Remember Remember, The Fourth of November

Remember, remember the Fourth of November,
The power, election and the slaught,
I can think of no reason, why the election
Should ever be forgot.

Obama, Obama, t'was his intent
To form the government.
Three n half cent of electoral glow
To prove old Republican's overthrow!

Some called him Arab, some called him Black,
They shouted "He's a terror, a traitor,
The quality of a President he lack"
They thought they'd fool the voter.

A pound of Iraq to feed the Bush,
A ship of Marines to serve him,
A barrel of Oil to rinse it down,
And the tax payer to pay him.

A stick or a stake for McCane's sake,
The shock of defeat he may not take,
If you can't give us one, we'll take two,
We'll give the other to Bush too!

By God's providence he was elected
Despite being shunned, mocked and tainted,
Victory, Victory, let the bells ring.
The song of CHANGE, let America sing!

O America, praise the name of God
That saved thee from the GOP rod!
But though the Bush ever be gone,
His sin now be Obama's upon!

Remember, remember the Fourth of November,
The power, election and the slaught,
For generations, all the nations,
This Change is forever to remember!

PS: Inspired by the popular English folklore "Remember Remember the Fifth of November" commemorating Guy Fawkes's Night.

Alfi The Vice

Allow me to introduce myself,
I am not a name off the shelf.
People come to me for advice,
For I am Alfi The Wise!

Open the drapes now,
Look out and see how,
I take your imagination,
Open the doors to a new translation!

Its hard to realize,
I very well surmise,
But you need to trust me,
Because that's how the game be!

I can help through your pain,
Hold an umbrella in the rain,
Be your sunshine,
Baby then why do you whine!

Now Close those books,
It ain't easy as it looks,
For life is a long road,
All I wanna know is are you on board

Words donn say,
No price they pay,
Tears dont drop,
But life ain't yet a full stop!

So come on out now,
Let me show you how,
The game is played,
How the chances are swayed

Look, do you see that door,
Calling out to you for more,
Listen to that beckoning,
Why waste the time in reckoning?

You're not the one and only,
For it is never a road lonely,
Look around you,
You will find someone new!

So now that you know me,
My contact with u be,
Forget me not,
When its cold or hot!



PS: I have no idea why i wrote this.... Just some meandering thoughts.

The Dark Knife

I am trapped inside a crowd,
Of faceless people, crying out loud.
The receding waters of the shore,
Washing away with it, horrors and gore


The crowd moves, at a steady pace,
Chased by cats, a rat race.
Each don't look hither or thither,
The path treaded, of no concern either


I watch the crowd, with doubt and dispair,
Forward or bacward, I do not dare,
For the road forward is progress,
The road behind me, should I not address?


The crowd stares at me and my like,
Our confusion fetches dislike.
For we are scared of the sunset,
As it unleashes the demons, we bet!


Whom do I blame for my fear?
Why is it that I cannot see it clear!
May I accuse the sunset bringing the night,
Or is it my own lack of sight?


The night blinds the likes of me,
The beauty of the night we do not see.
For we are afraid of those who go ahead,
Will leave us powerless and dead


The roses shed their petals and grow horns,
So that the beholder lies on a bed of thorns!
And hence in the name of the faultless Sun,
We choose to take the gun!


"It is prescribed!" We claim,
And our claim spreads with fame,
And more disillusioned like me unite,
Like an army of ants marching to bite


Neither Bush, Prescott, nor Sarkozy,
Can stop me, and never will!
For I am a true Mozy,
And I have the license to KILL!


In this urban concrete jungle of wildlife,
I give my body, soul and life!
I will stab in the name of a meaningless strife,
For, verily, I am the DARK KNIFE!




PS: This piece of work was written after the Delhi blasts. This is neither to encourage nor to support the idea depicted. If one reads with utmost care in comprehension one would realise it merely ridicules. Hence kindly do not jump into any negative conclusions.

A Bitter Sweet Farewell

I stood there, on the shore,
Watching the sky, I adore...
And then the wind blew,
And with the wind my woes flew.

A strange liking, a strange fondness,
An inexplicable kindness,
Oh lord, why oh why am I on this bay,
When I know time will take wind n sky away?

And thus, it happened, the inevitable,
To fight destiny, it is impossible.
What comes to one has to go away,
A strange law, we call the life's way!

So long oh my dear sky,
The distance brings a tear in my eye,
And how could I stop you oh wind, my my,
Pray! Do not say to me bye bye




6th September, 2008, Manasa and Pavan bid farewell to Abu Dhabi... Wrote this on my way to the airport, as I myself was leaving for Doha. We had a splendid time for 2 days in a row, that parting was difficult. 

Wishing them all the best in the life ahead.

My Best Friend's Hyderabadi Wedding

Path carpetted with petals of rose,
Scent of love in the air, it grows.
The moment, much awaited, arrives,
When the cosmos will join them, their lives.

"Make Merry" they said, joy was the mood,
And amidst the celebration I stood,
Witnessing the greatest union,
"Made for each other" we cried in unison.

He came like the wind, slow but soon,
Swept her off her feet, like a devine boon.
She was his sky, infinite expanse of love,
Their love on earth, destined by the High Above!

As I stood in my space, looking,
To Welcome her man like a King!
I knew I had waited for this day in keen,
When he would make her, his queen!

In her eyes I saw a plethora,
Of emotions, of the compassing aura.
In his eyes I saw his heart,
Thanking the devine for this life, this start.

For all those who believed there was nothing,
Nothing called Perfect, oh lord!
Verily, they are not here, seeing everything,
For she and he are more perfect than the perfect god!

Why take things any further,
She completes him, he completes her!
Marriages are made in Heaven,
But the wedding was held in Hyderabad!


On 20th August, two of my greatest friends, my family, Manasa and Pavan were joined in the bond of matrimony. I was lucky to be there, to bear witness to this wonderful day. This is my tribute to the lovely couple..... An Ode to celebrate their wedding

Blackberry Flavoured Lime Tea

"Unsweetened black tea with two lemons squeezed into them..... Basically, lemon tea." I replied when Jabin, my cousin asked me what I'd like to have. A not-so-fine tummy cried out for some relief and the concoction was the perfect solution.

I was visiting Jabin, one of my usual Doha trips. Jabin's family membered by her husband Namrus, kids Raza and Anjal is the perfect example of a quintessential Mallu family in Doha. Doha is a city infested by citizens of Kerala, a southern state of India, who speak the revered language of Malayalam, and hence the baptized term, Mallu. For Doha Mallus, Doha is God's gift to earth. They believe that the Garden of Eden was in fact in Doha and that anything in the Middle East has to come first to Doha, and then only to others. God Bless Doha! I do not claim all Mallus in Doha are alike, but yes, more than one are. If one believes on the contrary, then I take my words back and request to treat this piece as one of my personal experience.

A boring, cold, uninteresting evening in the Middle East's greatest gift to urbanology, Doha. And what adds to this amazing evening that promised nothing short of, well..... um.... nothing, was the fact that it fell on a weekend. One can, hence, understand the predicament of a soul handicapped by lethargy and inactivity, at such a greatly blessed moment. Well, why not pay Jabin a visit, I pondered over. After all, its been almost a week, and a visit was inevitably due, otherwise, the consequences of being labeled haughty, arrogant and boisterous were imminent. Lets go, I decided.

I got comfortable in the living room. Namrus was lazily laid back on the chair, browsing through the a la carte menu of countless varieties of Mallu news channels with his remote, an idea which I have always failed to understand. My contention is not with the channels being Mallu, but how can one stand switching one news channel to the other? It is going to be the same news in all the channels, the same report of corruption of bureaucrats and ministers, the same reports of bomb blowing up places, the same speculation of the government's next move on some not-so-important matter. I fail to understand repeated hearing of the same matter can give an in depth analysis of ground realities.

Just when I could not stand the TV anymore, jabin entered the room with my lemon tea, as a blessing. Jabin a naive lady with fascination for pomp and luxury. Items of vanity excited her, her latest taste being mobile phones. Well, not, exactly the latest, at least since the last couple of years, and she is the proud housewife who owns a Nokia N95 that screams out deperately, "PLEASE USE ME!". As she gave me my tray, she started a rather interesting and amusing conversation.

Jabin (ever excited, ever bubbly): Alfi, do you know that a new phone service has been introduced by QTel (the telecom provider of Doha, Qatar). Its called Blackberry. It seems one can check emails and all in it. Do you know anything about it?

Me (calm, composed and in control): Hmmm... Yes, I did see it in the papers and a few ads on the street. Pretty good service.

Jabin (apparently amused by my disinterest): It seems it is amazing. Does your Dubai have Blackberry? It seems Blackberry is being introduced for the first in the Gellf (aka Gulf or Arabian Gulf) in Doha.

Me (pitying the ignorance of my dear cousin): I don't think so Jabin. If my memory serves me right, Blackberry has been in the UAE (of which Dubai is a part of) since 2000. Hence it is not the first time in the Gulf.

At this point, Jabin's face changes a little and with much effort, the mouth that has been working overtime for the last few minutes reluctantly forces a much dejected "oho" out. While this small talk was in session, Namrus, a die hard Qatar (of which Doha is the capital city) patriot, was listening to everything. And then, what I dreaded the most happens.... He breaks his silence.

Namrus (with much command and a patronizing tone): How much does it cost? Do you know?

Me (again, calm and a matter-of-fact tone): About QR 2500.00 (=US$680.00). And service fee of QR 300.00 (=US$80.00) per month for international roaming facility for the service.

Jabin (further dejected at the high cost): Oh.... Then he (Namrus) will not buy. Too expensive.

Namrus (a man whose aspirations have been demolished): Hmmm... What all technology has to offer today. But it is of no use to the common man. It is only an article to show off.

Me (this time pitying the trauma of the man): Well, it is not meant for the common man, in the first place. It is meant for people who travel a lot and whose office travels with them. It is a powerful tool to keep executives on the toe and constantly updated on matters. Not everyone holds such positions of criticality, and hence not everyone is expected to own a Blackberry.

I guess, they did not expect such a reply from moi. An awkward silence followed. I was not bothered and unaffected. I sipped my tea and enjoyed the flavor of freshly squeezed lemon, whose vapors created an intoxicating effect. I was relishing the tea, and so was my tummy.

Jabin (breaking the deadlock, trying to pick on me): Alfi, you had that lousy Nokia 6210, right? Haven't you changed it still? Which one do you have now?

A question that I least expected. I placed my tea cup on the table in front of me. I put my hands into my pocket and took out my phone to show her.

Action spoke louder than words, I guess.