Rain In Spain

Who said Zeus is dead?
Watch him, wave his hand
Over the planet and command
Sun, clouds, showers, snow

And speak with foreboding
The west shall drench, the east shall freeze
And the south, I bless you with sunshine

Who said Zeus is dead?
He who knows the weather a week in advance
And prophesizes in front of a green screen
Adjusting his tie and beaming his smile

A New Normal

I exit out the door
and look up, you know, like Sachin
when he enters the ground
at the heavens, examining, absorbing
sunlight, or the beaming halogens

Anyway, I look up and find
very few beams of sunshine
Gray, dark, low-hanging clouds
splatter my spectacles with shards of water

I quicken my step
to my destination, across the campus
constructing my frown
and folding my hands

Ten steps into the walk,
the frown dissolves into a smile
as hints of my favorite season
show up all around me
from a distant land

Another ten steps and a new instinct:
I tug at my jacket
and almost pull the zip up
but resist (freeze unless you absolutely can't take it)

The weather though has made its point
Winter is upon us.
Let the sunshine within prevail.

Bombay Dreams

I finally saw the Broadway musical on a non-broadway street in Seattle (the company is touring the city for 20 odd days). I found the show fairly enjoyable, once you are prepared to overlook the terrible clichés. What's the deal with untouchables in slums and kissing in Hindi movies and the other pre-historic notions that are sprayed across the production with gay abandon? Aah, but we are catering to a Western audience. Silly of me. A little criticism of India and Mumbai and the workings of the Indian film industry is ok, but the insinuations are pointless at times. The best part and the saving grace was the music. It was fun to hear all the known compositions being done in a live format. The percussionists especially were excellent. Overall, worth a watch for the fancy and the energy and the music and choreography, but I hope they follow it up with a more realistic depiction of India.

P.S> Been trying to upload a poster of Bombay Dreams, but it keeps bailing on me. Shall try again later. Till then, here's the link

Homo Erectus

Those tender limbs: All grace, no stability
Seven hundred and thirty days into his life
Crawling on all fours was his only independence

Held each step by his parents
The center of all attraction
Needing a good center of gravity

And then it happened one day
He got up and didn’t fall down

Standing on his own feet
For a period greater than two seconds,
He announced

His foray into human society
His first nod towards success
His first step towards failure
Himself

Slower than his steps
Slower than his bemusement
Came shock, to his parents
Then realization

Overwhelmed, excited, perplexed
They watched the kid with his outstretched arms
Waiting to be lifted, to be celebrated

They scuttled, as if escaping bombs
One for the camera, one for the video recorder
Leaving behind

A pair of outstretched arms
And a little boy collapsing on the ground
Down on all fours

P.S> I saw this happen in real life. The only twist here is my interpretation. Just read it, don’t read too much into it.