quotas

If the patels want a quota
And the jats want a quota
If the muslims want a quota
And the christians want a quota
Let us by all means acquiesce
First a little precaution
Amend the constitution
Declare common sense's demise
And India a Republic of Reservations
Of all manners and pernicious kinds
(Priya )
28.8.2015

sibling day

Let me dedicate these lines
to the girls who died before their time
either in wombs, poisoned or sliced
or wrenched out and thrown away like garbage
if allowed to breathe the stench of oppression
their lives they live circumscribed
by tradition's false grandeur
today they shall celebrate Raksha Bandhan
and tie strands intertwined with duty and affection
on the wrists of their wise and loving brothers
who are as often the monsters from whom
other girls need protection
Let us do away with this hypocrisy


I propose today
A change in nomenclature
I ask for your love and support
As I chase my dreams , dear brother
Not your protection from monsters
That we as families rear
Happy Sibling Day, shall we say ?

( priya)
29.8.2015

perspective

A little to the right
And the sight of
A vast green canopy
Greets my eye
If I look to the left
An ugly sprawl of
Dilapidated buildings
Frowns back
Perspective matters
Say the french windows
In my office
And I nod in agreement
(Priya)
2.9.2015

delhi

dwarfed by the cell towers
that stand tall in their steel and
red weather proof painted glory
are the domes and minarets
that once dominated the skyline
with unsurpassed majesty
true it is that the towers embody
the advancement of technology
and we would poorer, not richer be,
if such progress were not a
part of the human story
nonetheless, the sheer beauty
of the pink domes and the
desires and designs of the artisans's
souls that they embody
cannot but make one make one nostalgic
for the times when Delhi had wide roads
flowering trees, clean air and open spaces.
(priya)
4.9.2015

mascot

A hawk descended on my window sill today

I watched it awhile in quiet fascination

the regal attitude,the fierce expression

fearlessly it looked me in the eye

before it flew away


I think I will make it my office mascot

and be fearless and fierce

as I plod my way

through the solitary file

that winds up on my desk

during the course of the day


one has to be the manner born

to combine idleness with a regal mien

so a complete transformation will not take place !

(priya)

8.9.2015

books

when racked
by life's uncertainties
i turn to books
and live the life i would

how melancholy
i would be
if books were lost
and fantasy

(priya)
29.9.2015

vision

The doctor was emphatic

Half your life , he said

You have looked at the world

Through glasses that magically

Screen the ugliness


No surgery can improve such vision

Retain your hope and optimism


So here I am

Switching between distance and

Reading glasses

But seeing the same bright hues on

most days

Sometimes sadness overwhelms but nothing

a switch of glasses won't drive away




(priya)


5/10/2015