of us stand waiting,

Not for showers of rain,

Or blessings from heaven,

But for a piece of Dosa,

That the small road-side vendor would throw,

The anticipation was would victory be mine or dog’s,

If it be dog’s, he would put it on the road and eat,

If mine I would give to my kid there on the platform.

Everyday this is my routine,

My tough war with the brown dog,

I have no strength to shoo him away,

And grab the bounty thrown by the vendor,

I leave my kid on the platform waiting with hunger,

If a Dosa change shape or become burnt,

Me or the dog is in luck,

We wait eagerly looking at the vendor’s hand,

There are days when the vendor never has a mishap,

When both me and the dog curse our luck.

Today might not be so,

Praying all the God’s that I know,

I was sitting along with the dog,

Looking carefully at the vendor’s hands,

For a long time there was no luck,

Suddenly hearing the screech of the pan,

I was assured a burnt dosa,

 With all concentration I looked at the vendor,

The throw was perfect and so was the catch,

The dog caught the Dosa, while death caught me.

To get that one mouth of burnt Dosa for my kid,

 I fell before a bus with the Dosa in my hand,

Just to see the dog grab it away from me,

As the unfair luck smiled at me,

Letting me die and my kid hungry and motherless…

I wake up before the Sun,

And get ready to join my father,

After a long walk with my silent dad,

We pass through a park,

Where we stop to begin our routine,

My friend Rahul and his dad jog past us,

I hear him whisper to his dad,

He is my classmate

And his father, replied Don't talk to such boys,

Unmindful of what we heard, I help my dad,

We finish our work on that spot and move on.

Hot scorching Sun doesn't stop my dad nor me,

We walk bare footed on the hot tar road,

Passing one destination after the other,

As we walk our bags become heavier and heavier,

Watching my dad walk unmindful of the weight,

Had made me also bear everything,

From the comments to the weight of my bag.

We stop by on a road side shop for lunch,

Just opposite to the busy road,

Is a small restaurant, which my dad dotes on,

He says one day he has to have a cup of coffee there,

It would not cost more than five rupees,

But just that he would not think of spending that amount for himself,

Heat of the Sun doesn't alter my dad and me, we continue.

By noon we start to reiterate our path,

The same bins that we picked in morning were full now,

My dad relentlessly digs in the stench filled dustbins,

To find his bounty, but he never lets me to do it,

He says, Son let this end with me

By dusk we get back to the shop to weigh our collection,

All day's work just to earn less than hundred rupees.

On our way back, my dad said,

Son one day I want to see you with your son,

Like your friend Rahul and his dad not like us

I know my dad, he works all day picks rags on roads,

Saves money for my future,

No big dreams I carry other than,

One, to take my dad for a cup of coffee in that restaurant.

I work hard to bring centum on my cards,

Just to earn my dad that one cup of coffee.

Pitch dark, alone, silent,
Slowly he creeps in my room,
But wanders here and there,
Unwilling to get into form,
An itch in my mind

Pitch dark, alone, silent,
Slowly he creeps in my room,
But wanders here and there,
Unwilling to get into form,
An itch in my mind,
A lustrous desire to take him in,
And enjoy wonderful pleasures,
But he refuses.

He was strong in my heart,
Shapeless, yet refusing form,
He moves weirdly,
Making me restless with pain,
Time passes by,
Threatens to leave me alone,
My plea is heard finally,
Promises to stay.

Eyes closed wait for him,
Peaceful mind clear of thoughts,
Slowly yet forcefully he gets in,
Mind completely rejuvenated,
I take him in fully,
To create a beautiful creature,
Few minutes of pain and pleasure,
To form a complete creation.

After endless pleasure,
Beads of sweat,
Trails down my forehead,
My paper complete,
End of a creation,
Ready for my readers…

Way back your memory,
Down the lane of your thoughts,
Deep down everyone’s heart,
Lay the sweetest memories

Your first day at school,
With tears rolling down your cheek,
Holding mom’s hand tight never to let it,
The first kindergarten teacher,
Rhymes that you learnt,
Happiness on your mother’s face listening to you.

Your first friend at school,
The sweets that you shared with her,
Your first fight with her,
The little rhymes that you both recited,
Little wounds after a great game,
The cute wink after a naughty act.

The monkey fights with your sibling,
Little secrets shared without mom’s knowledge,
Eating the shared toffee like puppies,
Walking to school holding hands,
Signing each other’s progress cards,
Little things a foundation for a strong bond.

The first guy that you admire,
A naughty wink from a teenager,
First kiss in your dream,
Self-admiring in the mirror not knowing passage of time,
Dreamy days with thoughts of a dream boy,
Occasional un-rhyming so-called poems, now just a fun.

First day in college,
Search for the best guy in class,
Friendship with the most admired guy,
Dreamy dates of romance and joy on starry nights,
Placement in different firms,
Unknown tears of partition, never to talk again.

First job fear and stress filled day,
Pride of earning more than daddy,
Joy of hearing mom talk proud about you to neighbor,
A workstation and computer to make you fly high,
First salary and parent’s blessings,
A day of pride with a little tear in the corner of your eyes.

All these little thoughts deep down,
Little secrets, little fun, little sorrows,
Sweet flashbacks never to fade from our memories…

Like the buzzing of a bee,
Just next to my ear,

Like an old ceiling fan,
Right above my head,

Like a lover-boy speaking in a cell phone,
Just next to my seat,

Like a loud horn in a bus,
Right in the front row,

Like a talkative friend,
Just next to you in at the cinema,

Like a loud mouthed boss,
Right before you a pain everywhere,

Like the ring tone of a cell phone,
Just when you break your head with a code,

Like the hush of a cloud,
Right when you admire the moon’s its beauty,

Like the tone of a little love fight,
Just when he is late for dinner,

My love for you,
Is it an in-healable wound?
No I call it a sweet disturbance,
A never-ending pleasurable PAIN…

Born as male, yet living as female,
A curse to the gender,
Heavily loaded with make-up and lipstick,
Adorned with dazzling attire,
When we walk on roads,
The wave of crowd move away,
Like the red sea parting for the Israelites,
They call us THE THIRD GENDER.

God’s creation, no sin of ours,
Epics talk loud of us,
Loyal followers of Lord Rama,
Legend behind winning the Kurukshetra,
Trustworthy servants of the Chinese emperors,
Alexander the great’s best desire,
Blessed we are on festival days,
Yet deprived of all human rights.

For hunger, we remain platters to men’s pleasure,
Begging by force is not uncustomary,
For none are even trusted as servants,
Thrown away not even equal to dust,
Tattered by the inhuman attitude,
Not even the least respect given to us,
None to understand,
We crumble down in humiliation.

Unfortunate of us,
If it be God, an embodiment of man and women,
Human race kneel down to pray for health,
But for us the treatment is less,
Begging or selling ourselves for food,
None of our folklore in an old age home,
Nor hoarding money for luxury,
Yet not given even least of love.

Alike the God you pray to,
Bestowed with power of blessing,
A great history behind us,
To curse as well as bless,
Call us neither Gods nor the third gender,
We are also humans same as you,
Longing for ages together,
For respect and love…

An old, rusted, van,
Moving as slow as it can,
In a fast, speedy, busy road.

Frustrated by the speed,
I overtake them to see,
A load of crying hearts in it.

Filled with old men and women,
The van was from an old age home,
A banner displayed “Ever happy old age home”

For a minute my mind wondered,
Slowed down my bike to hear their talks,
Just to understand the ironic banner.

A lady by the window, her locks displaying her age,
With tears rolling down her cheeks,
Jeering to see a happy family traveling in a car.

Another gentleman dressed well for his age,
Says “my son in US, leaving me here, gives lot of money”
A tear in the corner of his eyes longing for his dear ones.

A couple sitting next to the driver spoke,
“Ah! That little boy should be our grandson’s age”
And both sigh together with memories.

Why didn’t those ruthless sons and daughters think?
At least for a minute, all that these old people had done,
For them to be doctors, businessmen, and software engineers.

They can give them loads and loads of money,
But would it be equal to their presence?
Or like a hand to wipe off their tears.

Another old woman walked slowly with her walking stick,
Boarded the van, waved goodbye to her granddaughter,
Wiped away her tears and said, “you be good to your mom”

I thought of the irony and her pain,
Why this poor state, will they ever see happiness?
Green signal for me, they still stood in red…

Like a strong wind,
Eating away everything on its way,
Mercilessly blowing young maiden’s clothes,
Making the sea dance to your enticing tunes,

Blowing the shore’s sand
Making her twist and turn like a new bride,
Coupling the two Ashoka trees by my window,
Entwining and touching the leaves like a handshake,
Drawing artful designs on the sky,
Bewitching and rich like the designs drawn by a maid’s toe.

You are like the little round smiley in a game of packman, eating all the soft hearts that you see on your way,
You are like a fresh honey-filled flower in a forest,
following you comes hither thither all queen bees,
You are like the sweet scent of a freshly baked cake,
trailing you will be little kids with a bight smile.

You are all over my mind,
I hear my heart while talking to you,
You have enticed my mind and heart,
Like a virus, which empowers a computer.
You see with your piercing eyes deep down me,
I feel thousands of butterflies kissing me.

You are a virus,
A virus, which has corrupted my mind,
And still lingering in my system,
Slowing empowering me, ruling over me.

Are you a virus?
Or is this called love?

Wild, thoughtless, unpardonable,
Ruthless and also heartless,
Eat on human feelings and yet laugh,
You are a sadist. Why had God created you?

One visit of yours will ruin kingdoms,
Destroy happiness and friendship,
Kill the love even in a brave heart,You are a pain. Cant God exempt us of you?

Like a venomous serpent,
Swallowing all its innocent preys,
Love and happiness flows straight into your belly,
You are a villain. Can’t God destroy you?

Hearts with Cupid’s decorated arrow,
Will sadden with your lightest look,
Mercy is despised in your kingdom,
You have no kindness. Can’t God save us?

Pain laden hearts, with tears rolling down,
Is the best that you could ever enjoy,
For Satan is your master and you his slave,
You are ruthless. Can’t God emancipate humans?

You take away grown up sons from
Old, tried parents,
You take away sweet hearts from,
Young, happy lovers,
You take away happiness from,
Poor, merry humans,

Like a lion tearing a poor lamb,
And roaring victoriously,
You smile with your blood stained teeth,
For Humans are eternally wedded to you.
Why?