Passion…unbridled

In a world that has descended into chaos and confusion

May your voice be the one of reason

In a world where selfish interests prevail

In helping others, may you never fail..

In a world careening towards disaster inexorably

Where countless others have failed to halt the catastrophe

May you be the one to change the trajectory

Steer away from destruction to stability

When beliefs born out of fear and superstition

Threaten the world with dangerous polarization

May you gently draw them away

From superstition and towards science today..

**

In the uncertain times that we face, we need

Rational thought in the midst of irrationality indeed

May you be the last one standing here

To restore sanity and reason, dispel fear..

If the best you can do today

Is to put one foot in front of the other, it’s fine

Do not overthink, no attention should you pay

To the running commentary in your mind

That tells you to disregard what you have gone through

That tells you to get up and run like you used to

Give yourself grace, nurse and nourish no one but you

You need to make yourself a priority too

The trauma you have faced, the scars that you bear

Are not going to suddenly disappear

You have lost so much that you held dear

You need time to heal, that is clear..

**

Treat yourself with tenderness, the way you would treat

Your child, parent or sibling indeed

Forget the narrative etched somewhere

You are not being selfish, you simply cannot care

For everyone else if you do not heal

Let yourself grieve, let your heart each emotion feel

For closure is needed to move past events traumatic

So that wounds do not fester or become symptomatic..

The world would be a better place tomorrow

Because of what you did today in this time of sorrow

While some saw an opportunity to sell oxygen and medications

At inflated prices, you sold at a loss to needy patients

While the COVID positive elderly couple was shunned

By fearful neighbors, you were the one who summoned

Enough courage to enter their home in protective gear

And help them with food, medications, relieve their fear

You were exhausted, discouraged and drained

After a brutal COVID ward shift, yet you helped a distant acquaintance in pain

You spent hours to secure a hospital bed somehow

Sacrificing needed and deserved sleep to allow

Yet another person to get a fighting chance

To escape the illness’s lethal dance

Running errands for your loved ones in quarantine

You drove your neighbors to get the vaccine

**

You did all this as some of your loved ones

Were fighting this illness in ICUs, in isolation

You’ve been going through private hell, but the world would be

A better place tomorrow because of your acts of humanity..

“The signs that children will bear the scars of the pandemic for years to come are unmistakable.” Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director

They have been silent bystanders of the pandemic

Watching their world upended, parents and grandparents getting sick

Not fully understanding what’s going on

Without articulating, they feel something is wrong

They have been banished from playing outside

Bewildered, they watch stressed adults, wide-eyed

The fear that pervades their home atmosphere

Leaches out to them, unspoken thoughts they do hear

Some are merely bored, glued to their screens

Others have faced horrors of abuse, unseen

Frustrations and fury of adults has at times culminated

In physical violence, its magnitude likely underestimated..

Food insecurity, isolation and lack of play

Are affecting millions of children today

Though the virus has largely spared them, other issues have proliferated

In this crisis the focus on our future generation has deteriorated..

**

I fervently hope children’s innate resilience would allow

Them to emerge from the pandemic unscathed somehow

Let’s hug our children a little tighter each day

Now and when COVID finally goes away..

Why should I be a damsel in distress

Just so that you can claim success

Over rescuing me from villains, demons and more

That narrative belongs to patriarchal folklore..

*

Why do you think I should walk on eggshells

Around your fragile ego, it’s time to dispel

The myth that I’m dependent on you in some way

Honestly, your insecurity empowers me every day..

*

The complexities of workplace I can navigate

Without your assistance, even if you hate

The fact of my independence, know this is true

I can thrive without your perceived benevolence too

From scarcity to abundance

From famine to feast

From lack to plenty

To most from least..

Starting from too little to reach

More than enough for every need

Being driven by a fear of running out

To living with contentment, not greed

**

From desiring more to needing less

From accumulating stuff to letting go

From acquisitions to donations

From trying to outrun to going with the flow

**

Abundance does not correlate

With material possessions-it is a state of mind

Change the narrative of a scarcity mindset

Wealth all around you would find..

We all have our opinions and our woes

Often we find ourselves in the throes

Of impassioned discussions on social media platforms

Where opinions are vociferous, but participants not fully informed

The written word seems to have power unique

To evoke strong emotions, polarize, force most people to speak

In a way that reflects their misconceptions

Their biases, tribalism, and flawed perceptions

Until the discussion gets too heated to continue

The moderator mutes/deletes/removes members few

**

Such battles are played out every day

Having participated in many, I don’t know the right way

To deal with such discussions, should dissenting voices be

Silenced to preserve the narrative of the majority?

Or should different viewpoints be considered with respect

As participants look at the issue from a different aspect

Of course this does prolong the debate

And the anger that has erupted does not dissipate

**

You might give sage advice to abstain

From social media battles, but then, once again

Avoidance of conflict to keep everyone on terms amicable

Is a superficial measure, sweeping dirt under the table

To ignore the influence of social media, I would say

Is to deny the reality of our lives today

**

I think when an opposite viewpoint we see

We should acknowledge our discomfort, and be

More willing to understand that opinion, and not react

Immediately with a rebuttal- as if our opinions are facts

Diverse experiences, opinions and thoughts

Should thrive, echo chambers social media platforms should be not..

The power of social media increases day by day

How do you engage with the world in a meaningful way

On various social media outlets out there

How do you let the world know that you care

About certain things, ideas, happenings around

How do you refrain from adding to the noise, but still make a sound

Loud enough for people to hear amid the cacophony

Find a balance between authenticity and raking in money?

**

There are influencers all around with engaging content

With millions of followers, their lives are probably spent

On social media for the world to see

In their stride they take any form of publicity

While the accolades are high, criticism can be scathing too

Placing yourself out there is scary, it’s true

The pressure of social media makes people attempt

Every trend to increase visibility, more time is spent

In packaging old stuff than creating content unique

Because authenticity garners less followers and more critique..

**

I can go on and on, but the one positive I see

Is that an ordinary person can achieve the status of a celebrity

Social media platforms, despite many ills,

Create the most democratic playing field still..

Thus here I am, posting content no one reads

In the distant hope that someone would like my instagram feeds…

There were qualities and possessions I had admired

There was much that my impressionable mind had desired

Everything I lusted after eluded me

As I chased my desires passionately

Since those goals never seemed to be in sight

Gradually I started giving up the fight..

I kept my head down and did what I needed to

But never thought I would achieve a breakthrough

**

Thus detached from my desires, focused on results I was not

Going through the process surprising outcomes brought

What I had thirsted for, admired, desired

I seemed to have achieved- I had not required

Burning ambition or obsession, instead

Separating the journey and destination seemed to work best

At least for me- while I enjoyed the journey

I was subconsciously preparing for ultimate victory…

**

The desire to succeed makes you afraid to the core

Thus detachment from the outcome has some allure

When I want something, I try my best

To let go, trusting a higher power to figure out the rest..

I’m either a church mouse or too aggressive

If I appear bold I’m too progressive

If I stay on the sidelines, I am regressive

Emotional, hormonal, are adjectives for me if I am too expressive..

**

If I play nice, I am too lenient

If I am stern, I’m trying to be dominant

There’s no right way for me to present an argument

I’m either disregarded or labeled vehement

**

I’m either too provocative or too demure

I have to modulate my tone to ensure

No one gets offended- I have to ignore

Comments laced with sarcasm galore

**

If I stay late at work, for my children I don’t care

If I miss a morning meeting, I am made aware

That getting an exemption for childcare

Is insensitive, and for my male colleagues unfair..

**

I know this is a rant but this is reality too

In spite of all this, love my work, I do

My dedication to work please do not misconstrue

There is a glass ceiling and I have to break through

You thought there was just one of you

The version that was authentic and true

To your soul, reflecting your values core..

How come you did not realize before

That you have two faces, two sides

The tongue-in-cheek, irreverent one, that’s hidden inside

And the other- the public one coated with a veneer

Of propriety and grace, the one that always appears

In social interactions, the one that presents a sanitized view

Of your behavior, the one that does not ring true..

The true face of you stays under wraps

To be revealed in exceptional circumstances perhaps…

*

Your true face showcases your nonconformist aspect

Makes people uncomfortable as they reflect

On their true and coated selves, because most of us seem to

Carry versions of ourselves at least two

A necessary evil this seems to be

To maintain social order and harmony

Yet all of us crave that safe place where we can be

Our authentic selves, without fear, unapologetically

To the issue of language I rarely pay enough attention

With both Hindi and English, I have an equal connection

But subtexts hidden in the way language is used may

Have political and social relevance, as I learnt one day…

I was reminded of our colonial legacy

That still influences our behavior unfortunately…

It was a matter inconsequential but it stuck with me

I saw a cooking demonstration of “Indian balloon bread”- which was a simple roti..

*

I began to think- everything seems to find an English translation

As if words in Indian languages lack sophistication..

Some labels as part of colonial baggage we inherited

Like the word curry, the varieties of which could have merited

A culinary encyclopedia- but we are perceived to be

As people without discerning palates, who eat a smelly curry..

Our pooris, parathas and rotis are flatbreads merely

We try to describe our sweet delicacies as puff pastries, really?

*

Kheer is rice pudding, chai is qualified as tea

Why don’t we keep original names alive, a reason I don’t see

Maybe some Indian words are tongue-twisters

But yoga-related jargon is enunciated well by hipsters..

*

I audaciously say we should try to reclaim

Our authenticity by not readily translating names…

We need not carry the baggage of our colonial past

Into the future- but build a new legacy that lasts

*

As I pen these lines, a final thought pierces through me

Even “India” as a name is a product of colonial hegemony

The land we venerate lost its original name

From citizens of Bharat, somehow Indians we became…