A ROYAL BIRTH AND AN EARLY DEMISE

   

AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A 2000 RUPEE NOTE          

Every birth in nature, a gift to see the universe and enjoy,

World  welcomes every creature with glee and a blessing,

Inanimate, common to all factory born, so too yours truly,

Royal gestation and a tumultuous delivery, all bemusing.

 

Older discarded siblings , all despising me with a wry  grin,

Ignorant of their fate, or their sudden and untimely death,

Some razed by the fire, some never saw the world again ,

All the rest in an unknown terrain, yet I wasn’t dejected.

 

Hailed as a blemish less monarch, Oh I was on cloud nine,

Proud of my frenzied beauty, soon I hated my cousins’ ilk.

All rushing  to caress me, fondling me, every now and then,

Ecstasy  blinding my vision, poor cousins  in a jealous blink.

 

Rejoicing  an exalted status, despite warnings from within.

My ilk declined in number, handling  becoming a  burden,

Affluent continued to pile me, easier to handle me in bulk;

The poor hated me daily, all preferring my poorer cousins,

 

My toddler life was rosy, infancy and childhood all thorny ,

A life threatening fall in sight, all my cousins are laughing;

Immortal becomes a mortal, a fatal and a contagious one,

Asylum is the remedy, treatment of isolation in full swing.

 

My royal life and status cut short, amidst huge hue and cry

The rich, all awe struck. the poor unmoved, in a silent laugh,

My  cousins over joyous and celebrating my premature exit ,

Underdogs  now the rulers, my stocks now in a  fast tumble

 

With the rich, all my unseen populace explore a safer room,

Unsure of the  source, the rich  researching  my  exchange,

My days are numbered, so too of my  populace for the doom,

Pride goes before a fall, the proverb still  ringing in my ears,

 

 

            A SPECTACULAR SPECTACLE

        A Niagara  Experience  

 

                                                                                    

Water a solvent for many a liquid drug  to save a life,

Best medicine for many an ailment in many a show, 

Quenching the thirst in summer, soothes us in winter, 

When it pours  down, it is called rains, falls or snow.

Rains do hamper, snows disturb the movement, 

Falling  from a height, a sight oft fascinating,

Many a time a hard rock overlies a soft rock beneath, 

Creates an erosion  time and again  forming  a step.

Repeated erosions undermine the softer rocks below, 

Flow of water speeds the force in height and width,

Year after year this creates a wonderful spectacle, 

 A natural wonder we see and enjoy  as water falls.

One such falls straddles two countries, so strange,                 

Glaciers, great lakes, and the retreat of ice sheets, 

Tens of thousands of  years enabled its present show,

Spilling six million cubic feet every minute, a wonder,                                   

                                                                              

Sandwiched between cities of Ontario and  Niagara,

A sight to behold, three offspring’s  contained within; 

Horse shoe Falls, highlights the Canadian  domain,

American Falls, Bridal Veil  share the American pride,

Tourist far and wide, swarm to witness a great show,

More one watches this delight oft in stunned silence.

More are we proud of  the nature’s splendid wonder,

Such gifts of nature  linger in our memory  for ages.

 

 

A MAGNUM OPUS…. on song

   Every nation is oft blessed with talented people, 

  They excel, but, differ in discipline or principle,

  Our nation too is no exception, indeed so rich,

  Have indeed no parallels, in terms of many such. 

 Music, neither has borders nor has a boundary, 

 An art nonpareil, differs, excels in every territory,  

 Classical art, Indians pride its ancestral heredity,  

  In Purandara  Dasa’s domains lies its history.

  One such Mozart, of our land, did reign supreme, 

  Was the renowned queen of international fame, 

  An unchallenged doyen of the Carnatic scheme ,

  M.S, is so often remembered than her full name.

 A humble beginning to the music at age seven, 

 A public concert all at the tender age of eleven  

 Tutelageutelage Chemmangudi, the Great,so preen .  

 And Pandit Vyas, defining this princess to queen.

 Thus the Saga of this great singer, set to flourish,  

 With full devotion, and purity, that we oft cherish,  

 Chanting many Hymns, we all wish to remember.   

 Indeed are immortal, from dawn to dusk, forever.

 Mellifluous in voice, unbelievable, while in spate, 

Suprabhatham, reigning the dawn of the deity,  

Hills of Tirupati and everywhere do reverberate.

Bhavayami, Bhaja govindam, with top priority.

 Rajaji’s lyrics were spotless, she did with ease.

 About the invincible Lord, inevitably all in praise,

Mahatma, insisting for the “Hari thum” Bhajan, 

Be sung by her, its history speaks time and again.

“Queen of music”, our Pandit Nehru nicknamed her,

 Indeed, she rendered her voice for the world peace,

In U.N Assembly, all stood as one, to applaud her.   

The first Indian musician to win the coveted place.

 Was humble as ever, fame in steep rise again,   

 Humility personified, donating time and again, 

Title deeds, copy rights all donated for charity, 

Magsaysay award crowning her with impunity.

 Magnificently dressed in an ever pleasing attire.

 Kanchipuram blue silk was her sprightly affair. 

Symbolized MS blue, to be named hereinafter.

Bindi, the sparkling diamond stud, add the flair.

 Padma awards garlanded, Bharat Ratna crowned, 

Her smiling charming face, yet Hymns continued,

Thy voice, we all wish to go miles to be cherished, 

We are proud to be an Indian, we bow before you.

 

A  WAR ON TABLE, FOR A PEACEFUL VICTORY

[A CHAMPION MOVE FOR A CHAMPION’S MOVE]

Chess, the king of all indoor games hits the news column this week,

This brain game beholds a special place in the world everywhere,

Fifteen centuries ago ,our nation was the birthplace of this game,

Returns to the cradle, for an Olympiad, rejoicing a celebrity status.

 

Thirty two pieces, hold the cynosure on a sixty four square board,

Resembles a warfront, the two kings, a fight indeed so prestigious ,

Whole set of brigades, fighting  the war for their king and nation,

Soldiers, horses, elephants, commanders, aid the powerful queen.

 

Shrewd movements, outwit the opponents to upset the rhythm,

Every piece has a motive in its movement, to protect their king,

Trap the opponent king, out winking the other pieces is the aim,

Check the other king and win or a stalemate if  chances are bleak.

 

In real life too chess has many implications, in politics, in particular,

Hoodwink your opponents, trapping them, to check their way out.

Move the pieces, make the best out of the move to win the battle,

Right move at the right time, to garner the glory in the political war.

 

None can forget the matches of Fischer and Spassky of yesteryears

Our nation too had  champion like this, in our Visvanathan Anand

Thirty two pieces have more moves and feats to tell us this time,

We hope this Olympiad is set to bring more, with a new champion.

 

 

HUNDRED NOT OUT.. I AM STILL BATTING

  ~ Autobiography of Insulin   [P.S: Islets= has beta cells that secrete hormone]

 

Lend me thy ears and eyes, Oh! my fetal  life for you all on show

One in eleven in the world, Diabetes, a fact too good to be true,

From days immemorial, this giant killer has no parallels till now,

Research points the pancreas, the prime factor of the real woe.

 

Islets go dry, auto immune or inherited, failing in its prime duty

Children suffered a lot, no means to control rising blood glucose,

Death in first two decades of lives, oft uninvited, turns up for duty

Ligated pancreatic duct in dogs, dead gland’s sap was of no use.

                                                                                            Banting, this doctor just out of medical school, did see the plight,

Dissuaded by his mentor, allowed his assistant to join the fight,

Thought differently, he let islets cells too in ligation in foresight

Banting and Best scripted my gene, I geared up for a regal exit.

   

Many a dog in sacrifice, a new sap ready for test on a boy of teen

He was dying, the juice did world of good, got better all the same,

Adverse scenes from the impure sap, thoughts all set in revision,

Refined process saw my birth from islets, hence I got my name.

                                                    

I could at last give rebirths to many young diabetics with impunity,

Their life extended by many a decade, I felt pride in my discovery

My arrival changed the scenario, the world rejoicing relentlessly,

Diabetics had a renaissance with my birth, needing me endlessly. 

In diabetic emergencies, the clinicians seek my presence eagerly,

Sighing with relief in diabetic coma, and ever in a surgical remedy,

I had grown up in your midst, still young to serve you with dignity,

Scored a century of years, a coveted feat in medical discovery.

I am undefeated, indefatigable, going strong with all my cousins,

Serving the diabetics with pride, enhancing their lifespan encore,

On my centenary year, I am still a humble hormone in your islets,    

Will come out from factory, if thy inputs are poor, thy needs more.

From cradle to saddle

       FROM CRADLE TO SADDLE

[A CHILDREN’S DAY SPECIAL]

Waited, indeed waited so long in isolated darkness,                                        Circling round and round for an early possible exit,                                          Alas! amongst a loud shrill of cry and in all fairness,                                        Finally I did make an entry in this wonderful transit. 

Excited, yet still blind, the wait continued to prevail,                                      Astonishingly, the light was at the end of the tunnel,                                        Fondling, caring, my roller coaster ride in  smooth sail,                                  My juggernaut, tossed everyone to dance to no avail.

Honeymoon continued, naughty, I was pampered,                                            Jeered at me at times, yet oft yearned my presence,                                        My best period has begun, antics all remembered,                                            Every year on this day, rejoicing with glee and sense.         

                                         

 

DOCTOR’S DAY.. JULY 2023

Painful memories and future miseries

Medical schools, all of bricks and concrete, are same,

It’s the pupils bring laurels , glorify with rich tributes,

Many such are famous, its teachers attain immortality,

Hard work enriches the society, nation indeed rejoices.

 

Men in white coats all in esteem anywhere, everywhere,

Bear the fruits of the true sacrifice and perseverance,

Hard earned prefix oft conceals the boiled egg within,

Ask every student, their aim, a doctor reigns supreme.

 

Hard way to reach that summit, a steep and tall climb,

Obstacles galore all the way, tests often unrewarding,

Successful feet need a dozen or more peaks to climb,

Every peak has ups and downs, slips not uncommon.

 

Sleepless nights never count the midnight oils burnt,

Basic knowledge never stops, caravan climb not over,

Practice differs, hours of skills and hard work in wait,

Earning basics possible, yearning a name is arduous.

 

Trends had changed, rampantly in  Gods own country,

Drug addicts, toothless police, hooligans act their way.

Hospitals in attack, white coated men all, are insecure,

Damocles’ sword over their neck, day in and day out.

 

Budding doctor stabbed to death, no fault of her own,

Alcohol rules the state, enriching the coffers, its a pity.

Cream of all profession, their screams are yet unheard,

Crocodile tears aplenty, sans a drug for the vandalism.

 

Health care  needs funds with no returns for the coffer,

All awards decorate the table, will drain the exchequer,

Unbelievable, most families have a medico in the state,

Yet, the charm to become a doctor has vanished of late.

 

Bearing such incessant insults, these events do recur

Judicial remarks fail to spur the deaf ears, what a pity,

Day is not far, medicos may have two options to think,

Leave the state or be a teacher not to cure any patient.