BEING SIMPLE

There’s always a choice to make

To say what you mean

And mean what you say

To reply with “I’ll see you soon”

But not stagger it everyday

To expect much less

Than your heart anticipates

To find much more

Than your wallet dictates

To give up on fights

That never lead anywhere

To embrace the ‘what if’

That comes when you care.

Being simple isn’t tough

But yet, it’s not a piece of cake

Everything may just work out

And everything may just break

Being simple isn’t tough

But then, there’s so much at stake

So whether you win or lose

It’s a choice that you make.

There’s always a choice to make

To love without expectation

And lose control when being kissed

To trust in your neighbour

And travel without a list

To leave the nightmares behind

When a dream comes to stay

To shake off the ghosts

When you’ve lived a better day

To acknowledge wisdom

And a warning in the same measure

To treat old friendships

Like one treats guarded treasure.

Being simple isn’t tough

And yet, it’s not easy to do it

You may just crack it open

And you may just stand to ruin it

Being simple isn’t tough

But then, there’s so much at stake

So whether you win or lose

It’s a choice that you make.

LOVE, ALL OVER AGAIN

This world is a smaller place

When we’re the only two around

It’s always a noisy planet

But I can’t seem to hear a sound

Hesitation is just a comma

In a tale not so long-wound

Are those castles in my head

Or is euphoria underground?

I jump in, no safety net

And I meet rainbows and the rain

The passion and the pain

The madness and the sane

The grief and the gain

This is love

All over again.

This is love

All over again.

There’s no sun shining

But warmth has occupied its place

There’s no song playing

But melody has left a trace

Are we going to take a moment

Before we cut to black

Let’s turn up the dial on Crazy

Then make our own soundtrack.

I jump in, eyes unblinking

And I meet the fatigue and the flame

The charades and the champagne

The bye-byes and the blame

The stagnant and hurricane

This is love

All over again.

This is love

All over again.

WATERPROOFED

Rain will seep in

Without a sound

And do its damage

Then you’ll wake up

See the mess

And think you’ll manage

Fixing the cracks

Has never been easy

So prepare to deal

With unrest and uneasy

This is the part

When you’ll realize the pain

And the pleasure

Of being wet in the rain.

Can you ever be waterproofed

Can you ever have a safety net

Can you ever be so insulated

That you live to forget.

Wind-chimes will clatter

Raindrops will tease the panes

And you’ll introspect

Damp shadows will form

In the corners of your mind

When you retrospect.

Thunderstorms are tricky

They come without informing

The nights will be rough

The days won’t be heart warming

This is the part

When you’ll realize the extent

Of what was meant to be

And how things went.

Can you ever be waterproofed

Can you ever have a safety net

Can you ever be so insulated

That you live to forget.

HANG ON

How happy will you be

Once you’ve seen breath-taking sunsets

In all the far-flung places

How proud will you feel

Once you’ve seen looks of adoration

On all the pretty faces

How content will it make you

Once you’ve finished ticking off everything

That make up your bucket list

How rich will you become

Once you establish you’ve done better

Than everyone in your midst.

This world will keep tempting you with more

This world will keep offering new

And yet, when you die alone

You’ll have only some things to hold on to

Keep hanging on to them, my friend

Keep hanging on

By a thread, by a whisper, by a hope

For what are you when they’re gone?

How nice will you become

Once you’ve said all the right things

To all the right people

How devout a person will you be

Once you’ve sought the blessings

Of every church and every temple

How seriously will you be taken

Once you’ve built a home

And filled it up with artefacts

How simple do you think you are

Once you’ve done your kind deeds

Just to see how the world reacts.

This world will keep teasing you with baubles

This world will keep selling you Brand New

And yet, when you die alone

You’ll have only some things to hold on to

Keep hanging on to them, my friend

Keep hanging on

By a thread, by a whisper, by a hope

For what are you when they’re gone?

FEELING QUITE DISCO

Things haven’t been going so well Your smile is just for show You’d been building big plans Before reality struck a blow Everyone reckons you’re doing fine But that’s because they don’t know It’s not easy to laugh like the breeze When your song has lost tempo.

And yet, you may just break this wall And yet, you’re feeling quite Disco And yet, you may just take this fall And yet, you’re feeling quite Disco Up and down we go Feeling quite Disco Starting crazy, then going slow Yet feeling quite Disco.

You’re not listening to what others say Because words, they’re laced with falsetto Expectations, like fetuses in your brain Should never be allowed to grow Every new day should bring new meaning And every evening an afterglow Who says that doors can’t be slammed shut Before you force open a new window.

And yet, a new person may awaken And yet, you’re feeling quite Disco And yet, an old story may re-open And yet, you’re feeling quite Disco Up and down we go Feeling quite Disco Starting crazy, then going slow Yet feeling quite Disco.

WEPT

They won’t hurt you here, he said

But in the end, all she did was bled

And the stories, they continued to spread.

Posts were written, anger was displayed

Some agitated, some fervently prayed

But sadly, justice was denied and delayed.

They say that such things take time to end

They say that punishment may not make amends

But who’s to say - if they’ll break or we’ll bend.

The voices will get louder, anger will rise

But all of us are wondering, if this alone will suffice

For the fault lies in us, we must pay the price.

We may worship the deities, but inside us lies black

We may walk to temples, but its humanity we lack

And for all of that, we must face the flack.

This isn’t us, this is the story of a nation

This problem lies within, it’s our own creation

So let’s not treat it like a tumour, in isolation.

When we get to the root, we’ll see the rot

How impoverished we are, in mind and thought

And how much little we were really taught.

We all have crosses to bear, this is ours to accept

The fact that as a society, we’re morally inept

And somewhere close by, another girl has wept.

QUIET TRUE

I only speak when addressed

My thoughts, they live inside my head

But my words, they will never run a riot

Because essentially, my dear, I’m quiet.

People accuse me of being rude

But that’s just a demeanour I exude

My sentiment is large, my expression private

Because essentially, my dear, I’m quiet.

When they accuse me of boring, I’m unperturbed

They say describe yourself, I say ‘reserved’

And when asked why, I say my words are on diet

Because essentially, my dear, I’m quiet.

I have no desire to be the room’s cynosure

Neither the overwhelming urge for disclosure

However the little I say, it’ll never be trite

Because essentially, my dear, I’m quiet.

Uncaring I am not, nonchalant I may be

Brevity I display, not ungallantry

But no matter what my reason, you just won’t buy it

Because essentially, my dear, you’re not quiet.

COFFEE ISN'T EVERYONE'S CUP OF TEA

I’ve been meaning to ask you a lot of questions

But somehow I’ve not been able to get there

Because my questions aren’t altogether logical

They lack pattern and land from anywhere

And then, you counteract all the madness I own

By conducting a very droll enquiry

It’s not like you have to get used to this

Because coffee isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.

We may not get along, but we may as well do

For there’s a long journey we’ve got to cover

And no matter how much you take umbrage

You’ll find my opinions are like no other

I’m trying to be a little guarded but then

That’s just not how I am meant to be

It’s not like you have to get used to this

Because coffee isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.

A shining example of method, you lack finesse

But then, that’s not an opinion you uphold

And when you say I’m not quite that mature

I can tell that you think I’m uncontrolled

It’s going to be difficult to make you see this

Because your viewpoint is a bit finicky

It’s not like you have to get used to this

Because coffee isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.

THE VOICES IN MY HEAD

The voices, the voices in my head

You keep me alive, when I’m long since dead.

Still talking, still mocking

Still asking me questions my conscience finds shocking

Still shining the torch on dingy corners of my mind

Still screaming, still accusing when I choose to turn blind

Still taunting me with regrets, still opening wounds unexposed

Still making me guilty of cases long closed.

The voices, the voices in my head

You keep me alive, when I’m long since dead.

Still giggling, still laughing

Still childlike, before the world came down crashing

Still kind, still benevolent, still looking firmly north

Still reassuring, when I passionately go forth

Still being my friend in need, when I tend to falter

Still shaking up my core when my I’m an emotional defaulter.

The voices, the voices in my head

You keep me alive, when I’m long since dead.

Shake me, debase me

Kill me, embrace me

For life and death, we’ll always be wed

The voices, the voices in my head.

THIS IS YOU, YOU ARE MAY

It’s May

Hot and humid and disorienting

I hallucinate and that’s comforting

Of beds of ice and igloos in the sky

Of winds gone berserk and thunderstorms in July

Of sail boats and chiffon and all things Kygo

Of comic books and giggles, childhood and mango

And just when my imagination begins to sway

The air conditioner groans, we’re back to May.

May, you’ll do good to remember

You’re neither June nor December

But there’s something about your clime

That evokes both love and crime

And just like the disparity that’s Bombay

This is You, you are May.

It’s May

Steeped in slumber, sweat and slackening

Yet my febrile brain has thoughts maddening

Of muslins and margaritas and streets of marigold

Of love that’s unbridled and kisses uncontrolled

Of shaping the day like a potter without a plan

Of throwing caution to the winds, like a young catamaran

And just when my imagination begins to sway

The air conditioner groans, we’re back to May.

May, you’ll do good to remember

You’re neither June nor December

But there’s something about your clime

That evokes both love and crime

And just like the disparity that’s Bombay

This is You, you are May.

POLITE

It never hurts to be polite To switch off your phone in meetings Or excuse yourself when taking a call To reply to texts that invite you to parties Or be prompt, overall.

It never hurts to be polite To be punctual and respect the other's time Or say sorry when you’re a jerk To offer to share the bill, without being asked to Or eat noiselessly.

It never hurts to be polite To take a compliment graciously Not address someone as ‘You you’ or 'Hello' Please bother to remember the name of the person And if you smell bad, use a deo.

It never hurts to be polite Say Good Morning and smile, don't be rude Shake hands firmly, not like a fish And use 'pardon' rather than 'what' And please, no actions lewd.

It never hurts to be polite And politeness isn't a gender thing I mean this for both ladies and gentlemen Respect isn't a one-way street So stop expecting if you aren’t giving.

A LOVE SONG OF THE YOUNG

Are we allowed to talk in a cinema

I don’t think so, but I want to ask you

That if I thought this movie was boring

Would you still allow me to call you

You’ve been looking so wonder struck

And I can’t help but feel a tinge of envy

Because the action sucks, so does the dialogue

And the plot is beyond mercy

But all that won’t matter

If we get over the idle chatter

Let me take your hand and we’ll linger

While you wrap me around your li’l finger

They say that love is waning

In a world where apathy is reigning

But for me, the world has stopped to matter

Since we started our idle chatter.

FIGHTER

You think you won’t survive

It’s not like you’ve done before

You’ve been waking up every morning

Only to be shown the exit door

But there’s a truth to every lie

There’s a force you can’t deny

And it’s in your smile, it’s in your tear

It’s in every day you bravely get by

Fighters aren’t born, they’re made

Everyone who’s brave, has been afraid

You may be more wrong than a righter

But that doesn’t mean you’re not a fighter

Show us the fighter

You know how it’s done

Show us the fighter

Fight, till you’ve won.

How will the voices subside

How will the ghosts die down

How will the stories you’re writing end

When you live in Darkness Town

But there’s something you didn’t account for

There’s something you underestimated

It’s in your heart, and it’s blazing

It’s the fighter in you, interrupted.

Fighters aren’t born, they’re made

Everyone who’s brave, has been afraid

You may be more wrong than a righter

But that doesn’t mean you’re not a fighter

Show us the fighter

You know how it’s done

Show us the fighter

Fight, till you’ve won.