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"Poetry Doesn't Sell"
"Sorry we cant publish your works"
"Its not a lucrative business opportunity"
"It wouldn't work out...we don't sell poetry"
Ive heard it all...on the phone, through letters, through e-mails and on my face...and February is when I drove those demons back to their graves and buried them forever. After persisting and persevering for over 12 years...a dream has come true and will be cherished forever...no matter how small the piece or presence looks in the entire picture...it doesn't matter. This is just the beginning...
Some might think that I might be going overboard with this story...but one shouldn't hide away from the truth...Im laying it bare as is to what the voices in my past have filled my mind and heart with. These are the voices that drove me to bounce back higher and forced them to eat their words. I have never felt so victorious in my entire life than at this moment...what seemed impossible and far-fetched is now tangible and true.
This dream took 12 years to come true (much less than some more deserving poets from pillar to post) and it took much more than I expected from me and I became a better and a stronger person. Good things don't come easy..and this wasn't easy...but at the end...it was the best of things to have ever happened. But the dream took 2 years to come to life after the actual 10 year wait...at that moment it seemed like so near but yet too far. The last mile was painful and miserable, but light at the end of the tunnel...
All credit goes to the team at Prakriti Foundation...but my first thanks in this pursuit would go to Dr. Lakshmi Ravikant who helped me get in touch with them and it was only then that things began to change...began to move...the wheels of fortune began to roll.
The 2007 Poetry with Prakriti Festival was my first gateway to this dream and this was a memorable experience. In 2008, after the first festival got over, the second edition was a promising event and got a lot more response and fervor in the circle and then the announcement was made...an anthology of all the poets with their select works to celebrate its success of the poets and the art of poetry. This was my moment of truth...but this would then take its own twists and turns for 2 long years and taught me the virtue of patience and persistence...
In February 22nd, 2010...the warm applause faded away into an evening that sounded the horns of victory. I sit in my chair and a memory of the last 12 years of my writing rushes through me in images...the founder comes to the podium and reads the introduction a warm applause follows. he then requests each poet to read out their works to showcase them to the press and the public. My turn comes and it takes me a moment to reach there and a deep breath to gather my words...
The book is in my hands and my name and works is in that book...with an ISBN (my first ever)...Poetry with Prakriti 2007 - 2008 is the title...and its pages are fragrant. Amidst some wonderful and awesomely talented poets from all over the country, my name is in that crowd somewhere. I was there...after 12 years or relentless and persistent affair with the art and now it had come boiling down to this glorious moment...and I was soaking in it. The bruises and the scars of the past were now washed away and it felt like a dip in the Holy Ganges...a rebirth.
My turn comes and my speech begins..."this is my first ever publishing effort...with an ISBN and Id like to thank everyone who made it possible...its an amazing feeling to be published along with some awesome poets from all over the country...its an honor. Its taken 12 years but its been worth every effort and drop of blood, sweat and tears. So here I am and a special thanks to my friends who made it to the evening. The poem Im about to recite is dedicated to a friend of mine who was one of my best fans and the silent critics Ive ever had...he'd be scared to even say a word but his silence was my best answer...hes no more now and the poem I'm about to recite was on his favorite themes of Pirates and Adventures...this is dedicated to him. This one is called 'Pirate I am, Aye!'
After moments passed, a drop of tear and a emotional performance...a warm but loud applause from a senior and well-read crowd gave me a feeling that could have never been better. My dad was present and was probably one of his moments of silence but filled with thrill and joy...it was written all over his face and he knew it! Thanked my class teacher and my muse to have got me this far and it was then that I had a breath of relief...that the battle had drawn to a close...victory it was and it tasted sweet.
But somehow, this felt the end of the beginning of the war...more fuel now was added to the fire and a battle cry now turned into a well planned journey. With many more dreams in its cradle, this has now become a journey with a broader perspective and a larger goal. The first battle took 12 years for sure...but the war is far from over...and the darkknight is now looking forward to it.
Dear Meera...if you are reading this, thanks a lot for everything! :)
(Tommie Smith and John Carlos give the Black Power salute at the 1968 Olympics)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Olympics_Black_Power_Salute
In the spirit of February being the month of the romantics, I had to pen this true story down. Though we all have our past stories and tales...those that worked and those that didn't, it was probably the most silliest thing that I had ever done. But at the end of it all, it made me feel strong...it made me feel humble, but most importantly, it made me feel that I was in love...such was the plan...such was the story.
At this juncture, I don't remember the day or month but I do remember the year...it was the summer of 2001-02 and I was in my 1st year of B.Com and we had just returned from our District Meet. We made a lot of friends and one mighty impression that wasn't easy to build at that given time. It was in that same Meet in Vizag that I met a very special person for whom...in a very long time I had my heart beating a little faster and deeper. At each others sight, we knew there was something going on, but as lore would rightly play it...she refused to acknowledge it and a scene without dialogues began...nothing was spoken...but a lot was conveyed.
While returning from that trip...I spoke to no one thinking she might never talk to me ever (it didn't happen before that at all). But before we got to our last station...a voice caught my attention and I almost fell to my knees when I turned around to see who it was...it was her. The only thing she asked was for my number and if it was alright to stay in touch (all of us were exchanging numbers because the whole gang was splitting after a 4 day festival). What could have I asked for at that given moment! And we exchanged numbers and stayed in touch...once in a while...Time flowed and due to her restrictions at home, we could only meet in such forums and we did have those eyes and smiles go around and I was in a completely different world of my own.
This time, her college were invited to our institution for an initiative that we were hosting and they agreed. I was completely unaware of this because our seniors were the organizers...so we were just coordinating and helping around. It was a 'Blood Donation Camp' and one of the most faithful and sincere events. I was walking around thinking that I could never donate blood...and I had never done it in my entire life...I was walking around faking that I was sick or that I had recovered from an illness and what not! I also managed to say that I was an alcoholic or an addict. But on that very day, all of it changed...
Guess who came to camp? It was her and she waltzed in like she was dancing on her heels...Oh...that scene! What an entry and my faking turned to freaking! In my heart...the blood pumped faster than I could have imagined...what a moment! She walks in and greets the gang and still hasnt spoken a word or a 'hi' to me yet...I wait for her to near and then it all begins..."So are you donating as well" she popped up the question I was supposed to ask...and within half a second...I replied..."Of Course" and she gave that smile which ringed out loud 'Wow Im impressed and so brave of you!'. Now I was thinking...where did that come from and many of my friends were a little shocked and turned to me (indicating...we will catch up after the event is done and dealt with).
So I walk into the donation room and have a word with the nurse to just check how painful and what not does it feel like when the process happens (all this when she is just about to walk into the room) and the nurse ensures me that its all going to be just fine...somewhere I felt, it wasn't going to be so...
After certain basic questions and tests, I lie on the bed ready to show my veins and before I can notice or prepare the brave look, a drenched cotton bud is on my hands and then the needle shoots through (and it was now that I felt like a first time addict) as the pain kinda got me off guard...she wasn't near the window thankfully...after 5 seconds or so...I saw my life flow out of that tube...it was my blood and it was being taken away! What was I doing???
As minutes passed, I felt a little drowsy and it was then that she waltzed across the window...to see me and my bloody act of courage. It was in that moment, that I had to shoo away my drudgery and show a brave face and a smile to just say...'I'm alright' (which I wasn't)! She looked me in the eye and I felt that I could just keep looking...it was at this moment, the nurse interrupted saying that I had donated enough for the first time! Somehow this fell on her ears and she got hold of it...what now!
I stepped out of the bed and I almost fainted...no one but the nurse saw this (now that you've read this confession) and she was a very kind soul who brought me back on my feet and handed me a box of refreshments and gave a big thanks. In my act of nobility, I did not know how to react and I walked out being a hero and she was there...waiting for me. I held my left hand vein where the needle had its sip and pretending to be a touch painful than usual and she asked if I was ok...oh that question made me feel so better! I said I was fine...but wasn't still but that was ok. She was indeed happy and we had a nice laughter and talk about it and all of that...don't know if she had noticed that by now I was totally in love with her...
She left with no grand promises or anything of that sort that day and my friends had a rowdy time with that incident on that day...but it was all worth it. It takes gutsy efforts and a little bloodshed to seek what you love and this case was quite literal for me...but probably the most bloody romantic moment in my entire life (besides many other attempts). Guess its a part and parcel of life...mistakes and choices that we make and take, makes us who we are doesn't it! And after that day, I have not donated my blood at all...the fear still prevails but the memory still remains...
As for her, shes now happily married an settled elsewhere (with someone else obviously)...but we did share this moment and many more in light conversations...acknowledging each others feelings...but a bit too late for that all.
But to look back and see all of this come to perspective, isn't it true that we do a lot of foolish things when we are in love,coz only fools rush in...don't they! It made me stronger...though the story ended a few years of trials and tribulations...many such things happened after that with many other stories...but this was probably one of the most memorable or perhaps my bloody valentine...
A new decade has arrived and so has this Darkknight's era of poetry!
After resounding responses to the previous series, I have decided to extend this section beyond testing waters...so here comes...Nail the Enigma...Si6! Lets see if you can unlock the sixth mystery!
Failing balance spilling me in every direction,
A splitting head like a friction set fire
A rampaging river from the temples above,
Rising mercury signaling the need for love.
See if you can rattle this one up and let me know what you think...no restrictions, no boundaries!
A hug can be a sign of love and compassion...but the more you begin to hold on and squeeze and show the next degree of passion, one begins to lose breath. The worse may happen when one may choke and gasp for breath...that's when we realize that you were closer to death than life! This could be at any abstract level and at any level in life and with any relationship one may be in.
A recent incident which I was witnessing between two important people in my life and many instances of many people in and around me...including myself...led me to this conclusion (in MBA jargon...I have done my primary research) that...to hold on, one must at times...let go! You might have come across this quote in some forwarded chain e-mail or a cheesy romantic poster in a gift shop or a greeting card outlet (which is in its dying stages) and dusted it off your shoulder like a bygone cliche.
However cliched I might sound in preaching this quote, I somehow realized that whoever penned that line, did have to go through something or someone in life to actually come up with something of that sort! I also realized that at times, its not only got to do with lovers...but relationships at any angle, level or distance. That's when it stuck me that the same feelings that I have gone through in my past and what all I did to gasp for breath or give the other person a chance to breathe!
Most of us hold reasons citing insecurity or doubt or just pure jealousy or what not! At the end of the deal, until things aren't written on paper or confirmed by oath, nothing can be sure of (Im not debating on that at all here!). But problems when all is said and done...when the unknown becomes the known and the basis of the relationship becomes mundane and predictable. Do we still cling on to our old hopes and fascinations or do we let our love blossom in the freedom of space?
At times, we refuse or argue with our loved ones on taking their chosen paths of their dreams or the risks they have been preparing for ages just because the outcome may hurt them...but for them that pain is not the gain as an ultimate outcome...it is to do what they always wanted to do. What we see as pain for them is a superficial and a scratch on the surface...there is always something deeper and if we tend to appreciate and encourage that, we will eventually lift their spirits and tend to pull them to ourselves and not push them away...which is where my point of hugging and not letting go because they might not come back is all but a belief which can be easily dismantled. No one likes being suffocated...a warm mild hug or wrap around is much comforting that that bear-grip...which might dig deep, hold veins, clot blood and rush a breath or even quicken a beat...
Whatever said and done, wouldn't we feel closer to those who knew our freedom and our choices and let us be but still be in open arms whenever we needed it? If Im asking too much...well, what can I do but hope for the best person to come across then! When kids feel the same as I do, why not when we all grow up to what we become and the values that we begin to follow? Who are we to govern others choices and draw the line for 'them' when they know where to draw their own?
Simple, if we have to live in harmony or in whatever cheesy or corny or cliched term it might sound like, wouldn't we want to live free? Wouldn't we want to do what we feel like...keeping the line of sanity in mind and still return to our havens when we please? I might sound selfish or even judgmental or questionable...but isn't it a thought worth pondering over? Imagine if were holding on to a rope to keep yourself from falling but you feel that same rope slowly slither to your neck, wrapping itself around...the same rope that you held on to your dear life is now the noose calling you to its realm of doom...Im presenting this scene to both the 'ropee' and the 'ropester'! (Ah...the pleasure of poetic license!).
Well, being human, I wouldn't proclaim myself to be able to let go to just hold on...I would have my reservations and evaluate if the risk was worth taking or let the other half decide what was best...ultimately it works mutually and it takes time and effort to reach that level. Simple...it all starts with a conversation...honest and two-way...listening and talking! Sounds so basic and simple...at times which we fail to do this much! Ive seen it happen with my family, friends and foes...all around me! It pains me to see someone unable to chase their dreams just because someone else felt or said that it was too much of a risk or it wasn't worth it at all!
Well, I am writing this today because I have defied statements that have been the noose to me and embraced those who were willing to lift me to a higher plane. Its simple and straight...that to be loved and love, one has to just let go to hold on to what we treasure and label as the most special person.
And since we are mere mortals, please ensure that you do not over-preach and let go that you lose sight...not too far that you run out of the thread to lose your grip on the flamboyant kite that in freedom steers in the skies.
Let it fly...and see it smile in the skies where it belongs. It will return at sunset as long the thread is in your hands and if you've let it fly and let it touch the skies and even race with the birds and have a little chat with the passing sun...
All fans and non-fans might know certain facts about Superman...impossible as they may seem but nevertheless interesting! As one may know, certain super-hero characteristics are derived from basic human abilities and positioned as a super powers to such characters. So what makes me feel like Superman? Read on to know more...
It all began in my school days when I was in Delhi...when I discovered what winters actually were like. Each time in class, when the breaks would arrive, despite the woolens we wore, the guys used to rush out with a war cry which went like "chal dhoop sekte hai yaar"...which literaly means lets soak in the sun friends! At that point of time, coming from Chennai, the best thing to have ever happened to me was the winter (because as one might know, we have 4 summers and the occasional monsoon). The boy who ran away from the sun and at times got baked and cooked up in the sun, was now a fan of the sun...how?
To those who have experienced the legendary Delhi winters wouldn't agree any further...especially when an invisible foggy morning engulfs the entire city and one can actually feel like a walk in the clouds. But what rescues that moment is the invasion of light...the emergence of the sun! In the winters, what gives relief in such a bone chilling moment is indeed...the sun! The sight of light in itself gives the eye a much needed break from darkness and gloom!
But the best part was when the suns rays would just easily caress the frozen and broken skin giving hope to a goose-bumping moment that would arouse even a dead hope...almost erotic! A massage to be quite honest when the muscles and the mind relaxes at such a moment...I didnt feel any better before and this to me was quite a revelation as time passed by! The power of the sun is indeed beyond ones imagination and so can it actually touch us all in such critical moments! To me, it did...
Moments in school with the sunshine during the winters just became an occasion for everyone in the class to exchange a funny moment or two and the entire school would be out soaking in the power of the sun...which brings me now to Superman! The other day at work, I was feeling a bit feverish and a shiver was keeping me chattering for a while...the A/C in the office beat the living hell out of me...but something from my past struck my head as a solution to all the trouble...
Like how Superman would fly to the skies when he was affected by Kryptonite to regain his energy and recharge his powers...I rushed to do the same...ran (though Superman flies) to the open terrace canteen where the sun shone like a diamond...and just stood there...embracing the powers. It was a feeling that took me back to so many years of my antics in school...and it worked! The tingling feeling began right from my neck and gradually flowed from my back, relaxing the muscles and the mind...killing the shivers I had a few minutes back.
It was a magical and powerful moment and what an amazing feeling! Needless to say...a little over-exposure resulted in a slight frying feel and then I felt it was time to rush back to my workstation. But for those few minutes, I got my universal medicine and it was priceless!
The next day...unusually after the sun's treatment, I happened to fall sick and a 2 week bed rest ensued...which is another story altogether...for which I wouldnt blame the sun...but myself! But that is why...not 'everytime'...but sometimes I feel like Superman...
(Tommie Smith and John Carlos give the Black Power salute at the 1968 Olympics)
