Face Recognition

Look at the mobile, and it will unlock.
Touch it, with finger, and same old.
Shout 'Hey Google' and it will work.

What next?
Will you kiss it too?
Like a lover, in a mall.
When both study each other
Down to each eye movements.

You tell each other your secrets,
And promise to keep it so,
And in the nights,
When you stare at each other
With blank eyes
Holding its face with both hands
Is it love? Or just Utility?

And what if one distant day,
You realize,
You don't want to be together anymore.
You replace it, with someone new.

And it just lies in a corner,
Or maybe switch owner.
And then you will meet again,
One day perhaps
By chance or mishaps
And you will recognize it.
But the question is, will it recognize you?

Sonnet V: O Scholar Glaucon

O Scholar Glaucon, hear my words,
As they appear before thine eyes,
Poetry's a manipulative maid,
And Poet a master of disguise.

But let her make thine defense heard,
Prove thine worth in society great,
But not by herself, this be absurd,
Let her choose thine own advocate.

Then only judge the place of Poet,
In the Great Kallipolis,
Amongst Philosophers and Doctors' trade,
And Soldiers of the finest breed.

       For not let be emotions stirred up in vain,
       And if stirred, let them achieve a higher plane.

Conversation 2117

Yes dear,
I am talking to you.
Look at the skies outside, aren't they beautiful.
Yes dear,
they are white, in night.
The sun is bright, in night. 
How you ask?
Well, don't you remember, love?
The Great Hunt?
The Grand Explore?
of the Earth's last ore?
It was when times were hard,
Dickens would've loved it, wouldn't he?
The Earth, devoid of any fuel,
any coal, any gas, natural ones.
Ha! Nature. A thing of past. 
A reminiscence. 
See those trees, those flowers.
Well, they are plastic.
Isn't that fantastic?
No more leaves around, my love, no more.

Oh whose sound is this?
That's a bird dear.
A real one?
No, don't be silly. This is the upgrade,
by the fake curtilage.
Birds are long gone too. 
Where would've they stayed honey?
No trees.
No rivers.
No forest.
No nothing.
Well, look at the bright side.
The Human species survived. 
Though the oceans rised,
The humans improvised,
and everyone else died.

Are you hungry dear?
Would you like some Ashberries?
They are a treat.
Spawned from the volcanic ash.
1 for a 1000 dollars, cash.
Aren't they cheap?

You liked our dresses, dear?
They are the latest fashion.
The height of human invention.
Yours made from swans,
mine from fur of devil Tasmanian.
Well they do keep us cool,
in the high temperatures of yule. 

Well, aren't you happy dear?
Aren't you?

Second Hand

Two scores and seven years ago,
thou, a book, which I now behold,
came to be.
I found thee at a thrift shop, last week.

Upon thy front page, lied following message,

'Happy Birthday,
With All I Have,
xxx'

O Opuscule, narrate me your tale!
What unfortunate circumstance did force thou master
to part away from thee?

Was it of the dark toothed devil,
which snatched your soul, 
to ferry it to another world?
Or perhaps the person who gifted you thus,
lost importance for thy master,
and the receiver threw you away?

Or some unfortunate larcener stole it?
Nay, a thief seldom care for written words.
For if he cared, he won't be a thief thus. 


This mark, spelling 'Foyles', thou bear,
makes thee a resident of London.
I assure you, I googled.
Then what were thou doing
in a thrift shop of Daryagunj?



Oh Opuscule, tell me of thy journey.
Did thou traveled by the air vessel?
alongwith, perhaps, your master?
and he, by fate, lost thee amongst errands.
Or perhaps he left thee by choice?

Tell me next of thy master, if thou could.
Was he a man of stature, 
or perhaps of literature?
Was he was of religion
or deep contemplation?
For thou talk of teachings of Almustafa.
A wise prophet of Orphalese.

And what of the gifter?
Did she hold thy master in affection;
or thee?
(I assume female,by beauty of the message)
Perhaps she loved thee both,
and wanted this happy bond to happen.
But then what unspeakable happened,
that thou ended up in this forsaken place?

Oh, if books could talk!
They are nothing but a means
for the mankind to talk of themselves.
Oh! If only!

Reader, I killed him

A whiff of vanaspati captured in my lunch box
Mother packed her love,father a new pair o' socks.
Its a sunny day, I am off to capital city,
Looked outside the bus, the roads were shitty,
Oh then I had to pee, Oh then I had to pee.

We two stood outside metro, no police in sight 
We took out our penis in a delight,
The bladder contracted, discharge came out,
Suddenly, our ears could hear a shout.
Oh I have to pee, Oh I have to pee.

A rickshaw puller, about ye high
told us how we should not pee, but comply
with some 'rules', I didn't understand,
how relieving yourself was a contempt.
Oh I had to pee, Oh I had to pee.

The crowd booed us, we had to leave,
but the embarrassment I felt, I was in peeve,
I got drunk, then I got mad,
I phoned my pals, we caught that lad.
'Cause he won't let me pee, 'Cause he wont let me pee.

We beat him up, we thrashed him down,
He begged a mercy, we gave him a frown.
We left him a pulp, we ran away
He kicked the bucket on hospital's way.
Oh I simply had to pee, Oh I simply had to pee.

And now I've finished my forty year-sentence,
Whole of my youth, spent in repentance.
And this is my story,(I said weeping,
my head is down, my body is quivering)
Oh Why I had to pee? Oh Why I had to pee?

Sonnet II: Often the mind reflect upon mundane

Often the mind reflect upon mundane,
and think which act precedes the other?
Is writing without reading a nature's arraign?
Or reading sans writing a sap-head's error. 

Behold the task of writing for instance,
A poet's soul dances upon ivory sheet. 
Never done in void, nor in abundance,
Art of mere mimicry,'tis art neat. 

Reading too, is an art splendid,O hear,
Absorbing ancient words, through sight,
But read too much, and you'll fear,
of losing your genuine thought's flight. 

So Read in one clock, and create in another, O bard
For 'tis the only glorious and golden path. 

Sonnet I: No macabre account of disease-ridden lovers

No macabre account of disease-ridden lovers, 
Nor of their sad, untimely demise,
Where one or the other is left to suffer,
And sobbing is sole fate of eyes. 

No triumph-tale of a bourgeois financer,
No 'one idea can change the world',
No narratives of celebrity cancer,
and their journey unfurled.

Oh bring me back the verse of bard,
Or chronicles of the things bygone,
Of myths, monsters and magnitude canard,
And laments for the poor Adon.

For as long as these tales will be uttered,
The eternal joy in mind cannot be altered.  

   

Dear Diary#4 Antardhwani,2015, Day 2

The Annual Fest of the University of Delhi was held from 20-22 February, in the North Campus premises. The theme of this year was 'Meeting the challenges of India'. As being busy on Friday and Sunday, I was able to attend it only at Day 2,i.e Saturday. But to be honest, as this was my first Antardhwani, the experience was over the charts. And I promised myself to visit all the 3 days the next year.

I,along with my friend, reached the 'Rugby Sevens' by 1 O'clock. The fest was at its full hustle. Stalls were set, and so were the volunteers. Just at the entrance was the stall of the 'Department of English', and had a marvelous poster of Shakespeare's head over Arnold's body. The stall, like the other departments' stall, was there to introduce the visitor about the courses offered by them, and also the advantages. Do you know that the ranking of department of English of DU is among the top 100, in world, as per the QS world university rankings? Well you do now.

After this, we visited other departments' stall too. All had worked really hard to make the stall look attractive and appealing. The Psychology department has prepared a 3-D pyramid, explaining the causes, which effects the human psyche , categorizing them personal, social, national, and international. It really forces you to introspect. 

After the departments' stalls, we moved on to the individual college's stall. As we were in the last, Zakir hussain college's came first, and so on and so forth, we reached our college's. The old familiar Cyril was there, with his team's innovative idea,'Fountanium- a hybrid of Fountain and Aquarium'. Basically it was a fountain like structure. And amidst the center pool was a cluster of live tiny fishes, e.g guppies and goldfishes. The idea was to keep the fishes in a natural habitat kind of environment by creating continuous ripples by the fountain. This idea was really initiative and appreciable. 

We moved to the other colleges' stall, but suddenly, an announcement made us look sideways. The central ground was prepared to be the imitation of Kargil war battleground, an act by the NCC cadets. The show was true heart-taking. The precision and the music and the ambiance of war it created was truly admirable. The cadets dresses as soldiers, with guns and grenades defeated the opposite side's soldiers, and captured the base, at the end of which teh tricolor was hoisted, and everyone watching the show was truly feeling patriotic. 

We then made a brief visit to the college's stall, occasionally looking at one or too, whatever took our eye. Soon we were at the other side of grounds, at the multi-purpose hall, where the performances were being continuously held, one after the another. We were right in time to enjoy ourselves a little of local dance styles of Maharashtra's Kuchi-Pudi, Lavani,Koli(fisherman) and Marathi. Also the powerful dance of Punjab was just on the track, and I can literally guarantee that everyone's feet was stepping during it. 

After a heart-full of day, we enjoyed some food, and after relaxing for about half hour in park, we were en route to home. This experience truly awakened our 'Voice Within', the literal meaning of Antardhwani. We will surely visit it next year too, and will cherish the memory we made today for lifetime. And I can't literally end it without a quote. So here it is.

'Life is a journey with problems to solve,lessons to learn, but most of all, experiences to enjoy'- Ritu Ghatourey

Dear Diary#3 Gyanodaya IV- An Educational Trip: We Are One!!!

I first came to know about this from my close friend just prior two days before the selection date. I searched about it and got myself selected in the lucky fifteen students(YIPPEE) chosen for this trip from our college. On 11th march, we were flagged off by hon'ble vice chancellor Dr. Dinesh Singh from the safdarjung station. We were told that the theme of the project is "Urbanization- Now and Then". We are to visit five cities, which once used to be small, but today managed to be one of the best urban models of the country because of their various attributes. We chose our project topic as 'Temple, Trade and Urbanization', as the cities we are to visit possess these aspects. 

Ganga bank in Kanpur

Landfill, to be processed

IIT Kanpur

Our first stop was Kanpur-The Leather City. After visiting a bank of Ganga, which was so polluted by the human and animal waste (GROSS!!!), we visited what seemed to be the mountain of waste. It was a Waste treatment plant, which daily process 900 tonnes (GASP!!) of waste and recycle it for further purposes. This was an impact of the rapid urbanization of the city, as these numbers are increasing month by month. Later, we were shown a presentation in the auditorium of IIT-Kanpur (YEAH!!) about how one classroom grew to be one of the premier institute of technology of India. There many industrialists also made us familiar with the various industries connected with this development. That was for Kanpur. 

Banaras Hindu University

Sarnath Temple, Varanasi

Bhainsasur Ghat, Varanasi

Next stop was the spiritual city of Varanasi. After visiting the BHU, Sarnath temple and Ganga Ghats and various museums showcasing the ancient treasure of the city which promoted so much tourism, as tourism is important for urbanization and growth, we came to know few things. First, that the city is of national importance because of the Ashoka Pillar, secondly the buddhist monks though appreciative of the culture, still wants the city to be further developed. And lastly, that the city is itself a portal, through which you can look on the past, and have a glimpse of future. You should visit this city once. (I should left out the great BEE-ATTACK, which gave us a bitter memory, and also taught us that we should not interfere with nature) 

Bhoj Lake

Sanchi Stupa

Bhimbetka Cave Paintings,Bhopal

Bhimbetka Caves of bhopal have brought the whole early men era right in front of you. These caves have paintings on wall, of cows, sheeps and horses, made by early men. These caves were on mountains, and such construction at that time at this height left us amazed. Sanchi Stupa was the best place according to me, as the serenity of the place penetrated right through my heart and needless to say, others' too. Bhojtaal, which was believed to be build by the King Bhoj, in 'OM' shape, though distorted now, was something to observe that how well has the city authorities maintained it. There was not a single waste product in the water, and again TOURISM!!! 

Lothal Desert, Once a port, Gujarat

Lothal Signboard

Then we entered the Gujarat. The Ad in which BIG B always say,'Kuchh din to gujariye Gujarat mein', flashed. Oh and that was the HOLI day, and yeah that how the day went, you can guess. Full of fun, joy and dance. I realized that my team-mates, as well as of other colleges', we became more than just friends in this trip. We were FAMILIES, and when you are with family, you are right at home. This trip taught us that no matter where you came from, and what may have been the conditions of one's birth, it's irrevelant. What we do as a part of community, that what matters in the end. 

Diamond Industry, Surat

Sabarmati Ashram

Well Surat's diamond industry really sparkled our eyes. The process of diamond making from rough ore to the final product was truelly amazing. I am sure you all now wanted to experience it too. Well, better luck next time. (HAHAHAHAHAHA)

The last visit was one of our prominent freedom fighter's house; the Sabarmati Ashram. Yes, you guessed it correct, Mahatama Gandhi. Whole premises of Ashram was decorated with artifacts of Gandhi. Whether it was his spectacles, his staff, or his charkha. River Sabarmati, one of the cleanest rivers in India, was constantly chanting the great words; Satya, Ahimsa, aur Tyaag. With these teachings of Gandhi, we wrapped up our bags, it was time to make the return journey.

Jokes apart, what I really want to say that the return back journey from the Gujarat to Delhi was something which really taught me something. When I was sitting besides window, and gazing at the vast emptiness of the desert, the scarce settlements and when I turned my head and saw my friends having enjoying themselves, the one who hardly knew each other despite being in the same college for months, I realized that this is what life is about. It is like a journey, on which you meet new people, and complete tasks with them. And at the end of the day, you sit back relaxed and looked across the window over the mountains and think that these all was WORTH IT....!!!!!! I can only end this by my favourite author's few lines.

"I was sad yesterday. I may be sad tomorrow. But today I know that I am happy. And this one lifetime, however long, cannot satisfy me." - RUSKIN BOND

Treasure Hunt

There is a little market.
No, it doesn't open everyday,
Only when the god rests,
these little elves, in their heavy satchels,
carries, drag, roll, tumble, unload,
gems; gems of bark and ink, sometimes cardboard.

From the gate of Delhi, to the Main Mosque,
No, it doesn't decorate both sides of roads,
Only left, left only to them.
They bring their carpets, rugs, 
or sometimes sit upon bare spine of earth
and pour out their gems out, waiting for buyers.


"It's too expensive","What's bulk discount?"
"Other one is giving cheaper","Oh!! its too old"
chatters, murmurs, hustle-bustle all around,
and a few good gems do found
praising hands, and full wallets
Oh! It's all business.



Hardcover, or Paperback, these gems,
don't discriminate, that's left to us.
Some are discarded during great shelf's rearrangement
other just read and done.
Oh, but they will find someone one day
'Cause in that market, nothing change.

A girl I knew

Very sweet girl there was,I once knew,
(It wasn't a 'was', when this poem I drew)
Brave, kind, simple, funny, no fear
Hundred worries, still she lend an ear,
And proposed solutions new.

Wise she was, no doubt,
And when all the friends were about,
Dare to say,
Happiness wouldn't stay.
And when I hear her cry
Welling up in whisper,
All the world seemed a dark place to try,
Nice she was, my little friend-sister.

A Market

I saw a rag picker,
early,when the shops were shut,
bent like a new moon,
beard still spotted with last night's curry.
dragging his torn out, worn out slippers,
and a tattered bag,
A pair of eyes, searching, for a sparkle or two,
wishing it to be his lucky day, but he knew better. 

I saw a tea vendor,
navigating through crowd.
With stiff hands,carrying teacups,
and a mathri or two.
long,slender, shrill voiced,
he knew his routine, nothing differs,
neither he desires it to be. 
With heavy hands he comes,with heavy hands he departs. 

I saw a shouter,
ones whose soul earning depends on
the customers he can bring.
shouting on top of lungs,
claiming his employer's superiority,
he is a small teen
one who never went to school,
or maybe he didn't want to. 

the shouter drank the tea, and threw the cup,
next morning it was promptly collected by rag picker,
the bigger light kept turning.