Villanelle

I wrote the following entirely in jest as I wished to try my hand at writing a villanelle (a villanelle is a poem that has a specific and rigid structure). I wrote this to a friend (whose name I have replaced below with _dash) for friendship day.

A Friendship-Day email

In this email, _dash, I’m sending you today,
Which may be a day late but still,
Do, to this struggling poet, some attention pay.

Don’t be deterred or put off, is all I pray,
Even if the poetry lacks skill,
In this email, _dash, I’m sending you today…

Relax yaar and forever do bindaas stay,
That is my message, so chill…
Do, to this struggling poet, some attention pay.

And I wish you a happy friendships day,
(a belated greeting from my dil),
In this email, _dash, I’m sending you today…

Do you deserve a poem? No way!
But as I have some time to kill,
Do, to this struggling poet, some attention pay.

Writing a villanelle is no child’s play,
But I have enjoyed that very thrill,
In this email, _dash, I’m sending you today…
Do, to this struggling poet, some attention pay.

P.S. If you’ve read all the terrible attempt at poetry above, you deserve to read the following masterpiece as recompense for the torture:
http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/poems/38.html

Fear in Heart and Tongue in Cheek

The following is a piece I wrote during my junior year at Trinity College.


I bow my head in humble obeisance to the all powerful, all merciful, protector of the universe – Omnipotent and Omnipresent and Omniscient.

The powerful being that is able to deliver infinite justice and enduring freedom! The being that needs my respect, and demands it! I fear the wrath of this divine being and pray for my deliverance. The being that I can only reach by sincere supplication and even then all I can do is hope for my message to get across after waiting in interminable queues of similar supplicants[1]. If I place my complete unconditional faith in this being and accept all its impositions, I can make it to the land of the being - a paradise where I am promised heavenly recompense - a way of life full of food, drink and liberal sex.

The being that decides what is wrong and what is right. The being that will determine the fate of all humanity on judgment day.

The being that justifies the killing of all non believers - the kafirs (If you are not with us, you are with them (the evil)!) If I so much as murmur my protest about the beings authoritarianism, I fear that the being's beneficent hand will cease to protect me, and might in fact even chasten me, punish me or destroy me - or may be just neglect my very existence and deprive me of the benefits that the privileged believers enjoy.

Am I an overly radical Muslim talking of Allah?
Or am I an overly subservient world citizen talking of the US?

May be Allah will truly protect the radical Muslim.
Or may be the US will truly protect world citizen.
Oops, have I offended the Muslims?
Or have I offended the Americans?

I am truly sorry. Please do not be retributive. I do fear damnation – whether it be in the form of the fires of hell, or in the form of premature deportation.

***
Actually my views are far more complicated and involved than what is evinced by the piece above which obviously was an attempt at humor through satire. Almost every time the US acts internationally, I feel that the action could be at least partially justified. I may disagree with the manner of the action and the extent of the action, but I have rarely had any qualms about the need for action. However, the US is somewhat like an unpleasant self appointed Police Force. While the policing should be welcome, unfortunately, it is hard for self respecting citizens of sovereign nations to accept this role of the US. I feel humbled, powerless and insignificant as most elected governments around the world can do little but dance to the tunes of the US. Even if the dance is beneficial (which is a matter of debate, I guess), it is hard to swallow national pride.
****

[1] The interminable queues could refer to the thousands of Islamic terrorists dying to go on a suicide mission for the sake of Islam (and please do not notice any pun in this sentence). Or they could refer to the queues of all US visa aspirants outside US consular offices all over the developing world.

An application essay

The following is an essay I wrote for my college applications when I was 18.

“The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.” – Robert Frost


I mop the sweat off my brow without pausing even for a moment to regain my breath. The running, surprisingly, has not fatigued me as I continue spiritedly towards my goal, a destination that is visible only faintly, near the horizon. The sight of my destination fills me with vigor and I begin to increase my pace at an increasing rate. My conscious mind is under the false impression that this destination is the terminus of my journey (probably to help me continue running without losing focus) though my sub conscious is well aware that even this destination is merely a point of transit in an interminable odyssey. The final destination is infinitely far away and even my sub conscious is scarcely aware of its exact whereabouts. Life, for me, has been a race and I have been chasing my goals ever since I have been aware of my surroundings.

Unfortunately, hardly any of my intermediate destinations can be described specifically. Most of them involve vague targets that I set for myself and can be expressed only in terms of a feeling that I wish to attain. The feeling could be one of satisfaction derived from making my parents, friends or myself happy by achieving some unspecified objective; it could be one of excitement experienced due to the pursuit of a novel, thrilling venture; or it could even be one of childish delight obtained by accomplishing a trivial feat. On the other hand, some of the goals are easily characterized by means of definite grades, ranks, victories etc. These innumerable destinations define the direction of my life.

It would be a grievous mistake to conclude from the above that life is solely a chase. Life is exquisitely beautiful and to experience this beauty one must pause from time to time and cast a glance on life itself. One must stop running for a while in order to absorb the wonder of life. Good books, art, music etc. provide one with the perception required for appreciating the essence of existence. Life can easily be compared to the woods that Robert Frost describes in the above quote. Life, like the woods is lovely and enchanting. The charm of life is so captivating that one can never relish it to the fullest. I love to enjoy life. The books that I read (by authors of the likes of JRR Tolkien and Roald Dahl), the music that I listen to, (particularly Indian Classical) and the movies that I watch (by directors like Spielberg or Kurosawa), all enable me to taste the flavors of life.

However, there are times when I get so engrossed in appreciating life that I momentarily forget my responsibilities and my goals. My aspirations are not all personal. They include the hopes of my family and friends, the expectations of my teachers and my duties towards my country. The destinations of my life are, fundamentally, the promises that I have made with regard to my family, friends, teachers and myself. These are promises that I must keep and I must not let the inducements of the loveliness of life detract me from the path that leads to the fulfillment of these promises. My journey has only just begun. The end is nowhere in sight, and I feel compelled to cover as much terrain as possible before the spark of my life is eventually extinguished. The race is far from over and I have many more destinations to reach.

Indeed, Robert Frost aptly describes my thoughts when he says –
“The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.”

An invitation, a ticket and some previews!

Dear Blog,

It is with great anticipation and some trepidation that I approach you with this inviation to explore the realm of thoughtspace with me. I promise an interesting journey although I am not quite sure about whether it will be enjoyable or informative. I have with me two one-way tickets - some confused philosopher at the thoughtspace ticket counter sold me two one way tickets rather than one two way ticket. On second thoughts, the philosopher might have been a wise and wily wellwisher who was well aware of the dangers of solitary travel in thoughtspace.

The requirements are few, my dear blog. All I am hoping for is someone with an open mind and a brave heart who will embark with me on a wonderful journey through enchanted thoughtspace. I'd like someone with whom I can share intimate emotions and personal discoveries, someone who can understand my potential and my limitations and someone who will be by my side as a fellow wayfarer, friend and confidant right through my remaining years.

You won't need any baggage, dear blog. In fact, for this trip you are better off without any.

For now though, my dear blog, I am merely going to give you some scraps of my old writing. You might think this an insult - but trust me, I have only your best interests in mind. If you get a taste of my previous ramblings through thoughtspace, you will be better prepared for what's to come!

I hope you accept my invitaion!

Here is the ticket:

_______________________________________________
________________One-Way Ticket_________________
_____Wanderlust___In___Thoughtspace__________
_______________________________________________


And now I hope you enjoy the previews!

Love,
Bigknowshamus (pronounced such that it rhymes with ignoramus)

P.S. *insert evil laugh* Well, blog you got no choice - I am gonna drag you with me on this wild ride through thoughtspace whether you like it or not!