Sunday, October 30, 2011

The Gaga Formula

Hello my friends, my readers! Pardon my absence, it was just one of ‘those days’, when you don’t even want to see a computer screen. Well the Formula One race track is on and burning in India. Wow! Is this a sign of progress? I don’t know, if the Formula One driver would just leave Delhi and Greater Noida, and start driving on the ‘highway’ to Uttar Pradesh, they will see how bad the roads are and what fast/rash driving is like! That would be the real Formula One challenge! I think the government has completely lost its ‘formula’ in such a lop sided development. Development means destruction of natural resources, so it’s a balancing act and very few countries have got it right.
Today I am posting a poem which I wrote a very long time ago when the Mumbai- Pune highway/expressway was opened to public and I was travelling over it to go to Mumbai. The poem asks a few questions, I have also used the Shakespear’s ‘honorable men’ type of effect replacing it with ‘beautiful motorway’ (Am trying to be sarcastic). To those who don’t know Pune is a smaller, now rapidly developing town, and Mumbai (Bombay) the already established metro city with politicians, bureaucrats and movie stars.
So sip your hot hot coffee in the cold cold weather and enjoy!
Some Thoughts on the Expressway

We zoom through the highway,
At high speed,
Oh! What a wonderful road it is!
I see the trees and mountains running with us on both sides!

It is a beautiful motorway,
It winds and cuts,
Through the farms ,fields and mountains,

It’s a beautiful motorway!
I see a mountain, amputated in the middle,
To let this beautiful concrete motorway pass,

Some monkeys look at us from the side,
Probably admiring the road and the speed of cars?
Or,
Looking at their brothers and sister driving over the land and trees,
which  once were theirs?

We have lost our tails , but we remain the same,
Only, we now create concrete jungles,
And run from one place to the other,
Climb organizational ladders,
Push each other,
Fight over fruits, trees and stones.

Oh! Here comes a tunnel!
Pierced through the grand brown mountain,
To let this beautiful road through!

The radio plays music and chatter,

We communicate better,
Though we still fight between each other,
What’s the use of a satellite,
if man cannot connect with man?

Whats’s the use of this beautiful road,
If it leads to the biggest slum in Asia?

The trees ,mountain and fields are gone,
Now the concrete trees run with us,
Some tall ,rectangular
with square holes,
Like bodies without souls.

People,cars,smoke,shops,
People, bridges,     lights,     sound,      camera,       action!
I think we have reached the main city?
Some more people!

Here the stars shine bright,
The politicians and bureaucrats have might,
And they fight, plot and fight!

We have lost our tails, but we remain the same.
There are Have Nots and Have Lots.
But there is hope and there are still dreams,
And we are getting close to our destination,
Slowly ,haphazardly,
Slowly, we are moving ahead at least?

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Guess what? Lady Gaga is performing for the after hours party, check out her non outrageous clothes in this article http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2054722/Lady-Gaga-India-dons-demure-outfit-local-designer-New-Delhi.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
Well , Lady Gaga, well done, well done, we love the hairdo in our national colours, maybe you should also auction of your designer collections and send the money to the poor in Uttar Pradesh? Hmmmm…..

6 comments :

  1. I just wonder-soon Pune will become Mumbai, but what will happen to already-swelled-up-Mumbai? At times I can't decide if we are really moving forward..

    Nice work.

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  2. Right you are- its like 'two steps forwards, two steps back'. I hope development spreads to other smaller towns as well- cross my fingers!

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  3. Hi Ashwini

    I really like some of your poems. This one reminded me so much of "telegraph road"-a dire straits classic early in the morning! It's playing even now ...

    Rajesh S Shirali

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  4. Thanks for the visit Rajesh! I shall surely check out the Dire straits song- Good group that!

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  5. Many thanks to Gooseberry Garden for the follow, as well as Anoop, Rohan and Sahil- the 'guys' in my list of followers- great writers you all are too!

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  6. welcome, dear.


    How are you today?

    Happy end of November!

    Appreciated your support to our poetry picnic,

    Hope to see you share today,

    A random poem or old poem will do the wonders too.

    Your talent rocks.

    Hope to see you in.

    xoxox

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