kodi portraits

Our cars skim the valleys
We call home
I envy them

"Can I have a jacket?"
Asked the cattle herder
"All I have is the T-Shirt on my back"
I smiled.

Not Veerappan
Not even his brother
Just eucalyptus Puttappa

Woodcutter proxy
Noserings of gold
Silvery laughter

Menu Nagaraj
Driving Ms.Dasies and Mr.Fatwhiteman
Bread 'omlete' belches

Aslam bhai
Waiting
For his mango van to come

Clutching
Her lunch
Holding on
To dear life

Wallets
Jackets
And a steely glint

How sharp
Is my sickle?

where do the children play?

At the Big Chill in Asvem, Goa, of course. More on this later.

Balloony

Smile for me, little balloon girl
Let your dimples shine
The night has settled on these Mumbai streets
And you haven't made a dime

For rations you ask a few rupees
So that your family can eat
And still you smile all the while
Day and night on your feat

Will you ever play with a balloon?
Like other children, happy and free
From the drudgery of life
Will you be?

How can I refuse when you smile again
And touch my heart of hearts
I reach in and the first note I find
Is pressed in your little palm, stretched out

While in a cubicle far from your world
Another girl giggles out
This girl she needs no rations
This time she has no doubt

That her balloons will cause mirth
And laughter in their wake
I laughed too and laughed some more
Until my mind went back

To that little balloon girl
With dimples that shine
Through the Mumbai night.

Child In Time

Let me be a child again
And taste that sweet innocent glee
Let me be a child again
With a wide wondrous gaze
Let me be a child again
With simplicity as my decree
Let me be a child again
Running amuck and free
Let me be a child again
On the first day of a summer holiday
Let me be a child again
When all money meant was sweets and toys
Let me be a child again
Inhaling freedom with every step
Let me be a child again
And bask in my mother's lap
Let me be a child again
And play cricket with a plastic bat
Let me be a child again
Belly laughs and unstiffled giggles
Oh, Let me be a child again
Let the child be me

P.S. The adorable muchkin is Mira, my niece, from my sister of another mother. Huggies baby!!*muah*