Saturday, October 22, 2011

My tryst with Amma

Its not only the feeling of love or pain; even helplessness and frustration can bring out the poet in you. 
A damsel; with security galore
made a trip to Bangalore.
Make shift court was our central prison
Security concern was the reason

Silvers and sarees, diamonds and footwear
Among all her other wealth
Austerity; and so she no longer wears.
But she arrived; surrounded by human sheath

But why do I care? I wouldnt have I swear
Only if I left my work; bit early but hard luck
Stuck with neck deep task; and a conversation to bask
I missed my time; so here I chime

Cops blocked the stretch, all did wretch
They seemed to ignore; did they just maneuver
Civilians cursed; cops cussed
Hectic long day my dear; damsel's security is all clear
Common man at pity; politician's apathy.

Her convoy of 25 did zoom,
I think I saw the vehicle that was her room
You may ask; how was I sure?
See did I; police hanging outside; with a support mere
Scary at the lack of their safety
Their job of protecting the 'Mother' was lofty.

Waste of taxpayer's money
To attend court for alleged crimes honey!
Thousands of police personnel,
Charter plane for arrival,
Can India afford such luxury?
When millions are living in penury

Well, what happened to me?
Lost so much time; let it be!
Did not get a rick or a bus
Walked kilometers to find one

Frustrated and desperate; found a crowded bus
Pushed and jostled and stamped; I prefer to tell less
Hopped off to find no rick; I began to feel sick
3 kms to go; laden with bags; I did walk
Found a rick; hundred bucks? Was it a mock?
No it wasnt; I was tired;
Hopped on to it; all fried.

And thus ended my tryst with Amma :-/

22 comments:

  1. brilliantly penned... It's a shame that criminals and corrupted ministers like her are provided with such security ... I don't see any logic behind such acts. I really loved this post.

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  2. damn these VIPs. they create chaos everywhere. Especially when you have a long day at work and are tired.

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  3. The sad reality of our times when a honest person suffers while the criminals enjoy

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  4. We don't have much of a choice, do we? In Tamil Nadu it is either the Korrupt Karuna or Jackass Jaya. In other states and the Center, we have more or less the same kind of people!

    Poem is not bad, but do shake off the adherence to rhyming.

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  6. Someone is writing poems regularly now! :)

    Never thought "Amma" could be a subject of a poem. I feel total resentment towards people like her and their convoys. Its definitely a waste of (tax) money. Will India ever improve? I am sure if politicians gave up their luxuries, it could feed half of the poor in India at the least!

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  7. B, I guess that commenting on the essence or content of the poem - I mean the extravaganza of the woman and the trappings that goes with her style may be unnecessary here. As we all know and are helpless about such people. So I desist from that, but let me touch on the matter I feel as more vital.

    I see the lines you have penned as fascinating and giving some insight into what you may be capable of doing in verses.Keep trying. I also would differ from Balan's observation on the predilection for rhyming , because it enhances the subject of the poem here,doesn't it?

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  8. loved it... the fact that u actually got a whole poem out of "Amma's security measures"..thats awesome :)

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  9. great one B!

    With the title, I could not relate the word amma.As I read first 3 lines.. I again re read the title just to make sure if my assumption was correct :)

    certain things never change in India!
    and the best is we should not expect the change !

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  10. Brilliant Insignia! Brilliant. And I hope she gets imprisoned with our Yeddy! :P

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  11. At least she does not have a huge joint family to feed!

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  12. I knew I had thought something to mention, eventually forgot.. so back again and Gautam said it.

    I understand Karunanidhi point of view as he has a huge family . Seriously, what's with this lady! She has no one and still she continues to do the same...

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  13. Rajlakshmi,

    Thanks; yeah as I mentioned helplessness. We really cant do anything about it

    Neha,

    Yup, they are a pain

    Rahul,

    Exactly! I felt sad for those hapless folks who wanted to go home after a hard day's work

    Balan,

    True. I did come up with few lines without the rhymes; but wanted to give that fun aspect to the otherwise serious topic. So chose to rhyme.

    Jyothi,

    Lol Yeah :D

    Hehe, I started to write off as regular article; but suddenly struck me that I could make few verses out of it.

    Anil,

    You are the only one who can feel my pulse; you comment right on the matter that I hold close to my heart. Yes, its utter waste of time of energy to talk about such corrupt folks.

    These verses hold special to me because my poems have always been about beauty or intense pain. I started off as a normal post but just hit upon the idea of penning down as verses; and lo it was!

    Thanks for your ever encouraging words. I shall keep trying :)

    Pythoroshan,

    Thanks much. Haha, it happens once in a while; maybe the Amma's convoy excited me :P

    Ramya,

    Thanks. :-) Yes, the less said the better

    AB,

    Abhinav, Thanks much. Haha, Yeddy will be her buddy? No way! It wont happen.

    Gautam,

    Well, you never know dear. Dont be so naive.

    Ramya,

    My response would be the same as to Gautam's. We never know ;-)

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  16. after watching iruvar and reading a little bit, i was under the impression that karunanidhi got consumed by the want for power while MGR and Jayalalitha were kinda alright...

    why are they behind money and power?

    topics to ponder:

    1. why is money (curreny, a note of paper) measured as wealth?
    2. progress: measure of GDP or measure of happiness and well being"
    3. why did bhutan give up GDP measurement?
    4. what is money?
    5. why was there a need for money in the first place?

    please look at these videos paying close attention to the context of money.

    "a living tree does not contribute to GDP, but a killed tree does"

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6ygUBxyy2Z8
    http://vimeo.com/10635494
    http://vimeo.com/10660927
    http://vimeo.com/10698906

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  17. The point Gautam mentioned about the movie “Iruvar” is true. The film was an advertent or otherwise kind of propaganda exercise to bolster the image of the man who institutionalised corruption, MGR and this female member of his harem. MGR and Karunanidhi were both brothers in arms in all misdeeds. They parted ways over sharing of the booty. And this, “Amma” underlines that power needs money and money brings power. A maniacal mind set!

    Why are they behind money?
    Wonder if Adam Smith said something about this. The answer is on the surface and I need not state any.
    Countries like Denmark and Bhutan have begun to measure GDP in terms of happiness and not paper currency or gold. But then again what if happiness is to many are linked directly to possession of material wealth, of money?

    Why do we need money?
    The answer can be found if we answer the question-Can we go back to the age of barter?

    “A tree does not contribute to the GDP , a dead one does”. This is myopic and a misnomer. Though I guess was stated metaphorically. Literally speaking tree adds more value alive than dead. And the blinded craving for more of the material wealth dose not wait.

    The content of the video is again a wild guess. Indeed the same was put forth for the removal of Saddam. When 90 percent of African society is still in the bush culture and when almost nine out of ten states there are banana republic’s administered by despots and goons as their personal fiefdom, when value for life is still nil, when the people who matter stash away ( like Ghadaffi, Mubarak etc) national wealth in overseas vaults, Gold Dinar is a mirage. And even if gold dinar were to come in real time, can the impoverished countries of the world in Asia and Latin America bear the cost of oil that will quadruple?

    The oil war of the early seventies when the oil cartel OPEC was formed transformed the direction of the world economy in a economically devastating proportion- especially for poorer countries like India. Can we afford that yet again, can we survive that turbulence yet again if the idea like Gold Dinar comes in place?

    Ghadaffi’s idea , I feel was a ploy by a maniac who lost his way because of ravenous insatiable hunger for power and money.

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  18. realistic poem
    we need more and more such poems and poets

    Happy Diwali

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  19. Gautam,

    I miss our conversations. Yeah, I recommned you watch the documentary Zeitgeist : the movie. Its interesting.

    Anil,

    I share your opinion and this could make an interesting discussion. I am sure you know the Gross national happiness indicator which lists out the weakness of GDP.

    Can we go back to the age of barter? We know whats happening in Greece now. They have innovated a "Time bank" interesting concept. How far can that be leveraged and practiced.

    Will other countries live with it in the age of globalization; where paper is valued so much.

    Well, calls out for interesting discussion :)

    sm,

    Thanks, happy diwali to you too

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  20. I enjoyed your poem Insi,mainly coz'it's a a different style of your conveyance..That matters.

    No matter how the system is,what our choices are,but we are at least blessed with freedom.I mean to express in this way.Made use of your valuable RIGHT.

    Cheers !

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  21. thats really creative...cheers!

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I'd love to know what you thought :-) Please shoot!