“through the act of living, the discovery of oneself is made concurrently with the discovery of the world around us. . ."

Friday, January 27, 2012

The Slide




He climbed up the ladder, one, two, three
The ground fell lower,  three, two, one
The sky came closer, one, two, three.

Up went the kid, four, five, six
Down went the ground, six, five, four
Up was the Future, bright and bold
Down was the Past, dull and dead.

The kid sat at the top
And the slide took him down
In one smooth rush,
On a roly, jolly ride.
The wind hit his face,
The ground zoomed up -

And thud! He was back where all it began.

*********** Balachandran V, Trivandrum, 27-01-2012

Time, Frozen






Flipping through Henri’s* pictures, 
I see how desperate he was, like me,
To freeze time.

Fleeting are our lives - the ones you see smiling,
Crying, frowning, deep in thought, their inner selves revealed
A glimpse offered in these frozen images
And then taken away in the flood.

Faster, quicker than the flowing water,
Life flees, swirls and then disappears -

All that remains is a dash between
A year and another...

********** Balachandran V, Trivandrum,  26-01-2012





“through the act of living, the discovery of oneself is made concurrently with the discovery of the world around us. . ." 



    *Henri Cartier-Bresson, 1908 -2004

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Gecko





He moved swiftly, through the little gap
Between the door ajar and the wall
Hiding then, behind the desk, presumably
Catching his breath - but soon as I pulled the desk back
Like lightning, he took cover behind the pile of papers.

I grinned at him, he was young and little, a juvenile, and said -
'Gotcha, my boy'  and with a quick brush of the broom
Escorted him out into the glaring sun.

That was yesterday, that was when I felt I could not stand
This suffocating sensation, the revulsion of solitude,
Yet shunning company, sans I am, of love and friendship.

Now, defeated, depressed and disconsolate, I welcomed him
As he skulked in a corner, nodding, licking  his chops clean
Of the remains of a fly and looked at me, cocking his head.

'Welcome, my Achilles, welcome, brighten my lonely evenings.'

******* Balachandran V, Alappuzha, 11.01,2012

Note: 'Achilles' is an unforgettable gecko in 'My family and other animals' by Gerald Durrell, one of few great human beings that ever walked on earth....

Friday, January 6, 2012

Neelkanta




Everytime I went to sleep
Behind the drooping eyelids
Draped over my eyes-
This bright, white glow of light.

I squeeze my eyes further shut
Focussing on the white light
Growing brighter and brighter
Till I  sink into a deep slumber.

I remember it from decades ago
Till one morning, among the snow-capped mountains
One cold morning when snowflakes still fell
Someone  tapped my shoulder -
Turning back -
He was smiling at me gently -
Unraveling himself from the shroud of clouds - 

My mountain, my vision, the pinnacle
Of my greatest longing -
My Neelkanta!

********* Balachandran V, Alappuzha, 03.01.2012

Sunday, January 1, 2012

I was in a bus when it struck





I was in a bus when it struck
Twelve.
Waking up from fitful dozing
I heard the yelling and screaming
Of boys bypassing the bus in their bikes
Screaming, “ Happy New Year!”

I look around my fellow passengers –
We have yet a long way to reach home
There wouldn’t be much of a New Year celebration
For us; I love my fellow travelers.

I fall into a reverie, remembering New Years –
Ruefully, I remember those, drunken, partying kinds
That of lying in the middle of a highway at night
That of dizzying hopping from bar to bar
That spent on the top of a hill, shivering in the cold
That by the side of the sea where I would part with my love.

I remember the New Years, lacklustre, spent at home
Indifferent, blank to the gyrating glitterati in the TV
New Years spent alone, nursing a drink, bitter
Blaming self for the promises  unkept, resolutions unresolved.

Chilling gusts of wind blast through the open window.

I remember those who were with us in the beginning of the last year
Yet no more, today, or ever, on another New Year day.

****** *****Balachandran V, Trivandrum, 01-01-2012