Under an elephant’s foot – I

Etched in my memory is that early morning walk in a coffee plantation

Four of us chatting, brushing past the dew-laden leaves in slow motion

 

Plucking pepper from the peppercorn vines, smelling the vanilla pods

Nothing could be more idyllic than this weekend, what were the odds?

 

Our guide, Prakash was born in these hills so no trail was new to him

nor were the birds or animals; he could sense an elephant and its whim

 

What are our chances of spotting one today? I had tried to think loudly

‘Coorg is a part of Elephant Corridor ma’am’, he reminded us all dryly

 

We were now closer to a watering hole to spot some feathered friends

Only to discover fresh circular footmarks in wet mud around the ends

 

‘Wild elephants often impair the electric fences to cross over for water’

‘Why did we come here then?’ I felt my trust in our young guide totter  

 

But the bird watchers, pros and amateurs were busy with their lenses

And inner peace seemed to have arrived too, suffusing all our senses

                                                                Suddenly all hell broke loose! 

The world without me ...

Will not see the deviation, for I never was, what all it stood for

Will not feel the twinge, for I couldn’t even pluck a single chord

Will not miss the 99 lbs, for I failed dismally to make an impact

Will not pause to lament, for I couldn’t follow its sense of tact

Will continue to churn out the unfit (Darwin’s) & clear its mess

Will settle for more harmony for there’ll be a grating note less

Will have enough up on its sleeves to replace me with another

Will be what it used to be, so shouldn’t I cease to exist rather???

The flip side of Le Chateleir Principle

A life of superlatives; where first order is pedestrian
A life spent chasing; toiling for the …. ers ‘n’ …. ests
A life amidst concrete; wherein dreams are contrived
A life without ceiling; a life not looking for meaning

A life with squinted focus; the vicinity, far n beyond
A life obscured by lights; where visions are ephemeral
A life rendered reticent; subliminal struggling to stay alive
A life out of equilibrium, sans the Le Chatelier principle


Le Chateleir Principle : If a system at equilibrium experiences a change, then the equilibrium shifts to partially counter-act the imposed change.

A thousand smiles I need..................

It's hardly been days, since WE broke up into I and YOU
And even though I do, I somehow can't say "I MISS YOU"

scared to open my eyes each morning for the first thought is you
and though it leaves me more lonely, in that silence i talk to you

some questions and some doubts, some answers and some facts
breaking up inside each moment still putting up a nonchalant act

a deluge i need to drench myself and drape the drop which left my eyes
and a bit of sunshine here and there to thaw the frost in my gelid life

A thousand smiles i need, oh dear! to forget that one smile of yours
I'll never be the same without you whichever way life takes its course