The Shady Bar by the Side...

As I enter the dimlit place,
I am met by a plethora of noises..
Shedding aside the cloak of grace..
I dissolve among the many voices..

Faces that are part of the crowd..
Are all around me,I cant make out..
Some only beginning to speak out loud..
And some intent on causing a rout...

I soberly order my drink..
It shall be Rum and Coke for the night...
I see in the distance,a known face on the brink...
Comes up to me and asks "hey..would you give me a light?"

He appears to be visibly sloshed..
His eyes seem bloodshot and groggy..
His gait is unsteady,indeed, He is awashed..
And the smoke makes my thoughts all the more foggy...

He starts out with his woes,and I quietly take a sip...
He tells me "What's this?? But today is Saturday night!"
"What good for you will be just a nip??"
"Tonight's the time to get tight!"

The semi-darkness that envelopes the place,
seems to me to cloud our minds as well..
It is here that people in pain find solace...
An escape from Life's pell-mell...

The bar is a wonderful place,a true melting pot..
Where people come in from all walks of life..
Where life's unlearnt lessons are taught..
In a world where learning is the hard way...and unlearning is rife...

A place where different people share a table...
Different opinions...both bad and nice...
Eventually end up praising an unknown fable...
After a few drinks with a lot of ice...

As I drain down the last bit...
And munch upon the few peanuts..
I realise,the alcohol has hit...
A kick to the head and a punch to the guts...

In this state,my newfound stupor....
A pleasantly sad thought comes across...
Until I am high,the world will seem super...
Once it wears out,everything will again be repulsive and gross...


-Ares

For Ma...

Not so long ago..there was an
impish lad..
He had a very caring mother..
Of him,she thought the world,was
glad
To her he was unique,like no
other...
She raised him with a lot of pains..
And imbibed in him..the good
values,
She did this,not hoping for gains..
Because,no one else could fit into
her shoes..
Then out of nowhere,Destiny
dealt its silent yet ruthless hand..
On a seemingly uneventful day..
Striking so swiftly before the lad
could even understand..
Before the fledgling could come to
terms and say..
What remained behind was an
utter wreck of a boy...
Of a lot of joys he was devoid..
He thought of the whole thing as
a ploy..
But within what was left was just
a deep void...
Years have passed and the lad has
grown..
For whom you had so lovingly
tilled..
He's no dead meat he's shown..
He wont rest until all your dreams
are fulfilled...
He remembers you in all his little
hands he gambles..
Knowing well he's always in your
gaze..
When you're there he wont end
up in shambles..
And will find his way..in this
myriad worldly maze....
-Ares..

The Search continues..

Its been a tad too long..
Waiting for that lucky tryst,
To grasp its fullness I may be
strong,
Yet it lies shrouded in the mist..
The hunt for the purpose,what i
really am.. If hurdles are meant to
move,
If there's a sliver of sanity amid
the bedlam,
this I am yet to prove, If the
going has been tough,
I've shown who's tougher,
If the voices around have been
gruff,
Then they've been served even
rougher..
Yet, the purpose of the voyage
has been unclear..
It refuses,like a riddle,to reveal
itself..
Seems so far yet so near..
This endless search,the search for
unveiling my true self!!

Ambitions interrupted...

If wishes were horses..then
beggars would ride..
If everything thwarted our
progress..
Who would then stand by our
side..
They say life is a boomerang
You only get back what you give..
Can someone answer this
unnerving pang..
Why are dreams so difficult to
live..
If the fire in your belly is so
fierce..
How does it fizzle out with time?
If your dreams can reality pierce...
What is this rat-race..just an
aweful mime?
But the desire to survive and
shine ever so bright..
Shall not falter,it wont abate..
My passion shall not be
grounded..and take flight..
Thus lead me into an eternal battle
with that wily master called Fate!!

The (in)significance of emotions today.....

Actually speaking,I feel the need and value of true emotions in the world of today is diminishing rapidly,even faster than the rate at which HIV infections spread their vile and ruthless tentacles,throughout the globe.......

The era where people respected and considered emotions worth giving a second thought to,seems long bygone.When i sit back and wonder,the thing that comes foremost to my perusal is that times have changed..... changed inside-out....changed to such a great extent that you cannot comprehend what they truly were,before they changed....and lastly changed inevitably and irreversibly.

People have somehow(by People,here i mean the majority of mankind) seemingly developed ingenious ways and means,to block out their emotions and feelings,managed to metamorphose into well-shaped vessels,devoid of any feeling......transform for good,into shockingly inhuman forms with just two strengths left,BRAIN-POWER & WILL-POWER.Truly enough,these two virtues are quintessential for man's survival.....his arsenal in the most desperate and most tumultuous of times in the lifetime......but,the argument finally comes down to this....Is this the only reason why we are here????Is this the sole purpose behind our creation,only to act as mere puppets to enact out the PROPHECY(read here as Darwin's theory for the SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST).....whilst spelling out doom and downfall for the more subtle nuances,the finer feelings in life....

But,still exceptions and minorities are as much a part of these world as are seeds in an apple....no one wants them where they are...but they are there...people who cherish true emotions within themselves...oft labelled(wrongly that is)as individualists,philosophers,pseudo-philosophers,even sadists....but in layman's terms...emotional fools..

But it is because of people like these that the world still is a beautiful place to live in.I cant imagine what it would be like if we were to dwell in a world,a world full of heartless souls,fuelled only by the base desires of ambition,ruthlessness,and cold intellect........

But still...the truth is...the argument still hangs in the balance.....

Seawater turning sweet......a miracle...or a public fiasco??

This is how it all started....

I got up at about 12:35 am.The only problem...I just couldnt manage to sleep a wink.Thought of reading anything i could lay hands upon.But then i dismissed the thought altogether.Across the room lay my only refuge in the worst spasms of paranoia(a little bit...occasionally)and imsomnia(well not so much a little bit......and yes,quite frequently).....the one-shot,cure-it-all....my best friend and worst foe(believe me.....at the same time...),the idiot box.

I switched it on,and what i saw first made me puke.....then caused me to go in a fit of insanity(laughing my head off.....that is).There was this report about people flocking to the shores of mahim creek,by the bucketload.......only to drink sea water.....which they claim had turned sweet as a result of a miracle!!!But tending to the controversial and explosive nature of the news,it spread like a fire through a forest in autumn.

But then,rational thinking got over me.....and made me wonder as to what was wrong with all the masses here...how could someone be so gullible and naive...or worse so blindly fanatical and irrational??How could faith probably explain such an occurence??Ok,I do agree faith can work wonders,i could exagerrate it to such an extent by saying that the boundaries of faith begin only where the limits of rationality and science diminish.....but an occurence like this is totally nonsensical.

And then,the usual story...news channels and media personnel flocking to the scene...pouncing upon this piece of news with such a savage hunger,that it makes you wonder whether they actually have anything else to look forward to in their miserable lives.....the BMC also rushed to the spot going about trying to convince people that it was unsafe,rather injurious for them to consume the water,sadly,in vain.The reason for the same was that the water contained large quantities of heavy metals like Lead,Zinc,Mercury,Cadmium,etc and also extensive quantities of industrial sewage,chemical fertilizers and pesticides.On account of all this,the toxicity levels in the water shoot upto an extent where even the most hardy lifeforms(with the exception of certain bacteria,and viruses)find it hostile,and extremely inhospitable to survive.But sadly enough,the people seemed too engrossed,or fitting as it seems,possessed by the sheer thought that this water is indeed the Aab-e-Zamzam(the holy water) and that God has indeed worked a miracle for the non-believers and atheists to demonstrate his power,and to turn the believers onto the right path,ceased to listen to the authorities anymore and continued with their consumption.People,take my word...dont suck the Mahim creek dry....if you are in need of miraculous water,go fetch a pail and scoop some from the loo;that would be less toxic,and more "sweeter"than the stuff you want.I cant guarantee about how miraculous the pail from the loo would be,but certainly you would die a little later than u would after consuming the "water of miracles."

The next day,when the samples were examined they showed a record 40% drop in salinity levels...(not unusual though)..authorities cited the cause as the flooding Mithi river overflowing into the creek,due to heavy rains in prior days.Once again,science had an accurate and a satisfactory answer to the occurence.....

But the main question is....Why are people in India so strongly motivated by faith(in this case...blind faith),to such an extent that they dont even bother to,atleast look at the other side of the picture??The answer probably lies somewhere in our age-old traditions,rituals and customs where faith is always given a higher pedestal when compared with rationality and logical thinking!!!
It is this irony of our way of life that has in a great way,retarded our progress in the ever-evolving race for improvement!!!!

The Means Of Survival

I was set alone to walk this path..So dark and utterly desolate...At times i was engulfed in wrath...But i decided to resign it to fate.
My dreams lay upon my feet,shattered....My visions for tomorrow,blurred....Ambitions were merely a vestige of former selves,all so tattered....But yet,after all this,my soul refused to be stirred.....
I had seen this,long ensuing....The grim and swarthy future, inevitable.....But i knew from within,this wouldnt be my undoing......I knew i had enough left for one more fight,enough to turn the table.....
The thirst for challenges had perished eras ago,The bloodlust of battle had slept...How had i changed to be someone i hardly know.....Introspected and bitterly wept,
But tears werent all that would suffice,Blood and sweat needed to flow too...Only then would i triumph in this conflict....But triumph against who???
It was a battle like no other....me against the demons of my mind.....alone i had go on,sans another....to slay some of my own kind.......
It was the face-off for my survival...so that i may flourish.....at the cost of countless others....who,sadly would need to perish....
Remorse crept into my wonted heart...How i wish it hadnt happened this way.....but then i couldnt keep them apart....In my paths they would always hold sway......
When it was all over....I remained behind,surviving and satisfied.....pleased with just a single thing in my mind.....they had a chance to fight,of that they werent denied......

The true value of independence.......

Its Independence Day today.The 15th of august every year.....its a very special day.....atleast for me...dunno about the rest of you people.In a way,people often say that its on days like these that patriotic feelings in people are arisen!!!!!! I say,to the gutters with people like these......why do patriotic feelings need to be expressed on days of national festivals like these??? I mean doesnt it sound ridiculous???? Well thats not the only thing that i found ridiculous.....I've heard of worse.....imagine someone saying he/she feels patriotic after watching a particular movie,or listening to a particular song......

Is this what its finally come down to??I mean c'mon people,get real.......this is our country....this is the only reason in the world why we are who we are.......INDIANS. This is the only reason I am proud of my cultural identity!!!!(cant say the same about everyone else!!!)

Where are the virtues that our forefathers tried to instil within us....whilst mitigating their lives....their name,fame,wealth.....their everything....just so that their successors..thats us..could see the light of a bright new dawn......a dawn that heralds the arrival of freedom with its coming.
Why are we to depend on days like national festivals,patriotic movies,or songs...to make us feel more patriotic??? Have we let those martyrs down????This is a question i ask myself today.....coz its independence day .