T a l k i e s

After Annan Thambi’s laugh riot, well past midnight, Mr Prasad and me had the whole of Cocoa Tree dropping their laptops (are laptops mandatory in coffee shops?) and overhearing us. Oh yeah we gave a one hour speech (they are open until 1 am, after that you have the three thattukadas near Kaloor stand) on […]

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The name of the author is the first to go
followed obediently by the title, the plot,
the heartbreaking conclusion, the entire novel
which suddenly becomes one you have never read,
never even heard of,
as if, one by one, the memories you used to harbor
decided to retire to the southern hemisphere of the brain,
to a little fishing village where […]

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Datta. Dayadhvam. Damyata. 
April is the cruellest month.7 days more. One Week.
Brace yourself you all.April is the cruellest month.One Week.
HaHaHa.DA DA DA.I will show you fear in a handful of dust! 
Leaned out, leaning, hushing the room enclosed.  
Footsteps shuffled on the stair.  
Under the firelight, under the brush, her hair  
Spread out in fiery points  
Glowed into words, then would […]

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Some learn,
Early on,
To prostitute their verse.
So, in all the waking hours
They scavenge for a simple simile
That matches requirements, fulfills needs. 
Like they say, poetry opens the doors to show you the possibilities. Sometimes you get it, otherwise you increase the count and say “Yeah, I’ve read it”. Like I read Marquez. And the latter is better for a long […]

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That is no country for old men. The young
In one another’s arms, birds in the trees -
Those dying generations - at their song,
The salmon-falls, the mackerel-crowded seas,
Fish, flesh, or fowl, commend all summer long
Whatever is begotten, born, and dies.
Caught in that sensual music all neglect
Monuments of unageing intellect.
An aged man is but a paltry thing,
A […]

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