The artist is the seeker of beautiful things,
To reveal art is the artist’s aim.
Some see beauty in the simplicity,
Others seek order in chaos.
Those who find beauty in things that matter and in things that do not,
Are those who understand the essence of this earthly existence.
Art is but the expression of a fraction of your imagination,
And in expression we find the door to our soul.
Those who understand their emotions can express themselves freely
And for those, the door opens up, maybe just enough to give them a glimpse
Of what they are truly capable of.

How about the critic?
Is he one who can translate his impression of beautiful things to suit his views?
Or is he one who seeks perfection in everything he sees,
Perception of beauty crystal clear,
Intolerant of even the slightest of blemishes
That might mar the innate perfection of what he beholds.

An author, who is he, if not a translator of thoughts into words?
And who is an artist, if not the translator of thoughts into images?
Each is human; each has his own perfection and his own weakness.
Flaws and perfection dance in tandem in one’s life
And it is upto the perception of the viewer, the audience and the seeker of beauty
To determine which impression he wants to perceive.


Dedicated to a friend, Shradha Aiyer

I draw in a glorious breath and it
fills me with satisfaction
A flick of the thumb, some smoke in the air,
Oh, the intoxication!

Out here, it's just me and my friend.
hanging out after dark.
A quick drive round the block or a bottle of beer
or just a small walk in the park,
She's always with me, through thick and thin,
and ever ready to help.
A flick of my thumb, some smoke in the air,
She IS the intoxication.

My parents and friends were against us,
They tried their level best.
But we stuck together through all that,
faced everyone side by side.
The days we shared together,
and then some nights too.
She's been there for every step I took
and for every damn thing life threw,
she was there for my graduation day,
and for my first rock concert too.

She never leaves my side, come what may,
my every burden she'll share.
My boss fired me, All my friends left me,
But she's always been there.
Day in, day out, I consult her,
for every thought, for everything,
for every single notion.
A flick of my thumb, some smoke in the air,
what an intoxication!

A day then came when I fell sick and thought I'd had an attack.
The doc said it may be mild, nothing to worry.
But when the X-ray pictures of my lungs came,
they told a different story.
Where my lungs should be, I could see just black
and the whites were almost gone,
I could barely believe my eyes, was that really me?
Was that what happened to my body? How could I not see?
The doc asked me about my friend, about who she was,
and the kind of relationship I often shared with her.
How often we met, what we did,
he got curiouser and curiouser.

He said she had been a fairweather friend,
never seen any worse.
She had been the cause of this,
it was more than a curse.
She had stabbed me behind my back,
Punched me when I wasn't looking.
I was blind not to recognize her for what she truly was,
A wolf in sheep's clothing, maybe worse,
She'd stolen half my life from me,
Truly more than a curse.

I swore I'd never meet her again,
but the damage was beyond repair.
Now all I can do is try to undo what cannot be undone,
not a flick of my thumb, no more smoke in the air,
DAMN THAT INTOXICATION!


This is issued in public interest. I am neither a smoker, nor do I tolerate smoking. It's one of the worst things you can do to your body. It starts eating away at the part that's responsible for keeping you alive right from the first drag, and the worst part is you are so drawn into it that you fail to see what kind of damage it's doing to your body, even when you start coughing your lungs out. The craving takes over. I've seen quite a few of my friends suffer from this, and barely a handful have had the willpower to quit. Quitting an addiction takes a lot of strength and it has to be done at one go. You can never "phase out" smoking. It will grip you by the throat and choke itself down to your lungs.

PLEASE, DO NOT SMOKE and if you already do, PLEASE QUIT.