A letter to Cassandra

Dear Cassandra, Enough of the drama. You’ll soon be a baby’s mama. Try to understand the nuances of the life A reason of being; the daily hustle to provide. Like, those movie stars that are dancing in bars are fiction; Imperfect lives in between cuts and with cuts of addiction. Friction. Between illusion and reality […]

The making of a monster

I wish I could take back the roses that are lying on the street Take back with each petal all the forsaken memories Tied together by the roaring thunders of sordid nights that imploded sex Please make me live a fulfilled life of shenanigans and regrets Guilt be the suffering that clings to my soul […]

Free at last

We’ll fly away fast to the sanctuary of past Full blast: an escape to the unspoken trance Healing is an illusion as real as dreaming Seeing is believing. Tears dry; people die; true lies. Contemplate the masquerade that fails to end Levitate away the constant ill effects of fear and dread Do you fear death? […]

April

The month that creates havoc Chaos; disorder. Years to forget; a month to remember Not a thing apart; not a thing asunder. Rendered; It is the month of retreat. To make mistakes; to have hope. An april christmas tree. Some famous actress of ek do teen. Some girl on a rohtak activa. Some girl that […]

भारत के शोषक जातियों के नाम एक खुला पत्र

दिनांक: 09.04.2025 भारत में जाति को लेकर जो बहस चल रही है—जो पिछले सौ वर्षों में समय-समय पर शक्तिशाली रूप से उभरी है—उसने एक बार फिर राष्ट्रीय अंतरात्मा को झकझोर दिया है। यह संवाद, जो ऐतिहासिक रूप से श्री ज्योतिराव फुले, डॉ. भीमराव अंबेडकर और नामदेव धसाल जैसे दलित पैंथर नेताओं के नेतृत्व में चला, […]

An Open Letter to the Oppressor Castes of India

Date: 09.04.2025 The ongoing debate around caste in India—one that surfaces powerfully in moments across the last hundred years—has once again stirred the national conscience. This conversation, historically led by giants like Shri Jyotirao Phule, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, and the Dalit Panthers such as Namdeo Dhasal, has too often been pushed into the margins—silenced deliberately […]

कहानी

आओ एक कहानी सुनाओ, वही सुनाओ जो रोज़ सुनाते थे — सब्र की, इंतज़ार की, हौसले की, गुंजाइश की। उन सपनों की जो आपकी आँखों में रौशनी भर देते थे। उसमें एक चाह थी, एक जुनून था, कुछ कर गुज़रने का संकल्प था — पर सुकून था। रोज़मर्रा की कहानियाँ थीं: पान वाले की परेशानियाँ, […]

Jeet

The king is dead; long live the king. मौक्ष जिसे हासिल है वही तो क़ातिल है। रेंगते सायों में ज़हर घुल रहा है। सांस निकल रही है, अंधेरा छा रहा है। इस अंधेरे के बाद रौशनी आएगी, ये काली रात अब जाएगी। आने वाले सवेरे में भी एक रात है, आने वाले सवेरे में भी […]

Life and its vicissitudes

There will come a day before the decay when words will spill out like blood from an artery there will be a night, before the twilight that will drive away the bigotry gifts under a Christmas tree A promise to retreat white flags beyond boundaries humanity a norm; love the answer. Awaiting disaster. Go on […]

Thoughts that I believe in; a running diary

The responsibility for dismantling casteism lies with the upper castes. The irony of a caste being okay with being categorised as “upper” just via the virtue of incidental birth is beyond comprehension and lacks humanity. Acknowledge your privilege. Accept it. Speak less; listen more. Extend support to those who were denied the same opportunities. Brahmanism […]

azad

Trains passing through the galaxy at the speed of light Beyond the stars of reconciliation Attention to the details of forgotten drunk hues Amalgamation of apparent discord While we stick barbed wires to rip cords to slit throats Said Aurelius in his privileged kingdom to his privileged kingdom: “I want freedom“ Knights killed in wars […]

Samrat Chakravarty

खुलती खिड़की से आती रोशनी में गाँव की बातों की सादगी में चौपाल में गाई हुई रागिनी में चलते पानी में नहाई ताज़गी में वो ज़िंदा है। हरे-भरे मैदानों की ख़ुशबू में अधखुले ख़तों की आरज़ू में रोज़मर्रा के काम की जुस्तजू में कभी अचानक इत्तेफ़ाक़-ए-रूबरू में वो ज़िंदा है। चढ़ती-गिरती लहरों में रविवार की […]

The Silence of Complicity

The poets who will never craft a prose, nor lend a verse to a song. The actors who will never master their method, never move us to feel. The leaders who will never rise from a place of values to solve what plagues us. The gods among men, destined to fade, never to be worshipped […]

a trip to a moss pit

A moss pit that is a counterfeit ranging from trauma and agony A middle finger to society inciting rioting A rage against the wings in the political stream Misunderstood words & thoughts that nurture creativity A kiss stolen under a christmas tree with taboo’d relationships that are innocuous While she gets touched by men double […]

Summer of June

Dripping on the forest floor on a morning cold Dew drops formed from stones of long ago Eons pass; fleeting past and on we go. Stage a mirage that gives us a few seconds to set apart And lay open the carnage and destruction of autumn From the bottom of a pitless soul that has […]

Sabr ;

Sabr me jazbaat bahe Kuch mere aur kuch an kahe Kuch dil me rahe Kuch aansu ban bahe. Ankahi talaash hai Ek khwaab hai Rah me jalti laash hai Nafrat me ghulti aas hai Ek ghut ti awaaz hai Jab kaha hi nahi to raha bhi sahi Aur jo kaha hi nahi vo raha kahi […]

The Creative Void: A Crisis of Free Expression in Contemporary India

There is a palpable creative depletion in our society. Every civilization goes through phases of political and ideological transformation that shape its present and future—for better or worse. We are currently in the midst of such a phase. The defining cultural pulse of any era in the past 100 years is cinema, particularly in India, […]

The Questions of Purpose of A Young Girl

Darkness, imprisoning the concept of a reject on cassette deck, In trance of the romance that was planned with slow jam Intrusive; commuting through the rubik’s cube of illusion, Fusion; renowned obstruction to the thunder in the blunder of conundrum Sun burn? The festival? We find ourselves in. Creativity takes a hit. We are perishable; […]

ghost town: call to rise

as i walk on through the truncated rendezvous and eyes of lies flickering through pages of stories that live and die inside a mortuary of pain, love, grief, ache and tears hardened by the apathy of world; sliding doors of years succumbing to the reality; the rule of the land burying righteousness with heaps of […]

28.1.2025

Soumyata: A Sight Most Dear; Even Dearer When Sight is Denied. Here is an open letter to you. With marriage—just as Shivaa in the USA, a didi in Edinburgh, and an Aunty on Talkatora Road once told me—things change yet remain the same. Marriage brings unspoken shifts. We sit together in silence, yet it feels […]

dilli and us

Hold a handful of sand—your inescapable fate. Redemption dangles like a carrot on a stick—Always within sight, yet forever out of reach. Delhi, the heart of India, is a city layered with centuries of history. It has borne witness to the rise and fall of empires, each leaving its mark on its culture, architecture, and […]

bob dylan’s tarantula; volume #2

Progressive Income Tax to kidnap religious cliques and make it sound like mishap. hit back on the hit attacks on the social fabric of society. the tears that refuse to come out in a crowd when there is doubt and bouts of miss- out with it! just state your mind and don’t die with it? […]

bob dylan’s tarantula

something that has never been said before; rhyme “at-his-prime” with state-crime sell your soul away for a dime. be ruthless, conniving and vengeful, In this world consider me a revolving door: Push and pull. Hate. Use ChatGPT to come up with an elaborate plan to kill. Drink methyl alcohol, have fits and say fuck it. […]

Dear Right-Wing Voter

Every thought or word crossing my mind recently often reflects an effort to bridge the gap between what our society is and what it ought to be. I have tried dialogue: the proverbial crossing to the other side to find a common ground and try to find out the reason as to why the right […]

11 years of decay

Mr. Kapil Sabil, a stalwart, renowned Supreme Court lawyer and Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, recently stated that India’s democratic fabric is upheld by five pillars: a transparent Election Commission, a free and fair press, politicians prioritising public interest, an impartial judiciary, and efficient bureaucrats. Each of these institutions ensures that democracy remains functional and […]

social imprint no more

Today, I deleted my social imprints of 15 years of Facebook, 17 years of Twitter and 10 years of Instagram. In recent years, social media has become an integral part of our lives, shaping how we connect, communicate, and consume information. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have brought people closer, facilitated global conversations, and […]

FoE: back at last; 30.6.2024

The people’s verdict on who they want to lead the country was delivered on June 4, 2024. As I pen this on June 30, 2024, the Prime Minister has conspicuously disregarded the public’s desire for change (his face losing the electoral mandate for his party) and took the oath of office for the third time […]

a week after lok sabha 2024

More than a week has passed, yet the populace remains incredulous, their disbelief palpable as they observe their Country pre and post election results. The entire nation, even factions of the opposition, with the exception of a few diligent grassroots psephologists, finds itself engulfed in profound shock. This astonishment is multifaceted: not only were the […]

religion, age, gender & geo-politics

As conveyed by the prolific writer and infamous whisky connoisseur, the late Mr. Christopher Hitchens, “Religion is poison because it asks us to surrender the most precious faculty, which is reason. It then demands respect for this surrender, which it calls faith.” The geopolitics of the last century have been defined not only by geography […]

Appeal: 21.5.2024

Are you happy with what we have become? This is the question I ask you. It is not a question I want you to answer right now. I want you to answer it after 10 minutes of silence: In a state of deep thought at a place away from others. Without lying to yourself. Ask […]

dystopian manifesto: 20.5.2024

The two major National parties of our Country rolled out their manifestos last week. “Manifesto” is a document summarizing the key promises, ideas, opinions, views or plan of action of a political party to the people. The parties create a document that summarizes their key promises, ideas, opinions, views or plan of action to the […]

opium of the masses; for the masses

I write this with a heavy heart. A thick haze of despair and hatred now envelops the world, seeping deeply into our nation’s ethos. This is the same country that once stood resilient during historical waves of religious fundamentalism, weathering invasions while preserving its cultural fabric and absorbing diverse influences into an ever-vibrant flow. As […]

humans in a red society

It is a facade; thrown head first into a story with no context A mirage. The conflicted test to upset the existing hierarchy and bigotry At last: the concept to understand humanness and the value it holds But the tolls it takes to achieve till the last breath the hunger and satiety That never rests. […]

A Post Post-Truth World

“Post-truth” is a term that refers to the widespread documentation of, and concern about, disputes over public truth claims in the 21st century. Oxford Dictionaries popularly defines it as “relating to and denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” While the term […]

silence

One of the most traumatising, melancholic & yet at the same time, enlightening experience in a doctor’s life is the rounds/posting done in the psychiatry ward. This was written just after my last day of posting in Gurgaon district hospital in 2018: Silence. No words form ink at the brink of end Words falter; dreaming […]

the kings

Times we enter in the middle expecting the prose that was written before this; We continue searching for the missing parts before the beginning and after the end Long after the words were read; long after the curtain was drawn. The search in the words and within us goes on; Sometimes while we live; sometimes […]

Finally, your/my terms

I saw you. You had uploaded us on your gram. Like you used to. Not anymore though. You are not that active there now. 1st post: We are cutting our reception cake. Small gathering. No parents. Just you and me. Looks like we are the generic doctors we never wanted to be. But, happy. No […]

rahat

Rahat hai ki har purani khwaish rusva hui Tum hi to meri aakhri chahat ho Iss chahat ke paar apaar dukh hai Iss bimaar ka ilaj tum ho Na pao ghar ka pata agar to chodd dena yahin Har ghar ghar hai jaha tumhari aahat hai Mujhe ikhtilat ki jarurat nahi; ikhtilat ka bandish nahi […]

my sacrifice, creed, 2009

Whispers in the wind about the bullets gifted to my valentine Etched in the memories a lost child believing in the divine Hearsay; they state you stay home; sit alone by yourself all day. But I see beyond the eyes; I see the soul. A wish to save the part of you that will save […]

gaam

Gaam The cot had used condoms below it Hiding in them romance, infidelity & rape; The cards from the game spread out on the table; The scent of hookah from the forenoon stayed on them Cards and hookah; the two assets of faux pride they do not share The draught from the monsoon an unspoken […]

bob dylan: the politician and the prisoner of azkaban

In the hour of confessions and the moments of defeat I find myself the same man, a liar made of concrete Feigning disappointment while already on the lookout for a way out Already on the plan B while creating the illusion of doubt Knowing where not to go, knowing where not to be Knowing who […]

poems; genes; steroids

The reason for poems is a lack of imagination and grammar to write full sentences. Boredom from typing. Few words suffice. It is the reader’s imagination that makes the poems interesting; their critique at a conscious level and meta-analysis at a subconscious level. The authors tend to wash their hands away by the time the […]

soul train

Soul riding on rock n’ roll Smell of whiskey and cigarette smoke eyes; staring embers in embrace Forgetful of time and place Just a love story; a happily ever after Defeating death and disaster With kisses and laughter

karz

Mujhme kabhi tasali se dekhna Ek ranjish jiye ja raha hai Ek vaada pura kar raha hai Ek vaada toda ja raha hai Aasman se bhi to bandhe hai ye pakshi Kya azaadi ka hawala diye ja raha hai Khudko khatam kar dene pe tula hai Koshish me bas piye ja raha hai Agar tamana […]

no sense gen: a creation of the voting class of past

Twisted shout. Apple sauce. Essential forest. Oranges hanging off door hinges; purple is dull. Make sense of the apostrophe in the apocalypse Rave songs, naked souls and cobwebs. No guesses to guess the unrest and the torment. Doormat; warheads and droplets. A sentence. A prose. A word unsaid. Leaves hope like those long dead. Search. […]

2002

The bloodthirsty demon kept biting necks Easy: through the sternocleidomastoid, into the carotids; Succulent, delectable, magnificent; The warm blood fills the mouth; fangs wide to the shock of the crowd Was there ever any doubt? Can you hate on a snake for biting? Can you hate on an emperor for ruling? We chose this. We […]

like toy soldiers

Battle wounded soldiers crowded in a tight space No air to breathe, no gasps to take In an open space of echo chamber Obliterated by might; thoughts surrendered. Guns ready for doubts, bombs ready for questions Distraught, hurt; awaiting armageddon. Fighting for a piece of land of a flag Hunting for a prey not unlike […]

Upamana

Paint brush flowing on the ground like clouds in sunshine. Birds awaiting dawn; shining in the moonlight. All generations flawed; the next one will be better Learning from the flaws; the ancient and foregone disasters. The jungle. The concrete. And the jungle. Falling short, but having insight that it does not matter; As long as […]

tanashah ka takht

mujhe maluum hai ki tanashah takht se chipka hai uske har gulam ke haath me khanjar hai galiyan laal rang ki holi khel chuki hai raatein barood ki khushboo aur bambo ki awaaz ko diwali maanti hai maut ke saayein bhatak rahe hai tanha; utne hi tanha jitne jeevit the nyay mar chuka hai; insaaniyat […]

mousetrap

the zeitgeist is faux it is not blood, gore and testosterone it will always be passion, heart, grit and soul. the anger is directed at the wrong end by false gods and false men that do not want us to be led in the right direction the right wing is the antithesis to the right […]