The nature of Existence

A little squirrel
Got into a quarrel
He started his day
thought he could make hay
but instead was told he was gay

Haha!  cried the mighty tree
In my kingdom you are free
Until you flee
from toil and tyranny
But its all here you see
you only have to say it like me

Hail thee, Oh great wisdom!
Knowledge of ages and queen peace torn,
The king now comes with power
And the soul he commands by the hour
What will you do my love?
Like a fish sheltered by a cove

Why does this place have so little?
Now left of what was never so brittle,
Its a short burst of joy with which we applaud
The condition of our simple lives we live in fraud,

Be true, be just, be just to be,
Be simple, be humble be scared of thee,
The almighty is not one who kills for free.
He is she and she is he, only just be, just be.

The Strange Animal I Knew

A strange animal by my side
She watched me eat and dine
By the fire close she lie
Never let my sight go out and die.

A spooky look on her funny eyes
A strange animal twice my size
She gobbled her food in a rush
And she ran her distance in a flush.

I made many changes while I was in conversation
My speech was blur I hope it wasn't an invasion
But gradually she gobbled up her herbs and forbs
A Strange animal by my side.

So a time came when winter was done
A time came when the grass was young
We all had moved with the wind above
So strange was the time when she away drove
I watched in strangeness this new
That I had known quite well this day would come.

Man and the Mountain

When one wakes up every morning he finds himself in a place where he would rather not be, along the day, situations he would rather not have seen or even comparisons which he would rather not have made. Every single day again he wakes up thinking the same. But the same things come back in a quick reminding flash to engulf and enliven. In a hope to find what he now declares as longing for a kind of calm from the confusion, he wanders into the forest. He finds a blade of grass to tickle his tongue between his teeth. Further deep, he wanders and wanders, he then fears this scares his thoughts to turn him back. Why bother waste a life which has so much to give and so much to live for? For once though, he decides not to do the usual, to not think rationally, to not use all that he learned but to just follow curiously his child heart. He sees a high top, and then heads towards the hill through what seemed earlier like a beautifully aligned patch from a distance is now but full of thorns and prickles in close contact through the way. At this point he wanders if he should just now be getting back. But no he just decides to go ahead. At the top he reaches. Sigh! Relief! But wait, where is everybody? Not one soul has reached here. He seems to be always alone. He only wished someone was there to share the sight with him. He sees all-pervading wonder, a chance to smell the wind above. The sky, rocketing even higher, but only this time it’s bigger and clearer. Only then he realizes that the top is always a lonely place. 

Misplaced Pride

India a country where daughters are poor,
Not safe inside the womb nor outdoor,
where certain sections battle poverty,
and many ask for a meagre hefty dowry.

India where caste is so nice,
unless and until you have to choose a wife,
Where above you only is your birth
and some times you may be even below the earth.

India where many sons claim the soil,
but hardly know about the value and toil,
Many claim to outcast foreigners,
Standing with their head shaven with banners.

India I am proud of you, atleast you don kill as many as other nations,
Atleast you have some wonderful things in a constitution,
Atleast you walk around in naked feet flaunting your humility,
But still where many are torn aprt society and liberty.

Ah! My friend,did you light up a candle today?
May the souls of the departed rest in peace,
May we find what we seek in our dreams,
May we find our children bathing in clear streams,
That have the blood of our untold screams.

The time alone

My mind is wondering worm,
Ringling right into the most malleable mud,
Encircled by thoughts of life and new,
But my heart is heavy without you.

Listening to voices in my head,
I devote myself to strange pastimes,
I find a piece of stone, throw it around,
Get back to my sense of what I left behind.

I find you in my room,
missing in chair, lying by the lair,
knocking on my door, your influence on walls,
stuck in my image of the world,
so wide and yet so small,
you were always there when I was to fall.

Peril of the Dog (Dhole)

Many Dhole  are killed in retaliation in Arunachal Pradesh 

Rarely 2500 of the endangered Asiatic Wild dog remain in the World. I was on my 3 year study in Arunachal Pradesh when I found out that here lies a species dissapearing faster than ever. Much of the conservation is centered around the Tiger but its co-predators are really missing the attention. I spent numerous hours watching the rich wild-life in the area. But rarely did I see a dhole or a leopard or a tiger. In the cloudy forests, the only time you know that something was there was when it had already passed you. But our camera traps gave us a positive assurances. Our efforts in the field documenting animal diversity were successful.

The most magical encounter I had with the wild dogs was in Pakke Tiger Reserve on the the last week Could there be a better time to say goodbye to these protectors of the deep forest? I stumbled across from the bend in the Dekorai river 5 miles upstream of the camp when I saw four bright red creatures standing against the bank. Seemingly they found no interest in the sounds of vicinity, the wind was in our favour. We watched, them for a few minutes feeding on what seem to be a young muntjac. These dogs usually push a prey to water and surround it while simultaneously dis-embowering it voraciously. 

Around Arunachal, much of the killing by tigers, leopards and dhole of mithun has taken place leading to retaliation by the locals who have a sacred place for the bovid. But, the dhole per se takes much of the blame. Even though the resilience of this animal has proven time and again it can survive amidst dangerous times, the real test lie in us allowing it to do so.

Bealzeebul got me this time,

Willfully I gave myself,

Tired were my legs that I could not run,

Sad were were my eyes that I could not turn,

To show you my dismay,

Instead I broke and fell and lay.

Instead, I danced on the fire,

burnt my soles and strained my neck,

Bowing down to the ever deceitful,

Forgetting the word that was to be carried,

I shifted my stance from a balance to dangle,

I revoked my promise to and got strangled

Strangled so quickly when he got the chance,

smiled as if he were with me all the time,

but at last he stood far from my sight,'

ashamed may be but victorious,

I could see the other side I was now far,

From the shore,

Worsened and the spear the that tore,
ran through him like a fire,
chariots of white, myrh and sapphire,
piercing the evil within the liar,
Ah! I woke agian to find,
The battle every day won,
Of a manic depressed son.