"Haiku"

 Voyage à Vancouver
(Neray Neray Vas - Coke Studio)

Macaroohs arranged in pairs
(Ruhe - Schiller)

train to become One
(Disappear Here - Hybrid)

Before Daybreak

 A frightened deer steps through the charred Sequoias,

A frightened boy stands on the churning Merced.

Shooting stars against a faint glow.

Shooting glances at every shadow.

Shivering body. Simmering mind. Overwhelming dark.

Cold. Numb.

Motionless. Emotionless.

Then, a pinprick of light. Insight!

"Those who love us miss us".

One step. The boy stirs.

Another step. The deer scampers.

Behold! The sun rises.

Appa

With you

I learned that Man must shape his world

To keep the maddening chaos at bay.

To smile through the most relentless adversity,

for, Man will always find a way.

What a wonderful world you provided,

Guiding me and pointing out its wonder!

Now I must set about on this journey, smiling.

Of all the different worlds it will shape up to be, I'll remember

My world is fundamentally poorer

Without you.

At Cathedral Cove

 The clouds are a-fire at Cathedral Cove,

The oceans a-roiling at Cathedral Cove.

As I walk this winding path,

Hand in hand,

I realize:

All the world's chaos, clouds rolling, oceans roiling,

Are nothing but a whimper

When, one day, I hear Aarti's roar.

Thirty

Dreamt a vivid retrospective yesterday night, after a day spent with the giants of my world. Penned down what I remembered. Needs work.

I was an unteachable boy; the lesson was "Aa rahi Ravi ki savaari". I scored 0.75/30, Rekha ma'am didn't let me quit. Vandana ma'am started remedial lessons.

2006. Arun flew from IIM Calcutta to be beside me; I quit after the Maths paper, but he didn't let me. Aa gayi na Ravi ki savaari :-)

"Thirty!?" I refreshed the page and the portal was down. 387 was the target. Uh oh. I did not expect to make it to... I did not plan for 30.

12 years since in an absurd life.
"How would I fare graded against Olympiad winners?" -> You'll live together, learn together, teach each other, walk together.

"What after graduation?" -> You'll do great work and get rewarded for it.
"What will you lose in doing a PhD?" -> You'll gain a parent.
"What next?" -> You'll do what you love and get rewarded for it.

I did not expect to make it to... I did not plan for 30.

KSM Convocation (in 10 words or less)

Invocation.
Wintry. Wet. Windy.
Ponchos. Graces.
Purple. Gold.
Proud Graduates.

Why make life a struggle when life is a song?

Phantom

"Turn your thoughts away from cold, unfeeling light
and listen to the music of the night."
Andrew Lloyd Webber - Music of the Night.

The music stopped.
The shrill monotone resumed, unceasing.
The Phantom, hands trembling, stood unmasked.
The facade, fallen
(should've known, most man-made things don't endure).

Alas, he realized --
the mask was never to hide behind
but to practice apathy.
Recalling his boundless cruelty,
he wept.

"A lack of empathy is an acute failure of the imagination."

North by Northwest

(needs work)

Peering across the Michigan,
A momentous decision.
Pondering the unknown,
Art and Science tussle.
A surrender!
Perception.
Reason.
Peace.

Of Nature and Man

Two peasants on a pilgrimage
Stepping across boulders and bridges,
Guided by God's wind.

As they summited and saw
A cathedral that scraped the stars,
the one peasant submitted
(equal parts awe and pity):
"Nature taught me God was beyond Man,
This structure reminds me
God is scripture and sculpture."

Mused the other,
Man-made Gods inspire awe
And Mountains and Valleys are wondrous still,
But the People I meet are the wonders of my world.

"Intelligence is an ability to appreciate beauty in many forms."

A memory

Everybody dies
And you'll be dead to me long before you die.
A stolen glance, a sideways nod, a catch of breath ---
Not nearly enough to remember you by.