Today

(Wrote this on the Rock Night of Harmony 2012. For some reason, I loved that night. Hanging out with friends all day and then the amazing Fusion and Rock duo at night made my day.)

Today I ran, closing my eyes
And screamed at the silence of noise.
Caring the least, for the world outside,
I ran, like a child.

The wind came bustling, pushing me back,
But nothing could stop me today.
For today, I was not afraid of being happy.
For today, I was not scared to smile.

And breathless, as I fell to the ground.
I looked up at the evening sky.
And laughed aloud, as long as I could.
Today, I had lived a different life.

In this moment

A poem which grew out of the countless visits to Central Park, Connaught Place, New Delhi.  It is a poem which is very close to me because of  its impulsive nature. Hope you guys like it :)


This moment, I see people.
I hear them, I feel them.

I see around;
The sun on its victory march along the western skies,
Its reflection lightning up my eyes.
The strength of its rays, shallower still.
And the shimmering silhouette of buildings.

And people all around.
They laugh, they cry.
They fail and re-try.
And I see them all.

I absorb their elation.
They share, they care.
They stare, they bear.
And silently, in the distant corner,
I see them all.

This moment, I sit content.
Knowing it won't be long,
Before the frailties of our existence,
Nudges us along.

Till then, here I am.
Rapped in silent observation.
Till then,
Life is beautiful.

Void

I stay up at nights.
I stare at the emptiness.
I hear the sound of silence.
I feel the cramping void.

And, I like it.

The peace of mind; un-parallel.
The clarity of thought; unscathed.
The air of reassurance; unpolluted.
The brevity of expression; uninhibited.

And, I like it.

I travel with my thoughts, at large.
And seek answers to many questions.
The frictions of life slide by my comprehension.
Mocking my desperate self.

And, I like it.

For it fuels my urge.
For it gives me purpose.
For it makes me thirsty.
For it keeps me awake.

And.
I like it.

Looking Beyond

After LONG last, this finally happened over a moment of inspiration a few days back. The small things in life are what matter most. Here's an illustration.

Looking Beyond

And a little droplet marches along;
Fearlessly.
With little care of what lies ahead,
Gently, carving out its path,
It glides along the windowpane,
Like it had life of its own.

And here I was, smiling at its audacity,
Still.
Watching, as it engulfed the like,
Other drops which the rain had strewn across the glass,
Staring, at the life of this modest wonder,
Like I had none.

Almost as though, pacing itself,
The droplet, now made stronger; came to rest,
At the edge of the wooden frame that guarded the glass,
And gathering courage enough,
Plunged into the unknown;
Fearlessly.

And I stand, where I was,
Looking at the haze, beyond the glass
To the world, unknown, this lied beyond,
Gathering nerves enough, like my little friend,
I wait to replicate.

And the world celebrates today,
Amidst highs and lows, I stay still;
I wait to replicate.
To the world of my aspirations,
Here I come.

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For first time readers, you might wanna try my previous pieces :

My Silent Smile : http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=109394887678
Under the Shadows of the Sun : http://taking-cover.blogspot.com/2010/06/under-shadows-of-sun.html
Another Day, in another world : http://taking-cover.blogspot.com/2010/09/another-day-in-another-world.htmlPassions of a Lover : http://taking-cover.blogspot.com/2010/09/passions-of-lover.html
Dear Mortals : http://taking-cover.blogspot.com/2010/11/dear-mortals.html
Do I deserve any Less? : http://taking-cover.blogspot.com/2011/04/do-i-deserve-any-less.html

Do I deserve any less?

I coerced not; I desired so.

I chose to face the tide.

Firmly grounded, assured of myself,

I was never the one to chide.

Knowing well what lied ahead

I chose to delve in the mess.

Tell me now; I took a leap of faith,

But do I deserve any less?

Beacons aplenty, traversed much,

The roads were smooth and plain.

But I chose not to follow the million such…

…I chose to adorn the path of disdain.

Not because I had no option,

Neither were obstacles the case,

And so I did, I took a leap of faith,

But do I deserve any less?

Rivers wide, I could be a part of,

But I chose to be that stream

Meandering through the unknown trough

I tried to emerge supreme.

Through the alleys of the less famous

I walked through the maze of stress

In everything I did, I took a leap of faith,

So do I deserve any less?

I chose to differ, I chose to change

I chose to alter belief,

I chose to carve a path for myself;

I chose to dig deep.

Moments weak, drained me off,

Stronger responses imparted me grace,

I chose to write my own destiny

Does that make me deserve any less?

I bled tears and mocked the time,

With a smile across my face,

Answer me; will there be a morrow sublime?

Will I deserve any less?

I stand by my choices today.

This hour, and this place,

Tell me now; I took a leap of faith…

But do I deserve any less?

Dear Mortals!

Candor was reproached
Cries, approached…  
through the synthetic haze.

Beliefs were deserted
Lives were ceded…   
and the men continued to daze.

Their blood united,
The land they divided
But ego didn’t shunt.

Their bodies tight,
With eagle sight,
Barrels were meant to hunt!

A feather, white
Ever so light,
came flying down to Earth.
Peace, it said,
Let Love be!
till bloody crimson stole its mirth.

But who cared?
Who could have dared?
The orders were to shoot.
People died?
Irrelevant!
Their shrieks were put to mute…

Till one day,
When triggers went mum!
Against war, when wisdom fought.

Beyond conviction,
Are the powers of affection…
Dear Mortals, give it a thought!






(After a string of emotionally challenging sequences, this one happens to be my first real shot at realism. I tried to superimpose the irony of 'you' and 'me'  over 'us' against a backdrop of the symbolism of peace and love. Hope this meets the expectations! :) )

Guest Post : Hell on Earth

As promised, Taking Cover will now publish some guest editions. This one's from Devvart Poddar, a friend of mine. Have a great read! :)

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Hell on Earth
A light is extinguished and darkness all around,
A light - extinguished, and chaos all around,
In this dark do I stand looking for a way,
Out of this hell which on earth has been made.

We are an old race, as old as time,
Yet we suffer at the hands of evil and of grime,
Thought and passion have vanished from the minds of men,
And have left behind them, on Earth, a hell.

In this hell no-one will rejoice, everyone is doomed to die,
Die a horrible death, Die a thousand times,
Their souls will be tortured beyond redemption, beyond any scion of light,
And darkness will cover this God forsaken earth, Forever and for time.

This hell will be the ruin of man, a son of his own creed,
Created out of jealousy and greed, out of pain and misery,
This hell will see a panorama of ruin set to be around,
And chaos will engulf this darkened earth, this replica of God's crown.

Madness will weigh all around, fiery torture and pain,
And humankind will scream and shout with the ecstasy of the slain,
Nothing will remain living, no-one will be dead,
Everyone will be trapped for eternity in this hell.

Countries will tumbles from their post into abyss of war,
Death and destruction will be all around, carcasses and gore,
In this bloody rampage the devil will shine outright,
While God's mighty crown will be drenched in a red dye.

Humans will lose their will, we will perish in this fate,
The last human stand will never upheaval this pain,
Torture and pain are sure shots in their future,
And the devil will bask in our bloody rampage.

In this hell am I alone and waiting for help,
Drenched in the blood of my family and friends,
In this chaos am I alone to sway,
But on either side their death and madness all the way.

This world is doomed and so am I to lose my way forever,
This world is doomed and so am I to see the light never,
Clouds of war have gathered on the horizon and I must make my way,
To a safe place in this hell to mourn and cry for the dead.

I have seen countless deaths, have seen them all fall,
Fall and then rise again, only to again fall down,
Their destiny is to die a thousand times, to die and yet awake,
Awake to another day, awake and die again.

Daybreak is on its way to light the misery around,
but the sun is shying from my eyes, never again to renown,
Into the void have I passed mourning for the dead,
And no one is left alive for the man who lost his head.

(- Arthur Pendragon)

Passions of a Lover

Okay, this work happened at the suggestion of a friend. It can be best portrayed best perhaps as a sequel to "Another Day, in another world. I suggest you read 'Another Day' first, if you haven't already. 

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Passions of a Lover

Like a drop in the ocean of devotion,
I drop into the river of existence.
Like a part of the ever growing collection,
I part from the melancholic fence.

And sweetness you, you descend from the heavens,
Bring a smile upon my face,
Fill my world with your presence,
Paint my life with your grace.

You tread the soft textures of my life,
Weaving the vents of incompleteness,
Stopping to see me wonder,
At the supple touch of your benignance…

Transforming my life into a book of dreams,
You make them come true,
You walk along my hidden shadows…
And all that I see is you.

Indebted I am, to the day which met you, me;
The day which sets itself apart,
‘Cause my days haven’t been the same since,
It hasn’t been so hard.

Your thoughts beguile my inept being,
And take it to the sphere of solace;
Silently making me stare up,
And see the outlines of your bright face…

And from the depths of the passion above,
Blows a zephyr of your love;
And from the realms of my life’s cover,
I grow the passions of a lover.

चलो चलें एक ऐसे समंदर के किनारे...

Poetry happens once a while.. and then happens Hindi.. :)

Here's a work I came up with while I was talking to somebody.. The work was initially smaller, which I extended and so, here's what came up :
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चलो चलते हैं ...
एक ऐसे समंदर के किनारे,
जहाँ आवाज़ हो तो पंछियों की...
जहाँ खुशबू हो तो सिर्फ बहारों की
जहाँ... कोई और हो... तो बस तुम
एक ऐसे समंदर के किनारे...

जहाँ ज़िन्दगी हो जीने का
जहाँ प्यार हो पीने का...
जहाँ मैं हूँ... और तुम हो
एक ऐसे समंदर के किनारे...

जहाँ रौशनी हो तुम्हारे आँखों की
जहाँ नज़ारा हो तुम्हारे चेहरे का...
जहाँ घटायें हो तुम्हारे जुल्फों से घने ...
जहाँ फिजायें, लहरों को छुमती
हमारे मन को कर जाए बावला...

एक ऐसे समंदर के किनारे...

एक वोह समंदर, वोह हमारा प्यार,
हर एक बूँद में लिखा हो जो तुम्हारा नाम...
एक ऐसे समंदर के किनारे
जहाँ खुशियाँ ही खुशियाँ हो,
जहाँ बस एक मैं, और एक तुम हो...

एक ऐसे समंदर के किनारे ॥

Another day, in another world...

The silence grows louder
As I hear you speak...
Another day, in another world;
Where love is all there is.

Mystical, this silence...

Swathes my being..

To another day, in another world..

Where love is all there is.

Serene, this silence grows in stature…

And the mortal functions stop and stare.

My beautiful angel, unwraps me over,

Heavens! They could not spare…

She takes me along, she takes me far,

She takes me away from this life bizarre;

To another day, in another world..

Where love is all there is.

Prodigious, how I live to live,

This other day, this other world.

Like a reverie against the strongest sun,

Like a life, devoid of blur.

Incepted within, she bewilders me,

Breathing verve to my soul,

Soulful, in the day afar,

Where love is all there is.

And the night rolls,

And the curtains lift,

And the day ends,

And the world drifts,

And slowly, she goes away…

Unto the darkness, lifting above;

With promises of the other day,

From my dream, I wake up.