Gods and Guns

Back from the daily grind,
I lean back & try to relax my mind.
When a print catches my eye
of the summary of the week gone by.

Stories interesting and insipid
are flashed around like snippets
A few invite and few revile
of plots both disgusting and instigated with guile.

I stand, a mute witness to acts of morbid atrocities
Sometimes a Genocide & sometimes a Kamikaze.
Perpetrated by individuals mislead and misguided
in God's name.
By those who take on the guise of God's men
& act as his bodyguards on this plane.

Nauseated and Shaken, I question this all,
of the false pride of few and their gall
To think that the glorious one will need 
to indulge in something so obscene.

He whose presence is eternal,
wouldn't like his name forced down another's throat
This entire premise is banal
a god doesn't need to gloat.

Surprising, that the texts preach fraternity,
it has been a cause of such mondegreen
that many of its agents work to chop at the roots of unity;
like the steadily depleting evergreens.

With their message of hate and splenetic rage
they corrupt the innocent and keep them engaged.
They hand them guns when all they need is a book,
they hand them false sermons and make them into crooks

Engineering machines that are servile 
to their suggestions & outlook.
They wage war on each other enjoying
their knights and bishops toppling the other's rooks.

Through ages, we say that we evolved
yet the change seems invisible.
For each new interpretation is still scorned
a different faith is still impermissible.

The ones inciting hatred and spitting vitriol still shine bright
Guns & Gods don't mix is the message lost in this plight.
Does it matter if my god sings & your doesn't
or your drinks and mine doesn't.

Isn't faith a personal, continuous voyage of finding belief.
Enabling us to find strength, shun sorrow and find relief.
So why has it been a vehicle of constant grief
When the solace of finding your place in this world 
is the message of every religion in brief.

Time and again the tree of fraternity is ravaged
by enemies blinded by dogma; zealous and savage.
To nurture its rebirth the youth have to unite
fostered with their energy to win over the dynamite.

Lost Innocence (Of Perjury and Injury)

Sitting by myself, I answered the call
hearing on the other side a barely audible, muffled bawl
of a dear friend, in an abysmal situation
for prejudice towards gender was used as a tool of persuasion

Summoned to answer, to undergo trial by fire
accused of misgivings and assumed a liar
Funny thing this Rhetoric, grave is its error
It rationalizes sympathy to one and traumatize the other.

Though history is steeped in one side's favour
Justice shouldn't be blinded and facts be savoured
Though the situation is dire and efforts are required
A lopsided system does little than a few wrong shots fired.
Like an incomplete skeleton with dangly bits and portions
hijacked easily and made a tool for extortion(s).

Yes the change is needed but each case is different
 The call is for equality and laws to be deterrent
Though many monsters are dressed in hides of men, that much is indictive
But give the other side unadulterated power and they'll be equally vindictive.

The fight is not for a gender but for a mindset
To think along that convoluted line would bring only guilt in hindsight.
The evil is not a gender but mentality of abusing,
To trounce one's right with an assurance of eluding
the wings of justice that are easily duped
by false evidences and riding the sympathy so hard to dispute.

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Note: A short piece on special request. Hope you find strength in your trials, mate. My wishes and hopes is for truth to prevail.

No light in Sight

Note: This is a continuation to the calm diatribe (Hard Answers) I made an year ago. While the media has conveniently forgotten, my helplessness prompts me to just rage at the white screen and pour my thoughts.

This is not just about Badaun, this is about all the tragedies that have continued unhindered since that nerve wracking incident of December 16. As of now, I am unable to extend my help to all of those who have suffered but my spirit is burdened by your plight and I hope those in power take notice and help.

---

Turning on the set, I sat there dumb
then came across a chilling piece that left me numb
as I read and saw the reactions later in the night
I felt helpless, angry and saddened by the plight.

As the major media circus died, with electoral hubris quenched
I read the reactions of important people reeking of foul stench
Reports of Rape, molestation were coupled with others and treated the same
Though my face stared the screen, my mind was heavy with shame

Fearless, unabashed, intent on brutality
Repugnant little lowlifes who have forsake their humanity.
Our so called leaders rubbish this as a triviality
I look on shell shocked; at this unfolding insanity.

I offer no condolence, no regard, no lip service
I don't pretend that I stand beside you to face this injustice
Channel this rage within, awaken the inner Kali
for before you are monsters more reprehensible than descendants of Bali.

Take to the streets again, let your disgust be known
do not cower when you are right, you have to fight this alone
that month of December that left the whole country shocked
when masses flooded the streets and the nerve was raw
now is just a frozen memory that'll need a titanic effort to thaw
The silence has lost its purpose, as the help won't reach
for justice to prevail, your rage should beseech

The solutions professed are both vapid and trite
the funds and new laws won't do when the offenders aren't contrite
The media too has degenerated, numbed, searching for just juicy bytes
this dark tunnel of hopelessness just lingers with no end in sight

Shed this reticence and begin to shout
for truth to triumph you have to trounce these louts
with tools both physical and mental and strength resolute
Establish the fact that your honor is absolute

Assure yourself that you aren't the one in the wrong
It is the time these hooligans see that you are strong
The need for another Roy, Vidyasagar is ripe
To resurrect the forgotten values and respect with an Iron gripe.

This sick mindset and political maneuvering should be thrown
You my brothers! come forth and let your support be known
Show your will & back our sisters to remain driven
I don't want development in a nation that doesn't respect its women.

Cleaning a few mythical rivers of slime
won't make for a better case to the divine
It is the filth of vitiated minds that needs to be wiped
and a protective embrace for the feminine to make my India shine.

----

The Grody God

Swallowed by rage,

The wolf is out of sage's hide

signalling to the great slide

of the dawn of a new age.

Riled from unanswered heeds

unfettered; this abominable fiend

incessant on making gods bleed

with those who sell this trade,

the men of cloth conducting this mindless charade.

Snivel up and grovel at his feet

for the sake of their forsaken lives which feed,

his raging soul ignited by their creed

Why the righteous are trudged and smashed?

Why the good belittled and bashed?

Why the punctilious considered pushovers; trash?

Why is faith manipulated to be an eyesore; a rash?

Is there no justice, no godly scheme,

No fellowship, no Utopian dream.

If men are a reflection of god,

then is he too a sadist, a slipshod.

Reveling in other's misery 

residing in decadent opulence

while his believers toil in penury

misled by men who sell superstition with influence.

as he remains ignorant and in leisure

watching his sheep slaughtered for his pleasure.

Fight Or Flight

Brimmed with hardships & failures each turn,
constant defeats with nowhere to run
contemplating endgame and trying to agree
on a way to go with unfulfilled legacy

no matter the counsels of friends; family
now there is a corpse on a tree dangling
of one who tried to be free by hanging
to run from voices and reasons in his head; banging

no more seasons of perpetual autumn
nor reason for silence; solemn
hoping for freedom, joy & glee
searching salvation to a considerable degree

It's not easy to let this cowardice slide aside
why give up the battle and choose suicide
Running is easy when things get breezy
when life kicks you to ground
beaten, battered & thrown around

Many chicken out & quit
many more are winded from constant hits
But true men toil with resolve & grit
Taunting the gods to write a tougher script

Bearing it all without a wince or a frown
knowing that it's minim to slow them down
Fate is relentless and has considerable might
But Iron character is forged in furnace of a tough fight

So stand up son and ignore your plight
Battle on and claim the night
For day may seem lost
with failure up in swell
But the night is still young 
For you to create your own hell.


P.S: In response to a report I chanced upon highlighting the trend of growing suicides in ages 15-35 among Indian youth. 

Hard Answers

A tale of battered pride,
of mistreated mother,sister and bride.
unsure of what triggered this slide
and how to bridge this gaping divide.

Those with sources and sweeping powers
hide behind words and high towers
while we helpless, watch our trampled flowers
brimmed with anger and shame in their troubled hour

Is this borne out of apathy or ennui
is the solution singular or prorate
A product of detail or an attempt desperate.
A 'caille en sacrophage' or a simple 'ratatouille'

A revolution is only as strong as it's root,
like a bard is nothing without his Lute
a melting pot of all walks; rich or destitute
capable of swaying even when mute

Grounded in tragedy and the subsequent demise
of a braveheart who struggled, but hijacked by bourgeois
Candles won't do where stones suffice
The Nation's open nerve is the premise

Fooled repeatedly by smug fiends
who forsake all to further their needs
when demanded to come good on their deeds
they indulge in politics of terrorism, caste and creed

A solution is needed, furthered by political will
Something extraordinary yet run-of-the-mill
avoiding another showdown like Raisina hill
something that prompts the gaping hole to fill

Harsh punishments to adult or juvenile
like death or castration to render sterile
more sensitivity in police rank and file
to treat the victim well and with a smile

Time to wake from slumber and slouch
to come good on principles that our forefathers vouch
a revolution can't be carried from the comfort of a couch
To be heard, You have to heave and shout.

Heartbreak

Hey Jane,
Standing by the window pane,
why you so glum and plain
messed up and in disdain.

Hey Jane,
Rise from all this strife
you don't have a need for a knife
get a hold on your disrupted life
The season for love is ripe.

Hey Jane,
quit wearing this mane
its driving me insane
to watch you fall again
i know life's a pain.

So dear Jane,
hear me out this time
you are in your prime
so let go of agony and taste divine.

PS: Happy Diwali to all, Its my tiny gift for my rock-loving brother. Country rock if such a thing exists.