Of boundaries and freedom

I am faithful only to my spirit
not for me the shackles of your
singular love when the whole
world is mine for the taking

So call me unfaithful if you like
I will not be tied down by you
and yet I need you to be there
and in my heart of hearts I am
glad that you have the boundaries
that I so openly denounce and lack.

For what good is freedom if all
were free to do as they please?
an explorer leaves the comfort of
his home to reach new worlds, a
solitary bird scours the sky for new
horizons; but at the end of it all
don't they all look forward to
returning somewhere to someone
waiting eagerly only for them?

At the end of its voyage, where would
the weary ship return if there was no
harbor? What if one day the harbor decided
to leave just like the ship? If the nest
moved on with the wind and so did the home?

Though I may never admit, I know in my
heart of hearts that I am free to be free only
because that which I ridicule as bondage is
really the love that nurtures me and my quest

Inspired by Vijay's "Unfaithful" at AKN
The photograph above was taken by my friend Amit

Shadows

Shadows of the mind
which we run from in fear
do not get left behind
they run as fast and often
fester our very soul.

Why not stop and face them
maybe we shall find that
their power to hurt and haunt
had diminished with time
long ago and we were just
running as a matter of habit.

Shadows look bigger in the
dark recesses of our mind
when challenged they often
shrink paving the way for a
new sunrise and finally freedom

(Also posted in AKN on Ryze)

The Gift

They always found him very quiet
It seemed he never had much to say
Nothing to add to their discussions
Lively debates about past, future or today

Guys around him thought him a bit dull
Often he was the butt of their jokes
But it never did bother him really, that
He was not considered ‘one of the blokes’

He recalled his Bible teacher had said
“In the beginning was the Word”
But he often quietly wondered why
Most people so wanted to be heard

He noticed that very few listened
Everyone had too much to tell
'There’s hardly any buyer', he mused
'All of us are just out to sell'!

Being perceptive, he noted in his diary
‘Much of what is said is nonsense’
And every night when he knelt to pray
He thanked God for his gift of silence

(First published in AKN on Ryze, 14th Feb '05)

Farewell to the man who had all the luck

Yesterday the world lost Arthur Miller. However, he will live on in our memories for his great plays, especially Death of a salesman (1949), which is today seen as one of the major achievements of modern American theatre.

I remember when my friends and I first saw the play enacted in Calcutta, we hotly debated Willy Loman's act. Was it cowardice or a true sacrifice? We never reached a consensus. Can anyone ever know?

India on the fast track

Scene 1: TCS wins a huge 3 year contract with Ferrari for providing IT and engineering services to develop its race car engine, starting 2005.

Scene 2: 28year old Narain Karthikeyan is all set to become India's first F1 driver, having been offered a place on the Jordan team for 2005.

Looks like an exciting year ahead, with India finally accelerating onto the international fast track!