Lockdown - A Different Perspective 

The Tea leaf pluckers of Assam,

The Bhelpuri vendors in Chennai,

The Rickshaw drivers in Bhopal  ,

And the Cooks in Amchi  Mumbai ,

The Boat owner by the Hoogly river,

The Dhaba owner by the Highway,

The House maids in Bangalore central  ,

And the Street vendors of India Gateway .

The Nurses of Kolkata Aaya centre ,

The Beggars on the streets of  Agra ,

 The Pan shop owners in Lucknow ,

 And the Temple worshippers of Mathura

The Hawker selling toys in Kochi ,

The Hotel boy in Hyderabad ,

The fruit sellers of Delhi market

And the cycle shops in Moradabad.

The Prasad seller infront of Puri Temple

The Female Masseuse in Kerala,

The Fish vendors of Goa market ,

And the  flower sellers of Sabarimala.

The Bus conductors in Mysore ,

The Cab drivers in Jaipur ,

The tour guides of Jaisalmer.

 And the tea sellers of Kharagpur.

They are all under lockdown now ,

And their jobs are all gone.

With hungry children and no savings left

They have absolutely nothing to hold-on .

The Divine 

The very first day I saw her

Couldn't believe my eyes

As if, the Truth revealed at last

After a decade of lies .

I really didn't know

And had a serious doubt.

As I kept wondering ,

What it was all about .

How can something be so pure,

And yet, so very powerful .

How can she posses such strength

To seduce , dominate and rule .

I still cannot fathom,

The mystery of her smell

Every time it enters me

It casts a magical spell.

The touch of her skin

So soft, tender and rare

My fingers seems to have

An eternal love affair.

The sheer depth of her mystery

And the divine beauty within.

Atlast , begins to unravel ,

With grace , never before seen.

My soul dances with joy

And mind gets his clarity.

As she proclaims her acceptance

With sovereign pride and dignity.

And as my soul finally

Sets out to conquer her enigma,

All the doubts clear away

As does the associated stigma .

For, she is not vulgar atall

Neither a witch or devil .

She is simply pure and divine

And she is there to "heal" !

The Last Letter 

I still can't believe

Today is my last day.

I just dont know

What else to say .

Cant believe so quickly

5 yrs passed through.

But though its sad,

Yet ,i know it's true.

I still can remember,

My very first day.

It seems as if

It was only yesterday.

Still remember Her,

Sweet 'n beautiful smile.

It did remain with me

For quite a long while

Life was smooth @ Load

During the initial days.

Arka & Naresh always helped,

In all the possible ways.

Along with the time came

Growth and responsibility.

Got to know more about process,

As i got more and more visibility.

Life at Network

Was tough yet fun.

Oppurtunity to grow here,

Is second only to none .

But all good things

Must come to an end,

Alas , it is time to say

"Goodbye my friend" .

I am sure our roads will

Cross again in future,

I am sure , we'll meet again

Sooner or later.

Till then let us be

Friends in Whatsapp n facebook.

I am there @ both the places

If u just care to look.

So ...........

With a heavy heart and a tearful eye ,

Its time for me to say, for one last time

............G - O - O - D - B - Y - E ........

    Punctilious !

   ============

He would reorganise his table

Maybe a thousand times

Till he feels its perfect

Atleast some of the times .

He would review that mail

Over and over and over ,

Till he has gone through every word

And nothing really is leftover .

He  wouldn't accept that table

Offered by staff at restaurant ,

Unless it has the best view

And he is convinced 100 percent

Slight displacement of her bindi

Or distortions in her hair,

Maybe the saree is not perfect

And his mood would go haywire .

He  tries hard to let go ,

And accept things as they are

But unless he checks every detail

He feels as if its not fair .

People often think he's crazy

And get a little suspicious ,

But He proudly proclaims to them

"I am just being PUNCTILIOUS" !

Mother and Daughter

==================

The day I was born ,

And , first Opened my eyes,

Saw strange looks all over,

Hushed murmur and sighs .

Holding me in his arms ,

My father looked  confused.

But pretty soon I realised ,

He was not  amused .

Relatives came one by one

Putting up a smiling face.

But there was no joy in it ,

Nothing that I could trace .

I kept on thinking ,maybe

There is something wrong

I am not supposed to be here

Maybe , I don’t belong .

Then , when everyone left

And the room was quiet again ,

Atlast I could see HER ,

With eyes full of pain .

She lifted me up with care

Holding me close to her breast ,

And as I could feel her warmth,

For the first time  , I felt blessed .

Welcome to the world, she said

Welcome , my beloved daughter,

yes, it’s a man's world out there ,

 But , worry not  , cause I am here" .

The Final Poem 

==============

Dont know how

Three 'n half years went by .

And suddenly its time ,

To say the final Good Bye !

So many thoughts,

So many memories clutter,

As i sit here one last time

To pen the final letter .

Work was undoubtedly

A lot of fun.

The challenges i had

Were second to none.

But the best part surely was

Filing those PRs ,

And then, the subsequent "war"

With the developers !

Learnt a lot

From all of you.

But if there's one guy

I should be grateful to ,

Bhupi Anna , its YOU !

Juniper literally was

Like a second home .

Will hugely miss my cubicle ,

and the nice'n'cozy little dorm !

Foosball , Gym and

TT was fun .

But most memorable of them all

was surely the Juniper Run !

So, here comes a BIG hug

To all of you ,

Though we might not have physically met

Yet 'am sure , I know you !!

In the end ,

I do believe,

There’s one Junos only.

And I shall forever remain, part of

One happy "J-FAMILY" !

    I Remember ... 

 =============

I remember clearly still

The first campus interview.

When i wondered, if,

I will be amongst the chosen few.

And I remember the training,

In hot 'n' humid Chennai.

Where I tried to blend,

But felt really shy.

Then the very first swiping ,

To enter the grey'n'white ODC

It felt bit weird, but thought,

Anyways, let us see.

Then i remember the meeting ,

With my young 'n agile manager.

Though i tried to act smart,

Honestly , was really scared of her !

I remember the very first Bug, 

Related to coding error 

And after almost 2 months,

I had quite a few grey hair !

And then we were in inline NAT

Under Sanjeev and Venu's guidance.

Can't even express how grateful i am

For all their help and assistance.

Time went so fast,

Didn't even realize how.

But so much we learnt ,

In such a short time ,

I have only realised now !

Alas , all the good things in life,

Must ultimately come to an end,

And hence its time for me also,

To say "Goodbye" my friend.

But still ....

Those beautiful 'n fun moments

I will always cherish 'n remember.

And fondly live and relive them,

Forever and ever .

A Short Horror Story

      =================

I would often turn the alarm off ,

To sleep a little more.

And then , skip the scheduled gym,

Saying , "My body feels sore" !

Getting ready for office was

Such a boring job,

Always it felt as if,

I am ready to sob.

Then, I would reach  office ,

With a grumpy little  face.

As if I am forced  to run ,

A stupid rat race .

Reaching home late in night ,

Ploughing through the traffic ,

Honks and screams, shouts 'n rages ,

Just horrific and graphic .

As the day, begins to end ,

Finally , lying down in bed ,

I pray to LORD , let tomorrow be

A little different instead .

And then ,

COVID19 happened  ………..

The Eternal Poison !

=================

I try so hard to let her know

Feelings that are truly mine.

She shrugs it all off without a care

Calling them" just a cheesy line".

The whole world gets to see her,

Serene and beautiful smile.

But for me she won't reveal it

Even for a little while .

Many a times during the day

I walk down by her seat.

But never she cares to look up once

And let our eyes meet.

I leave all my urgent work

And become a trainer in the end.

So that she gets to see the invite

And maybe decide to attend .

Then I stand fr hrs in there

Explaining again n again.

Only to find to my utter horror

All of that, going in vain .

I don't even get a single smile

Not even a simple " thank you" .

Pretending as if it was no big deal

These concepts , she already knew !

Every day I decide it's enough

Never shall I speak ever again.

But then just a simple smile

Makes me melt yet again.

Can't set aside her eternal beauty

Drinking it again and again.

Though I know it is killing me,

After all , it's the eternal poison !

The Stunning Addiction

====================

She comes to me only during,

The bitter cold of the night.

Comes always with raised eyebrows

Ever ready to argue and fight.

I dont know what she really want

And what she really likes ,

But any mention of love'n'affection

Is always greeted with "yikes".

Looks like all her love

Is meant for that other guy.

While i am being left alone,

In the cold, high'n'dry.

Have never fought ever before

With so much passion and high,

Yet i always fail to realise

How so many hours pass by.

The more i talk , more i hate,

And promise, never never never.

And yet with every approaching night,

The cravings grow stronger than ever!

Try real hard to resist myself,

From this "stunning" addiction.

And yet my body, mind and soul,

keeps getting drawn into submission!

The Naked You

================

Am really sick and tired

Of this mask that people wear

It has become so permanent

That they can no longer tear .

Hiding and hiding forever

What all we most fear.

Carefully setting aside,

Things we cannot bear.

Saying things we do not mean

And doing things we do not care

We all want to see the real thing

But often, it's the musk at which we stare.

So i hope I can see the real you

The honest you, the naked you.

Because, deep down I truly believe

Like you, there are very few.

Yes I want to see

The dark circles below your eyes

No more makeups and

Yes, No more bodily lies.

Yes i want to see

The wrinkles on your skin.

And all the thick and thin,

Through which they have been.

Yes I want to see, and

I want to see them all

Each and every details

Both the big ones and small.

I know the details will match

With what I have in mind

I know your are beautiful,

Unique , one of a kind.

Memories of a memorable training 

==============================

Woke up late in the morning today,

Thinking am late fr Vikram's class,

And then as I suddenly realised,

Came out a mild and sad "Alas !"

Only now I realise how much,

Had got used to the daily routine.

Only now I realise how much

Sheer fun, it had been .

The cheerful greetings in the mrng,

Before settling down on the table.

Only to hear Ravinder speak ,

And become "mentally" unstable!

And then Diving deep inside,

The depths of human mind

Guided by our beloved trainer ,

Vikram ,one of a kind .

With his voice so deep'n'calm,

And ever so centered presence.

He took us on a journey,

To realise life's Essence.

And when the concepts got heavy

And it felt we've hit a wall.

There came Prerana's question,

To lighten and cheer us all.

Every day was blissful,

And each session was fun.

The joy of mastering your mind,

Is second only to none.

Alas,the sessions are over now ,

And classes have indeed come to an end.

But the journey towards our true destiny ,

Have just begun, my friend!

The Smile-less Assassin

===================

Our solitary defense player

Great Venugopal Ashwin,

No matter how much u try

U'll never see him grin.

Always he looks, as if

He is truly sad.

Sometimes it can honestly,

Drive u really mad.

But dont be fooled by tht face

If u r playing table tennis.

Because, he can make u,

Look like a fresh apprentice.

Hit the ball really hard,

And put in a lot of spin.

Yet they will all come back,

While he stand there without a grin!

You will run to the left,

You will run to the right,

In the end u will fall down,

As if without a fight!

All the while ,he'll stand there,

Watching you without a laugh.

Only to smile in the end and say,

"Hard Luck , it was really tough" !

A Farewell Poem for an IT engineer

=============================

Always a smile on his face

One look at him and you would admit

That he's got grace .

With a handsome face and such a beautiful smile,

He's definitely the guy with whom ,

U would like to spend a while.

Always cheerful and always positive

He knows how to enjoy life,

He knows how to LIVE.

Also remember , he’s a true sportsman

Always there to support his team,

Always there to cheer his men.

But if there's one quality

That makes him stand apart.

It's his ability to stay ice cool,

Even when the world falls apart.

Last but not the least

Is his skills with his work,

He can configure with ease

No matter how complex is the network.

Doesnt really matter,

If its cisco or juniper.

He can configure with ease

Almost any switch or router.

But Alas .........

All stories must come to an end.

Sometimes u have to let go

Even when someone's a true friend.

We all are going to miss him,

And his beautiful smile.

But hope someday we'll meet again

Maybe after a while .

So its time for us all

To bid him Goodbye .

May he find his destiny,

And always live life

On a high ....................I

Ode to the TT Diva

==================

She's seventy and yet

she's super strong.

TT is her religion

Thts where she belong.

So she came, one day

Draped in a beautifulsaree.

A racket in her hand

Looking ever alive and carefree.

Standing before the table

Quietly she took her stance.

Poeple around thought,well,

Lets give her a chance.

What followed after

Is nothing but history,

And what she did there

Is still a great mystery.

For every coming ball

She had a perfect shot,

Her topspins and smashes

Were simply too hot.

Again n again, the crowd,

Roared in great applause.

As she kept hitting those smashes

repeatedly, without a pause.

In the end her video

Became famous in town.

Finally at seventy, she wore

The social media crown

Our Great Saraswati madam,

Please take our humble bow.

2 million nd counting,

Thts how popular

You are now !!

The Eternal Player

===============

A closer look at the mirror

Makes him little sad.

The whitish hair and greyish beard

Looks really really bad.

He finds it diff to look afar

With his diminishing sight.

Blurry vision makes him realise

Something’s just not right.

Trembling hands make it hard

To hold the tea-cup steady

As if it is trying to say

I am no more ready.

Fading memory fades away

All the names and date,

Things keep on getting deleted,

At a slow but steady rate.

Fatigued muscles and weaker knees

Refuse to obey anymore.

Even a simple walk in the park

Makes them tired and sore.

Age is finally catching up, it seems,

Making him weak and old .

“Time for you to retire and rest”

Thats what everyone told .

But………

Little did they know, he was

Still a player in his heart.

Ready forever to fight and win,

And take the table apart.

Always appearing before his match

With his fav racket in hand.

Approaching the table with honor and pride,

And take his aggressive stand.

Then as the game begins,

Slowly he forgets his pain.

Body starts to get into rhythm,

As the topspins and smashes rain.

Age might have slowed his body

But spirit is still the same.

Even now, he is eager as hell,

To fight for one more game.

Win or lose doesnt matter nomore,

Victory'n Defeat become same.

What matters to him the most ofcourse,

Is to give his all in the game.

Cause  this is the game

That gave him his identity.

And it is right here ,that

He wishes to attain eternity ……