Lekha (Ansh 2)

Placements season for our seniors was good but not terrific. It was so not because our seniors were not good but because IIIT was still in the nascent stages and people in the industry did not know about IIIT. So when our placement season was round the corner all of us were nervous. Nervous because we were a larger batch and in some ways not as smart as our seniors. One of the initiatives (dont remember whose idea) was to prepare a CD, showcasing IIIT's talent, and circulate among the HR of the various companies. Kopos (Shashank) and others worked extensively in preparing this CD. I also wanted to make some contribution and again I used the power of writing. I wrote the lines that appear at the beginning of the multimedia content that was finally prepared. I dont have a copy of that CD and I guess nobody else has, but here are the lines:

Make a difference and conquer the world,
Out of school aspires the free bird,
But which institute to go, not know many,
It should be one, whose vision outbeat other any.

-------- A variation that I had written first --------

To conquer the world, enterprising and superfluous zeal,
To companies are qualities which strongly appeal,
But which institute to go, not know many,
It should be one, whose vision outbeat other any.

Uphaar

I was in my first year when Akka got married around seven years ago. Then I was definitely not as independent as I am now. But I am sure I was just as dumb or maybe dumber. Even though she got engaged in December and her marriage was in March, I could not think of anything to gift her. Mummy and Daddy selected some items which were to be gifted in my name. And yes I needed their help - in the worst case financially - to give Akka a marriage gift. But what surprises me now is that I could not think of anything to gift her. Nothing at all! Probably I was really really dumb. Or not so after all. When I am not able to think of something better, I fallback to my worst case options : writing poems. Plus point is that my poems are mostly successful in touching the person for whom they are written. And above all I dont have to pay for it ;). So here is the poem that I gifted to Akka and Bawa on their marriage.

Dear Kumar, my brother-in-law,
The term (brother-in-law) is big and that's a flaw.
A shorter, cuter name is BIL (brother-in-law),
But shall call you so, only if you will.

Thought of gifts ideal, but wildly,
Some weren't appealing, some were costly,
The gift I give, is not thought of well,
But the next time I give, it shall be very special.

Oh! But I did forget one thing,
Proudly I say, that I do bring,
And present to you, my sister as your bride,
What a better gift could you ask and could I provide.

Mitra

I wrote this poem on 6th December 2002. My fifth semester at college had or was about to end. I had already formed a special bond with these guys and had learned various qualities from them. Looking back, I cant help myself but thank myself that I wrote this poem ;). Though it does not (and I myself never can) describe their qualities or my feelings about them in words, the poem does state one thing very clearly: These guys are my best friends and I am very lucky to have them around. So, here it is.

Searched for friends hither and thither,
Since life without them was boring and bitter.
Joining IIIT did I hardly realize,
That it would be a blessing in disguise.

But still devoid remained the space,
Far and everywhere, I ran my gaze.
Fool that I was, I did not recognize,
Since those friends were right in front of my eyes.

Behave like a child and like one he play,
This is the guy who is called Vijay.
Talk about his friends and Chennai, day and night,
Argues he, till one accepts that he is right.

One might wonder, what he is good about,
But surely I can add here without a doubt,
He has immense patience and a heart of gold,
I love his trademark actions and to others when he scold.

Pramod for me was initially a mystery,
A cool guy, was always on the lookout for a party.
But when assignment submission or exam time descend,
He fires you with questions and nervous he tend.

But he crack sharp and witty jokes, night and day,
In the immensely tense moments, it helps me keep at bay.
And hate I that he was and is still so lazy,
But that it rubbed off my shoulders, I am happy.

The next guy in line is dear Kishore,
No matter how much cricket is there, he always asks for more.
Think he melodrammatically sing the songs,
When will he stop, is what everybody longs.

Unimaginable theories he come up with, by different things he link,
Sometimes makes me wonder, 'How does this guy think?',
He maintains high spirits and cares for one and all,
I know he will be there, when for help I call.

Excited he gets about anything, good or bad,
Vamsi is the name of this young lad.
Claims he not to study and sleep all day,
Thorough that he is, he teases us all and merrily play.

Sticks to his views, no matter what one say,
Attitude though sometime wrong, would like to have someday.
Terrific is his confidence and his curiosity insatiable,
Always do wonder, "When would I have these available?".

Concious of security is Kumar, the guy next door,
Keeps checking to see, if locked are the windows and doors.
Asks me to wake him early, though sleep he late in night,
Wake he never, but ask he again, no matter how much I argue or fight.

Enjoy I when he makes pun,
Time spent with him is always fun.
While talking with him, even my humour ooze,
Worries me the thought, that such a friend I might lose.

There are others, write about whom and let pages fill,
But unfortunately, I am limited by my writing skill.
Bored you might have become, so last statement I make,
Hope this is a beautiful dream, from which I never awake.

Janam din

This post contains the poems and sher o shaayarin that people were generous enough to express on my last birthday. These are very special, not only because they are extremely good in quality, but also because of the effort that was spent in writing them. I still remember that I was upset about something the previous evening. And the upsetting mood persisted during the next morning (despite early wishes from Mom, Dad and others) . However reading these lines erased all negative thoughts and made it one of the best days that I remember. So here are the lines.

----------------- The first one by Gaurav -----------------

Your friends from KSPL and KSS
Have all gathered here
To celebrate this day
Together we will say.....

Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
May all your dreams and wishes come true
Happy birthday to you

Another year has gone
Since last we sang this song
We all remember when
And so we sing again...

May good fortune come to you
In all the things you do
In the year that lies ahead
Remember what we said.......

You are the one we will never forget !!!

----------------- Next one by Piyush -------------------

Aaj,
Jab failta andhiyaara raat ke aagman ki pushti kare,
Jab dheere dheere har insaan apne ghar ko lautne lage,

To aise mein ,
KSPL mein kisi ek desk pe,
Maddham raushni ke tale,
Key board ki tak takahat sunaayi na de,

Bhale hi kaam ka kitna bojh ho kandhon par,
Vinti hai aaj tum jaldi ghar laut jaana,
Aye Kartik, kam se kam aaj "Night out" office mein mat maarna :)

----------------- And then by Apurva -----------------

Shaayeron ki mehfil hain jamin , Bandha hai nagmo ka sama,
Sur ghul rahe hain fiza mein, geeton ka kaafila utha,
Aise mein koi kyun chup rahe, har dil hai jhoomne laga,
Aye Kartik, tumhen dete hain duyaaein jo aaj yeh geeton ka guldasta saja!!!

----------------- And a variant by Apurva -----------------

Shaayeron ki mehfil hain jamin , Bandha hai nagmo ka sama,
Sur ghul rahe hain fiza mein, geeton ka kaafila utha,
Aise mein koi kyun chup rahe, har dil ka chhupa shaayer jaagne laga,
Aye Kartik, tumhen dete hain duyaaein jo aaj yeh geeton ka guldasta saja!!!

---------------- Again by Piyush ------------------

Har shaks mein ek shaayar chhupa hota hai,
Is baat par ab humein yakeen hai,
Ek zamaana ho chala tha aisee mehfil ka lutf liye,
Humein kya pata tha aap bhi "shaayari" ki shaukeen hain ;)

---------------- Finally, my thank you's ---------------

Shaayarin main hum bayaan nahi kar sakte,
Utna hunar hum main nahi,
Alfaaz hum bhi likhenge,
Aaj nahi to kabhi aur sahi.

--------------------------------------------------------

Those lines were special,
No need to say,
Better than any gift I could imagine,
They made my day.

While reading those beautiful lines,
One thought struck my mind,
Hope soon come the day,
When I can gift back in kind.

-------------------------------------------------------

Lekha (Part 1)

The fact that I have not been writing on this blog niether means that my life is going gr8 (in the context of previous blogs) nor that I plan to discard this blog. Simply put, I have lost interest in a lot of things, including writing. So for the net few blogs I will follow a rather "useful" approach. I will post my previous poems or writings on the blog. The description "useful" is not to be interpreted as making my previous writings useful by posting them here. Rather the blog would be useful in preserving the writings. Hopefully, Google servers would not crash or would be backed up to handle such scenarios.

So below is a poem which I had written as a tribute to Dipinder when he left the company (in full time capacity) for higher studies:

Formed a special bond with KritiKal,
First time I heard just the name.
And once I joined KritiKal,
I knew I had caught the right train.

Deadlines, ever demanding clients and that ugly bug,
Only at the last minute which would come,
Did sometime make me feel terrible,
But then the adventure was always fun.

What do you like about KritiKal?
Ask they would searchingly.
Work, culture and freedom, I would bellow,
As the answer was quite obvious for all to see.

Not the above, but the people around you, is who matter,
Did it finally dawn,
When I came to know,
That Dipinder would be shortly gone.

I could fill reams describing your qualities,
But I will not describe thee,
Because the same words I use to express myself,
When used to describe you, will limit me.

God has blessed you,
With the powers to bless others,
May you bring about the positive changes, as in us,
With all you interact in your endeavors.

It was a pleasure to work with you,
And I hope we do work again,
But even if we don't, pray I to God,
Friends forever we do remain.