മൂന്ന് മൂന്നുവരിക്കവിതകള്‍

                            

വല കോരിയെടുത്തത്

ഒരു മീനിനെ മാത്രമല്ല,

അവള്‍ക്കുള്ളിലെ കടലിനെക്കൂടിയാണ്‌.

വീടുവിട്ടവര്‍ക്കറിയില്ല,

ഒരു വീടുണ്ടായതും,

അതില്‍ കുഞ്ഞുകൂടുകളുണ്ടായിരുന്നതും.

അന്നു കാത്തിരുന്നത് അമ്മയായിരുന്നു.

ഇന്ന് കാത്തിരിക്കുന്നത്

അമ്മ പറഞ്ഞേല്പിച്ചുപോയ വീടും. 

A Dress-down Friday

by Suresh Nellikode


Another Friday to idle away!

Normally Friday mornings are dedicated to the cruciverbalist in me. But this this time it was destined to be framed in a different way.

The rich aroma of fresh Brazilian Santos cup. That was lovely enough to start with a lustrously coloured holiday. Life, at times, look iridescent!

Nanda was telling me about the incorrigible flirt of her husband in the drama school, which abruptly got switched over to the Tudor Architecture, tucked away down the main streets.

I, in fact, loved that grey page she dedicated to her son for a legacy he has to cherish in future. He was resting peacefully on top of his father's tummy.Both slowly slid down to a snooze serene.

Many a wakeful night was leading her to a host of barren days where the other one had to face the rough realities impeding life.

I consoled her, " sorrow is always the twin sister of joy; and it was only to be looked for that we, who just now were over-rejoiced, should next have something to make us sad."

We were planning to lunch out on the patio, along with my Friday guests, a broad tailed cardinal couple.



.

The Advent of Spring

It's been a long, hard winter - I was told. Ice melted away. Green sprouts everywhere.

Gary says, "Winter is like that last drunken-party-guest who just doesn't know when to leave." Gary is a self-proclaimed travel nut, with apt observations and inferences. He reasons well and his wits are bold.

Suja likes spring. The rebirth of nature. The hide and seek of rain. She's in love with the lilac that stands in front of our house - drowsy, leafless, with a faded wintry smile. Every morning she tries wakes her up.

"Laila, my Miss congenial, lazy bum, get up. It's time to put your shoulder to the wheels. Don't think that you are the only plant that carries the agonising pains of winter."

Like a coy bride, Miss Lilac doesn't even look up. She nods to sleep again. But Suja forces her way into a sunlit world. Finally, under allround pressure she slowly wakes up to the rough realities of this not-so-lit world. Green sprouts like goose pimples. Lilac answered to Suja's calls. She even gets up before Suja does, like an early to rise tot waking up her mother. A few days, and it's green everywhere.

Sapsuckers landed on white birches and they rustled their leaves in response.

The slender, hardy asked, " where've you been all these days when everything was falling apart?''

For a while he bowed down. Then said, ''winter was so harsh and turned my marrow frozen red. Couldn't stand and flew.''

''What brought you back over?", asked the tree.

''The sap... and sap alone in you makes me oblivious of the miles I flew'', said the bird.

A tear had slipped down from the birch.
''Still you held me in fond remembrances. You're a guest to my immobility, and I'm honoured.''

Once barren, ice-coated and frozen branches now brimmed with life and started waving their leaves.

The bird started hammering away, excavating cavities in the trunks.

Tuk ......Tuk ......tuktuk.....

''Haven't you still got the right wood for your ship?"

Woodpecker raised his head.
It's none other than the Saw Whet Owl.
He does not like the round eyed who always act like a spy and question all others. He's lazy, never makes a nest and always use the cavities or nests made by others. He's always prying into the personal matters of others with a scornful look. Other birds are even scared to look into his round round eyes. When they call him 'Snoopy', he gets irritated and offended, follows them and shouts back to a peck of troubles.

Woodpecker stopped his work and flew away, telling the birch that he would be back after some time.

The hooter angled his looks down here and there, couldn't see anyone to tease, also flew back.

A little away, a column of smoke winds into the sky.

It was the advent of spring! Hope it's eternal.




Suresh Nellikode

A Momentous Moment

by Suresh Nellikode

Behram Darukhanawallah is more than a customer to me. So soft-spoken, omni-smiling, unfailingly patient, unassuming, a Canadian retiree took all the strain of coming to my office to hand over 2 Canadian Dollar-coins to me to use it in the trolley-slot to get a trolley released at Lester Pearson Airport, Toronto, when I land there. I couldn't but stand still for a moment with flooded eyes! Behramji is a new friend of mine, who stays alone at the Canadian side of Niagara, comes to Abu Dhabi every year to stay a few days with his son.

I'm no one to him. But I stood lost and surrendered to his kind gesture.

And I resolved not to destine these coins to a trolley-slot, but to preserve it as a token of love towards Behramji. Small things one would never want to forget...It's incapable of being obliterated. It has that intensity, as deep as earth!

Eyeful

He outstretched his arms and told me,

" I know her.This is the creation of your imagination. But where's the other one?"

Sadness, spreadeagled like a wall between our gardens.

My sheep are not back from the green pastures.

Child is still asleep.

I'm on the last line of my poem, short of a word.

She stood behind me, veiling her face with a smile,

Being my root, like a flower opted to be disdained.

"Give me an ear, I shall give you a word."

And I replied, "She's infallible and not visible!"

Cooking With Stella

Talmiz Ahmad's comments were quite inappropriate and untimely, utilising his official position, when the majority of the film viewers took it to their heart. As Deepa Mehta says he has all the right to express his opinion against the film. But what led to his attacking on the film so severely? There is nothing in the film that generalises or justifies a bad deed which as he fears would destroy the images we built up so far. There is nothing derogatory to the clan of diplomats who seldom feel the pulse of a common man. He could take the story as a one off case. Has he or his core of diplomats done anything to stem such incidents back at their fort? I strongly feel that he belongs to a group that went againt 'Pather Panjali', ''Fire'', ''Water'', ''Slumdog Millionaire'' etc, claiming that they all had exposures on India's underbelly. Rough realities make a few who believe in window dressing unhappy. Why a majority of the film viewers did like the film? Why do we want to come out fully and elegantly dressed when we have burning issues snigger on us? We are in front to cover our shortcomings and appear swankily, covering all holes with darkness! One has to see more films and climb down to the realities that pull us back from getting on to goosebumps as the biggest democracy.

I represent a group of serious filmviewers who certainly believe in responding to injustice and unjustifiable social practices and deem 'Çooking with it Stella' is a mode of self criticism brought out by Deepa Mehta Dilip Mehta through their own medium.

On Dropping the Other Shoe...

By Suresh Nellikode

When I mentioned about the shoes with GPS tracking system, Nandu's mercury of curiosity rose.

"What... Shoes with GPS..?"

I said, "probably a company must have had a feasibility study sometime ago in order to bring out a challenging offer to people like your mom and dad who belong to the unknown majority, who in public do not admit, but certainly with a zodiac of a directionally challenged."

Nandu's imagination shot up.

Shoes with a built in navigation system that beeps and shouts at you, if you take a wrong step! The one refuses to move if you do not listen to it! What if the battery gets exhausted at a point you try to overrule the gentle beeps? You have no choice but leave it there itself and walk down to a sandal shop for a cheapest one, feeding your homing instinct.

He said.

Perhaps Chandu needs one set.Oh no! Not he. Amma wants one fix it on him to track down his movements. He comes late from university debiting the account of special classes or combined studies whereas there were no such things in existence, at his place. Oh yeah, that's a good idea!

He continued: But I'm sure he, like a typical Kerala bumbledom who deliberately damaged the attendance machines in their offices, will purposely damage it or it should have an unlimited warranty.

I asked, ''How about you, having a set?''He said : No, not needed. I never go out of my rails. Like a horse fitted with a blinker, I used to shuttle home and school. Ask me why.

Why?
There are human antennae everywhere till I reach my school, entrusted by my sweet Mom.They never default, keep sending regular reports on which way I went and came back. Also, whether I stopped at that Slovenian girl's house and sent my rays of thoughts inside, or did I turn left, instead of right straight to school, to the convenience shop and bought a coke and what not....! Where do I get a chance to go wrong amongst these punctilious lots?

After taking a deep sigh he continued.

I'm sure their scions will blow up their interitances. That's my only relief at old age, in looking at them; a sort of avenging my wronged enemies!
That's how I resolved to walk straight to school and back not looking at any trifles, as long as they do not attack me. It's better be a law abiding citizen student in Burlington lest I should be gathering a lot of moses that can't be washed away. It's recession time and I'm sure that these hawkshaws may not get employed temporarily even in shops like Walmart and Price-chopper. My bad patch of stars will continue for another year till I finish off my schooling. Let me finish my studies to show them how to put shoe on the other foot!

I registered my gratitude to Suja unofficially, for taking care of things in my absence.

By the way, how come you sprung up suddenly with an idea of GPS Shoes? Which is the company? What's the brand name?, he asked.

It's a Gulf News columnist.

I know. I guessed. It must be Suresh Menon, the one who makes everything possible! He only has a swell time always with funny ideas!

Oh my guilt-sick conscience! The cat is out...!

I laughed out of the other side of my mouth.

***