The Vertical Limit

They asks me
You you want to scale heights?
I will smile clandestinely
and tell "I love to"
But the truth is not so simple.

I seek vertical limits
since no lateral ways exist
I am not strong enough to
create one to go
Easiest way is up and up.

When the chains tie up
the limbs, I can only

Go up up and up

not looking sideways, its constrained.

When I bleed

When my muscles crush,

I wish I could get a massage.

I imagine a friend

Who will pat my body
with his magic fingers
around my waist
and relieve the pain
from the muscles around.

This is the only time
I feel  less stronger
than the male counterparts
Can feel their muscle power
crushing me around
And fells un powered
I envoy the strong muscles
and the carefreeness.

And when body ached,
My crushing muscles
longed the finger touch of
My partner on my stomach
But it was only a dream.
For my periods
has remained till now
A private affair.

Once Upon a Time there Lived a Girl

Once Upon a Time there Lived a Girl
who dared to eat the forbidden fruit

For her that fruit was her birth right
to question and think out loud
She asked why and why not
But was told to shut her mouth

Will any girls questions elders?
Will any girls hurt men even if
They are harassing you?
Will any girl climb the trees
and play the boy's games?
Come inside here are the dolls
and books for you.
Will any girl participate in sports
Mind it will hurt your soft body
Protect your body, its your duty.

But would she have seen this world,
if she hadn't ate that fruit?
She would have been comfortable
with her partner and the nature
But what is the life - without
joy, sad, fear, excitement and fun
And what else is above the feel
of exercising your own freedom?

The Lone Traveller

I asked him how was the day
His tired voice told it was hectic
He reclined on sofa and his
eyes was getting closed in a nap
I thought, I can share my plans
along with the tea
About an exciting weekend in planning
But with tea in one hand and
mobile phone in other, he
was busy in calls
I thought we can watch a movie
together in quite night
But he came late night
home after the work
Finally when I told
that I want to travel
He told in tired voice,
I am not coming you go
I looked at him in despair
And at the two shoes I
kept ready and the two
back packs waiting eagerly
And back again to his eyes
It has gone to sleep
What can I do now?
Travel alone - it is my destiny
Nobody will be there to
travel your life dear,
you have to walk alone
the difficult paths
Quietly I took the shoes
and wore them;
secured the backpack
Came back to kiss on
his forehead and whispered a bye
Here starts the journey of
a lonely traveller
through the lesser known paths

Hey Krishna

 Krishna, 

Please come to me tonight 

Holding your divine flute

Soak me up in your enchanting music 

Let me loose myself and dissolve.

This night, I want to dance

Forgetting myself in your love.

Let the time stop before us,

For I want to be beside you forever. 

Doing nothing, simply adoring 

Krishna, your magical caring

Just the glow in your eyes

Wondering what they whisper.

To just be in your presence 

How long I am longing for this.

Oh Krishna

At least this Sharad Purnima

Please come searching for me

Drench me in your Raas Leela

For, I wish to loose myself again.

Relentless Love

Whether you love me or not

I love you so much

Like a river flowing relentlessly to the ocean

You cannot stop me any more

It tried to hold itself at its origin

In the comfort of the mountains hugging it 

Came out of the shackles holding it back

Of home or society or the history 

Cannot stop even after years it 

Have joined the sea

Will wait for next life or after or after

To be just with her love

I may hit you, thrash you, 

If you are in my way

But it is just a matter of time 

You will see me come out strong

Because I love you so much 

Whether you want it or not. 

A flawed Education

Years after I had finished my school education, I am reading many history and social science books. Now while reading I am coming across the glaring flaws in the schooling I had. I can explain you by taking one example.

We used to have a question in Malayalam language paper to explain the context of a piece of poem given. Most common lines were as follows

"മാറ്റുവിൻ ചട്ടങ്ങളെ സ്വയമല്ലെങ്കിൽ

മാറ്റുമതുകളീ നിങ്ങളെ താൻ"

which translates to "Change the rules yourself otherwise

they will remove you itself"

This was the lines of the revolutionary poet Kumaranasan, who fought against the social injustices like caste system and untouchability prevalent at that time. Now I can understand the meaning of the lines and relate it to the world outside. I can see the instances where the old unchanging rules led to the destruction of the community itself. I can see why the rules are to be changed. I see the evils that blind following of rules have done to our society.

But as a child, I was not able to comprehend the context or couldn't understand what the poet meant. The only rules I know that time was such as "Don't talk in the class", "Complete your homework" etc. Nor I could get answer to the question why we should change the rules. For me changing rules meant only catastrophe in form of beatings!! Obviously I didn't had an idea how the rules can remove a person.

Had the teacher explained us the social revolution, that took place in our land, I could have made sense of this whole ritual of writing the answer for the exam. How powerfully the language classes could have been used to teach about the society. The teachers had many ways to escape - either to explain properly, or to frighten those who question, or to skip the portion or even to politely admit the helplessness. We as students read many guides, which wrote so much neither we nor they understood. We had only two ways either to by heart it and reproduce in the exam paper or to fill the answer space with the same lines in the questions in different ways - simplified, complicated, in passive and active voices. The end of the story.

The result is a generation unsympathetic with the social problems outside, also uninterested in the literature and arts.

Now I am sympathising with myself!! Nostalgia!!