kahan gaya hai
mere shehar ke
musafir tu~
was not what i hummed
while i waited in my
green-polka-dotted-hello-kitty frock
at the gates
for the balloonwala
on evenings
afterschool
restlessly plucking from the gated iron
frails of the orange-pinkish bougainvillea


now
while the monsoon clouds gather
sitting by the grilled glass window
humming ali's musafir
i muse myself
in your absence
thinking of
how at the first sight of his silhouette
and the silhouetted balloons
pinned to the poled rectangle
resting on his shoulder
i ran not to the balloonwala
but to my mother
to pull her by her hand
out of the bamboo chair
and drag her out of the verandah
till the bougainvillea spread
to rejoice with me
his arrival.

***

The monsoon clouds thicken~
deewana hua badal

the fourth floor terrace

Clotheslines with thirtyfours et cetera
Three black sintexes
Meters of broadband cables snaking the terracefloor
Prestige houses.Reddy buildings.RMZees.

Lined up. Stacked up. Piled up. Rowed. Columned.

There's math in everything here~
In bras lined to dry.
In sintexes rowed.
In matchbox houses, airtel cables
And in electriclines poled.



There's math in almost everything here~

Babygiggles are exceptions.

Elsethings are arrangements.
Including the love for her that you claim.

Math is for convenience, afterall.
And, all doers are error-prone.

Come kappe come

They came back again and again and again for as long as i stood there ~ the green-blue-waves.
And the sand beneath tingled my feet whenever the waves wet them and left.
Again and again and again and again and again.
The green-blue-waves ~ So much like you, i thought.


I walked back with thoughts of building a castle.

Built a kappe goodu instead.

chandru hotel

The faded BlueGreen 2ftx3ft CHANDRU HOTEL ~ all in capitals.

Kesribath............Rs.10
Kharabath...........Rs.12
Plain Dose...........Rs.10
Masala Dose.........Rs.15
Set Dose.............Rs.15
Onion Dose..........Rs.15
Anna Sambhar.......Rs.12
Maddur vade.........Rs.10
Bajji/Bonda..........Rs.10
Buttermilk............Rs.6
Coffee/Tea/Milk....Rs.4

Cut-newspaper tissues.
Nirma detergent powder in a steel bowl for handwash.
Parry's washbasin.

Self-Service.
No Smoking.
Thank You.

After I befriend chandru, I plan to tell him never to change the name board ever.NeverEver.

***

You may pay after you have eaten. No coupons. But, you only should remember what all you ate. And, Chandru will know if you miss out including the two-plate-bajjis you ate when he is billing.

Girl-Boy cannot kiss here. Boy may touch her lips, though. For as long as 14 minutes also. And while you leave, you may hug also. no problem. Chandru has watchful eyes. But, no problem.

Here's where I would meet you first.Here's where I would bid you a goodbye suffixed with a seeyou.Here's where I would meet you all the in-between times.

Only one kamee
this is not painted below.the nosmoking thankyou.This ->

Ohno che, no?

You wanted an answer, Ma?

He be the drizzle during the springs, ma
~ moistening the hair let loose over my shoulder with tiny specks of dew
He be the color-maker of my summer evenings
~ the painter of pretty crimson to the cloud-brushed skies of the sunsets
He be the flame of the forest, ma ~ the bright red in the road-side Gulmohars
He be the wind that maketh the autumn leaves fall on the path i tread
He be as vivid as autumn in the Alps ~ as vivid as autumn in the Birch
He be my wintersmith ~ the careful crafter of the crisp fresh snowflakes every winter fall

He be a magician, ma,
who will tricketh me into sleep
pulling me into his arms
every night
hushing into my left ear
Abracadabracadas.

***

purrhaps.purrhaps.purrhaps

She hiccoughs them ~ the purrhapses.
You and I should agree that her controlled hiccoughs makes them sound lovely.
You and I should agree that no man will not not-fall for a girl who'll sing this to him at 15:36hrs.
If not upon anything else, you and I should agree to lovve the way she sings the 'lovve me's. (With an extra letter, does it make you flinch any lesser? No, no? and does it make me flinch any lesser? No! but, all the lovvers will hate us to have wronged their fillintheblanks and four lettered dashes ____ and atleast forty bollyWood loveSongs)





We could agree upon elsethings too. Only if you will shun your gentlemanliness and unleash the samewordminusthegentleness. Purrhaps.


We'll end it with another purr. A softer one ~ purr haps.

titles ~ unimportant

Scratched price tags on the gifts you receive~ scream that a price was paid

Orange peels ~ for sweet revenges

Suicide ~ knowing that you can end your life anytime you want to. just the knowing ~ such a solace

Unstamped WinnieThePooh stamps on the handwritten letters you receive ~ first cutest

Live cricket matches ~ anytime. all for the mexican waves that die only after 5 whole rounds.and the sun-like floodlights

Takeshi's castle ~ must-enter

Darts and dart boards ~ with each dart you shoot, the bitchiness of life reduces. significantly

Funny videos ~ one of your wishes too is to die after you choke on laughter and tummy ache watching these?

Guys who watch jerry&tommy with nieces and nephews quarter their age and laugh as hard as the 8 year olds~ anytime. second cutest

Magnifying glasses, slingshots, big huge globes, harmonicas, sand timers, compasses ~ must-owns

Sanity ~ difficult to maintain

Pebbles on the streets ~ must-kicks

Tildes ~ lovely.lovely curves ~