Saturday, January 19, 2008

Memoirs

The days of self definition,
Those days of freedom.
Living each day of our lives,
With the few, restricted choices at our discretion.

The days of casual conversations,
Intermittent, with spurts of laughter.
Those days of flirtatious admiration.

Novelty, was in all we did.
First-timer adrenaline rushes.
Gasping in horror over breath analyzers,
Post trouble-making and it's ramifications.

In love with multiple people, simultaneously,
Pouring out sighs of adulation.
Only if we could put together someone, that satiated our fascination.

The stolen askew glance to the one we desire, to call sweetheart,
Exchanging polite conversation with their best cohort.
Coffee-dates translating into endless gossip sessions,
Extrapolating multifarious possibilities one dreamed of.

Short-skirts and pleat-less trousers.
Hair styled to perfection.
A let loose, tie.
An air of confidence.
An expression, of the wannabe millionaire.

Cans of coke,
Jargon about the dame and ol’ bloke.
Slangs of generation next,
Rolling of r’s,
Struggling between British and American accents.
Alas! Contemporary hip-hop lip sync, an aspiration.

The coolest gig-
Traditional waltzing in dim lighting with a demure babe.
Driving to hangout joints with blaring tape.
Rally cars, with metallic fenders and modification.
Swatch to flaunt and mobile rescue operations.

Going dutch on fine-dining,
To afford the delectable chocolate cake.
Setting valentine’s as target to get oneself a date.
Movie romances that transported one to dream locations.

Last minute assignments!
What’s with the examinations?
Burning of the midnight candle to get a first glimpse at the syllabus in question.
Scanning the question paper for the eureka moment,
In hope to see something that trigger's our imagination,
Clenching the pen between our teeth,
With our fingers in circular motion,
In deep thought of falling grades,
Anxiety of passing and the commotion within.
Convinced we’d have cracked the paper,
Given just another day of preparation.

So tutorials will be it, parents forceful assertion.
The passport to your future millions, their declaration.
Yeah right! Like group studies were helpful!
So will be yet another commercialized educational institution.

With the best of wardrobe on display,
The best bet to break away from the school uniform, oh so mundane.
To flaunt the recent purchase of imported fragrances,
Wear streaked, treated-hair in any form,
To fall in place or apart, trained to conform.
Torn-denims, anti-fits, low-waists called the shots in the fashion hour
Tees that showcased the arduous work done.
Brief,  flashes of  brand endorsements, where one hadn't gone.

Basketball in hand, heading for a smoke on the court.
Equipped with all the accouterments, to be on the ground.
Football was incidental, cared for the crowd.

The high fives on meeting,
Hugs echoing fraternity,
Friends ganging-up  for the sneak peek of F-TV,
To ogle at the damsels walk the ramp in bikinis.
Discussion about the hottie round the bend,
A new entrant to the colony.

Geeks don’t go far was the mantra,
Have fun, the war-cry
Years from the day of school farewell,
Half a dozen batches or more apart from that day of graduation.
The thread that ties,
The days of self definition,
Those days of freedom,
Is living our life to the fullest,
With the few, restricted choices, at our discretion

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Back to Basics

Fancy a day in your life
You had no inhibitions
No one knew who you are
No one knew who you are meant to be

Broke like an old fake coin
Walking the streets at midnight
Rolling back tears
Wishing away your fears
With nothing to loose
With nothing to hide

A glum playful you
like when you were seven
pelting cobbles, knocking empty cans on the way
making deranged imitations of passers by
staring at your fingers as they take imaginary shapes
giving away your last dime to keep a poor child’s benign smile
unpaid bills, strewn clothes,
an empty house and an emptier self- unassured
How you wish to unlock the door to “your life”

And now you question me
Whose fancy, could this possibly be?

You wish away others expectations of you
When the only person left to live for is- oneself

Reach out for that dumped, cob webbed haversack
Throw in some clothes
And a pair of keds to match your stride
Hitch and ride your way
Striving for menial work to earn your daily bread
Small talk with strangers
No place to stay
Unabashed about, seeking out
Admittedly you smile more often than you cry
Perhaps more often than you ever did in you past way of life
Each gesture of generosity, a pleasant surprise
An adventure story, each day to summarize
A comfort with uncertainty
A calm, composed centre of locus
A strength to see the world through the most beautiful eyes
Clutter seems to vanish, vanity dies

Only if we could undertake this journey
Travel back to basics of our lives
A role play, with no restraint
Unsurpassed anonymity by our side
We will fancy each day- “every day” of your lives