Nannanu Nodalu Baruvaaga Sakhi

After quite a long time, I penned a Kannada poem. I am not sure how good or how bad it has come out to be. For some reason, I felt there might be some mistakes. Let me know if there are any corrections to be done. Give in a shout if you have any and your thoughts are welcome.

Nannanu nodalu baruvaaga sakhi ninna nadugeyali aaturaveke..
Hrudaya bicchi ninna haadiyali haasiruvaaga ee vayyaraveke..
Ravi jothegoodi kirana bhuvi belaguvante nannodane koodiruve..
Manasugala milanavidu; ninage vanchaneya bhayaveke..

Nannanu nodalu baruvaaga sakhi ninna moghake srungaaraveke..
Nanna hrudayadellade ninnade chitra tumbiruvaaga ee alankaaraveke..
Samudradolu tere beretu mohisuvante nannolu beretiruve..
Hrudayagala milanavidu; ninage chanchalateya bhayaveke..
[tere == wave]

Nannanu nodalu baruvaaga sakhi ninna nayanadali kaaturaveke..
Nanna prati usiralu ninnade hesariruvaaga ee tallanaveke..
Nudiyolage pada-gunja seri artha taruvante nannolage seriruve..
Aatmagala milanavidu; ninage agalikeya bhayaveke..

Translation and Thought:
This poem is by the guy to his lover trying to remove the fear she has in her mind.

He notices that she is moving fast [fearing that he might have left] when she comes to see him because she is scared that the guy might be deceiving. She tries to be stylish so that the guy is hooked to her. He tries to soothe her telling that they are combined like sun and light which together remove earth's darkness.

Similarly, she comes with make-up and making herself look pretty so that the guy doesn't get attracted/diverted to other gals. He tries to soothe her by telling that they are inter-twined like sea and sea-waves; which makes a beautiful sight to watch.

The guy also sees that she is anxious when she comes to meet him because she is afraid of separation from the guy. He tries to soothe her by telling that just like words combine to give meaning to a language, she gives meaning to his life.

Tanhai Se Bachnaa He..

This would probably be my last ghazal post for a long time to come. Though it seems like a decision taken for the greater good of humanity and hindi/urdu; its mainly because I am not enjoying writing ghazals as much as I would like to. Anyways, as usual, any grammatical error/s is poetic license :)

Ya khuda koyi duwaa dena mujhe; is tanhai se bachnaa he..
Kho gaya hoon kahi; ek baar aur zindagi se milnaa he..

Har raat uski yaadon mein roke suukh gaye hein aakhen..
Bataade koyi tarqeeb; mujhe raat-bhar sonaa he..

saare ghum mitaade mere; mein yeh nahi maangutha..
Bas muskuraana sikhaado; ek baar ayne mein dekhnaa he..

saare rishte thodke, ghum ke saahil pe akele baitha hoon..
kuch saath dena mera; ab mehefil mein mujhe lautnaa he..

ishq mein jalaa tha dil; yuhi zindagi bhi phighal gayi..
kuch roshini dena; mere wujuud ko mufiid banaana he..
[mufiid : meaningful]

safar-e-zindagi mein yuhi chalthe chalthe thak gaya hoon..
bas ek baar usse milaana; uski baahon mein dum thodnaa he..

Ya khuda koyi duwaa dena mujhe; is tanhai se bachnaa he..
Kho gaya hoon kahi; ek baar aur zindagi se milnaa he..

Har raat uski yaadon mein roke suukh gaye hein aakhen..
Bataade koyi tarqeeb; mujhe raat-bhar sonaa he..

One of my friends likes to give an insight about what his thinking was while writing the poem. I thought I was kind of a cool idea. So, here it goes.

This ghazal starts off with completely positive tone. Its about a guy wanting to come out of the misery. Until the last mukhra. In the last mukhra, we can see a completely different tone where he wants to die in the arms of his love. Misfit ?

Now, if we go back and look at the entire ghazal, we can understand that actual tone and thought was indeed negative throughout.. For Ex : kuch roshini dena; mere wujuud ko mufiid banaana he : means to say that meeting her and to die in her arms is the way to make his life meaningful.. Bataade koyi tarqeeb; mujhe raat-bhar sonaa he : means to say he wants to die [sleep for ever]..

Feel free to drop in your suggestions, comments and corrections in comments' section.

Saaku hrudayagala ee antara...

My latest Kannada Poem. I wouldn't probably rate it as one of my best but hopefully it ain't that bad either.

One of my friends asked me sometime back : "why are all your poems hell-bent on creating suspicion amongst your female friends ?"... For some reason, I find it almost impossible to avoid using sakhi, gelathi or one of its synonyms while write a Kannada Poem.. Here is one more to that list.

Sakhi, hope you are reading :)

ninna prati vondu nenapu hrudaya geeteyaagi moodutide..
premada sarigama indu manavu hrudaya tumbi haadutide..
Sakhi, saaku hrudayagala ee antara, indu vondaagona baa..
nanna haaDige ninna haaDanu berasi merasi haaDona baa..


prati vondu kshanavu ninnade nenapu, ninnade kanasu..
ninna jothe-goodi jeevana saagisalu tudiyutide ee manasu..
Sakhi, saaku hrudayagala ee antara, indu vondaagona baa..
nanna kanasige ninna kanasanu berasi merasi saagona baa..


nanna payanake haadiyaagi, baalige deepavaagi nee bandiruve..
usirolage hesaraagi, dehadolage aatmavaagi nee beretiruve..
Sakhi, saaku hrudayagala ee antara, indu vondaagona baa..
nanna usirige ninna usiranu berasi merasi baalona baa..

P.S : Like usual, any grammatical mistake is poetic license :)

Someone Save IPL

It all started with ICL; trying to capitalize on failure of BCCI cricket team. ICL replicated the model of EPL. But hardly anyone took notice of ICL. Not even when they created a Pakistani team and probably planted trolls to waive THAT flag with pride in India. But then, entered Lalit Modi. Entered BCCI. Within a blink, IPL had arrived in a big way.

The stalwarts of India queued up to have a bite in the franchises. The players were for the first time treated as professionals. Markets for the first time, decided, what the value of a player is. All of a sudden, the mythical 'Vibrant India' took real shape.

The controversies followed IPL right from the beginning. The communist guns started blazing at the "sale of players" and the "fat pay checks" they were offered. Media had a problem with IPL because a private company set its own norms for coverage. Moral Police had a problem because people liked the idea of cheer-gals. Purists had a problem because they saw the death of ODIs and/or Tests because a dumb common-man like me would embrace IPL. Still IPL steam-rolled. For the first time, Indians had a league which was comparable to EPL, NFL, MLB etc in its aura. India had arrived on the sports map, finally.

IPL drove ahead because it was backed by market; backed by people. Heck, it was a success even when it was forced out of India, in its second edition itself. The amount of revenue it generated had some corrupt politicians vying for more control of it. But unfortunately, the rich and influential were party to it. IPL could stand up against anyone. It did. Lalit Modi did. Almost.

It is no secret that many people loathed the idea of a team from Cochin. It didn't make much cricketing sense. Neither did it to Lalit Modi. But truth is they won the franchise fair and square, PROBABLY. Then there was this "Rendezvous" with Taroor. Modi Tweeted; Taroor retaliated; Sunanda sweat'ed. The opening to control IPL presented by itself. And have they not taken it with both hands ?

TAROOR FORCED TO RESIGN
Most people who know me would vouch how much I despise politicians. But, Shashi Taroor is one of the very few politicians I respect. Congress wanted a young, suave face to appeal to urban and urbane India. Mr. Taroor was their choice. His rise rubbed many people the wrong way. Then, there were many media created issues out of thin air regarding cattle class, five-star hotel stay, stance against passport amongst others. He was fast becoming a liability. The moment media started attacking Taroor regarding Sunanda Pushkar getting sweat equity, Congress snapped. Taroor is history, for now.

What was wrong with Sunanda Pushkar getting sweat equity ? For all I care, she might have been presented 99% of the ownership. Unless, it isn't proved that she got the money because of a shady deal, how can media try her ? How can Taroor, a junior external affairs minister have a "conflict of interest" with a private company which is franchise for a private league ? What did media try Sunanda and Taroor for ? Like Sunanda Pushkar apparently report according to a report, she was projected like a slut overnight. Taroor's gone; uneducated to rule us again. But Innocent, until proven otherwise, anyone ?

MODI MANIA
Does media have any hatred with the "modi" name ? First, it was the Modi from Gujrat. Now, Modi from Rajasthan. Modi had a drug related case against him 25 years back. What has that got to do with his involvement in IPL ? Modi's X relatives' Z son's Y daughter has a stake in some franchise, APPARENTLY. Why not prove that Modi did insider trading or until then shut the F up ? There were many such ridiculous media coverage. The award from my side goes to this bit of "news" : Modi knows some "bookie" and hence he is involved in match fixing. This is probably one of the worst articles I read and my computer was lucky not to get banged. When did betting and match-fixing become synonymous ?

THE GREAT INTERVENTION
The Modi-Taroor fiasco let way to the great political intervention. Yes, there were politicians involved before. But that was a "necessary evil" for IPL. But this fiasco has created an opportunity for complete take-over. IPL is being politicized. What is better than a medium which reaches almost every Indian to send across your message ? What is better to corruption than a company which is making millions of dollars and is growing 200% every year ? There are IT sleuths who are raiding the crap out of IPL and its franchise owners. Everything ugly is being associated. IPL is being methodically dismantled as a private company. Its image is being thrashed. Eventually, this all points to government taking it over. Sob.

Everyone related to politics is coming out and giving a statement. Its a issue in Parliament. They want a Joint Parliamentary Commission to probe it. Apparently, IPL was under the scanner for some time now. Then, what exactly was IT department waiting for - A tweet-buffet? [Anyway, concept of forced taxation doesn't makes much sense to me]. Some-one went to extent of telling that IPL should be dismantled. Why exactly ? What is the crime they have committed ? Fodder Scam, sir ?


ALGUIEN SALVA IPL
Andrew Flintoff noted before IPL-3 that some players would be earning more through IPL than John Terry, skipper of Chelsea would, through EPL. IPL is one of the top sporting companies of 2009. IPL is a phenomenon.

And like always, corrupt people have smelt money bleeding from IPL too. They are now out in the wild, waiting to hound and siphon IPL. Hopefully, it wont happen. Hopefully it will remain a private company. Hopefully, IPL comes out of this unscathed; to give us cheer leaders for many more decades to come. Hopefully. SOMEONE SAVE IPL. ALGUIEN SALVA IPL.

I have a sense of humor. A Disclaimer. This is JUST my view of IPL and how I believe IPL should be. Article is based on my analysis only. I do not claim to know truth behind the curtains :)

Let Hockey Die

Once again, India apparently lost in Hockey. The same Hockey which is our national game. The same Hockey which we apparently were pioneers long time back, probably when American car-makers were making profits. Once again, we see people criticizing companies for sponsoring only cricket, some of them criticize "babus" [ government officials ] for corruption, some people asking for more funds to be allocated for Hockey, increasing players' salary etc. I say, Let Hockey Die.

SPONSORSHIP FOR HOCKEY
I am not a fan of Hockey. I have never played it in my life and hardly have watched it a few times. But thats not the point. Well, actually that is the point. The reason why cricket is popular is not because sponsors are ready to sponsor the game. But it is the other way round. More people like cricket, get entertained by cricket and are ready to part with their money for cricket. There is a market for cricket. Yes, market is the operative word for sponsorship unless have a personal gain to act likewise. The people asking companies to sponsor Hockey is similar as me asking you to take Person-X to Aragawa for lunch every day. I wont complain neither will Person-X. Will You ?

SUCCESS AND FAILURE QUOTIENT
People attribute lack of funds to fall of hockey and fall of hockey to lack of funds. The dreaded vicious cycle, you know. Well, India was never a top-dog in world cricket until recently. It was only in 2000s that a certain Sourav Ganguly captained Indian Team to a whole new level. Why did cricket survive until then ? English are foot-ball crazy but they are never that top-team in the world. A more obvious example is Africa where people are crazy about football. Their national teams are definitely no where near the best. Yes, success can bring people but that doesn't mean, success alone would bring people to watch a sport. How many of us actually have watched even one game of Vishwanathan Anand ? or Pankaj Advani ? Maybe, even behind every successful sportsman, there is a woman. But not viewers and market.

GOVERNMENT FUNDING HOCKEY
The very reason why Hockey doesn't generate enough funds is because people are not interested. Any government intervention would ONLY result in re-allocation of funds: from what people desire to what they are forced to have; which in this case is watching Hockey ! It is very similar to passing an ordinance tomorrow according to which all the money that people spend on onions would be taken away and will be used to for development of Hockey. Food without onion ? Bad Idea, me says !

QUALITY OF PLAYERS
Some people ask why Indian Hockey was successful previously and not now. There might be various contributing factors. Cricket might have taken away the funds and talent away from Hockey. Other Teams might have improved. The way hockey is played might have changed. People might now be more interested in becoming lawyers or engineers than Hockey Players. Or simply, there might have been better players by chance before. Most often people assume that lack of money in a particular game would inevitably result in sub-standard players. If that was the case, then we would not be having Vishwanathan Anand, Pankaj Advani, Clint Dempsey etc.

CONCLUSION
Lets allow the market and hence people to decide whether Hockey should survive in India as a sport or not. If people are not interested in Hockey, then so be it. Let it die - Deje a Hockey Morir. Else, I would want funding of Indian American-Football Team. Go Gators, errrr, Go Indians.

Agree or dis-agree with my views ? Drop in your shout in comments section.

Aaron Ramsey and unfair life

I was watching my beloved Arsenal play on Saturday; not surprisingly. And suddenly there was a tackle on this young talented 19-year old Welshman called Aaron Ramsey. I was completely shaken. Players were shell-shocked. Some were crying, some were motionless, some were angry. I didn't know how to react. There was a shattered leg and ankle. Shattered as in SHATTERED. It is probably the goriest real thing I have seen live. For those who want to see the HORRIBLE incident: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uguXXaIF_Dk

One of my friends came some time after the incident to my house. I was still evidently shaken. The first thing I told him was this football incident. Being football naive that he is, he just gave a blank shot at me telling that its common in football like I don't know what is common in football. I cursed my luck for telling him about the incident. It wasn't his mistake. He hadn't seen what I had seen. Probably, he wasn't thinking what I was thinking either. More on it later.

I was looking at an youngster who is arguably one of the most talented footballers in the world. His current worth at the age of 19 is probably more than what I would ever be worthy off in my life. He was slated for glory, fame, money and what-not. Now, in an instance, everything had changed. Everything, that he dreamt off.

He might never be able to kick a football again. His career as a footballer might be all but over. He might never be the same again even if he comes back to football. Worse, he could have even got his leg amputated. The dreams built with gold and platinum has been threatened to collapse in an instance. Life definitely is with a touch of irony.

"Luxury cars, Posh Restaurants, Designer Clothes : these are the things life is made off" is one of my most favorite lines. When I started to put things in perspective now, everything looked so silly. Striving for luxuries, striving for security in life, striving for establishing one's beliefs : everything seemed minuscule. "Broken Bones, Splattered Blood, Destroyed Dreams: These are the things life is made of" was all I could think off now. Life they say is unfair. Its definitely true, isn't it ?

Bias against Prostitution..!!

A few days ago, there was an inspired discussion between three of my friends regarding prostitution and ills of it. Just when they were about to stop, I uttered the most sinful sentence they would have never wanted to hear : Everyone owns his/her body.. Legalize Prostitution!!!

It amazes me how even the most capable people forget liberty and easily give into the "concepts" of law and morality. I believe that in the every-lasting quest for objectively perfect world, we have lost vision of subjectivity and liberty. We have become slaves of rules and rule-makers. Prostitution, one of the world's oldest profession, is the best example.

We, as humans, should have rights over our own body. The way it should be taken care should be left to the discretion of the person. When a female "voluntarily" wants to indulge in prostitution, its her choice. Any law, any act to prevent her from indulging into it, is infringement of rights over her body. Its not the voluntary act of prostitution which should be punishable; any act to prevent it should be.

People argue that prostitution is heinous, causes body pain, results in death etc. Its amazing how an propaganda and false assumptions can make even the most educated falter; falter bad in formation of opinions. If we look at it, is there any profession which does not cause any harm to human body ? Every profession causes physical effects and/or mental stress. If body pain or causing death is a parameter then, all, I mean all professions are guilty of the same. In true sense, every day we work, we are a reason for someone's hunger, someone's pain and someone's death. By working, we are taking away an opportunity for someone else to work and hence to earn and hence to take care of oneself and his/her family. Coming to the 'heinous' part, it is a very subjective term. There is no parameter to measure 'heinous' nature. What is pain for me is enjoyment for a masochist.

People most often fail to realize the difference between legal and illegal options. It is not the illegal prostitution that I am defending. Illegal Prostitution, just like illegal guns and drugs are bad. They are done through force. It is the violation of the most basic right over one's body and it should be punishable under law. It most often involves cartels and anti-social elements. When people speak about prostitution, they most often speak about illegal prostitution. Legalized Prostitution is like any other business : There are producers(service providers) and there are consumers. There is a mutually agreed transaction.

The most bizarre argument that I came across was in the lines of prostitution breaking families. It is a typical example of missing what is not seen. Call-center jobs for example, might lead to very bad family balance and cause breakups. Doctors' profession is another example. Money, lack of it or drive for it, cause break-ups. Since money can be a reason, every-thing that money can buy is a reason : costly dresses, speedy cars, posh restaurants etc etc. If people believe that the moment prostitution is legalized, every man and/or woman would be queuing infront of prostitution houses, then it simply means, it is a basic necessity for life !! [Just a thought: In olden days, does it mean, everyone was visiting prostitution houses and there were no families? ]

Liberals actually dont walk alone on this issue. For a change, we have some socialists for company in fight for legalization of prostitution(and drugs). The similarity ends there though. They have their own reasons which we liberals despise anyway : It allows for taxing the money obtained from legalized prostitution, it would allow to regulate prostitution through law, it provides more job opportunities, it would pave way for prostitute unions, provide employee rights etc.

Then why was Prostitution ever banned ? I find this question a pretty intriguing one. During the course of 'evolution' of man, there have been lots of bad policies, wrong theories and human rights violation amongst good ones. Everything is not black and white. The very concept of 'evolution' depends on where we stand, what we see and when we see. In India, betting is illegal while in UK, it is legal. If we were staying in Holland, we have evolved from the days when prostitution was illegal. If we were staying in India, we would have evolved from the days when prostitution was legal. If liberals like me are successful, in future, hopefully, every-one would have evolved to respect right over one's body. A door at half-way, after-all tells us nothing : It can be on its way to shut close or on its way shut open.

"If prostitution can be legalized, then DUI should be allowed", thundered a friend of mine. Technically speaking, we have economists like Jr. Rockwell who actually argue for legalization of DUI : http://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/drunkdriving.html. I have a different take on DUI legalization but its a different topic. Coming back, DUI for me is a completely different proposition to prostitution; as different as circle and square. DUI 'can' be harmful to entities not involved in the act. How-ever, prostitution is not harmful to an entity not involved in the act, in any special way. Prostitution, if anything can be compared to the act of drinking, not DUI. Just to flip a bit, if prostitution can't be legalized, then why should smoking, drinking, soda, over-eating, fat products be legalized ?

One of my friends recently commented that its a bit too rich for someone who doesn't even drink to have strong feelings on subjects like drug legalization etc. It is not; because issue for me is "regulation" of acts which doesn't involve or cause violation of property rights, which for me is blatant violation of liberty. To quote Lord Acton, "Liberty is not a means to a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end."

On a closing note, is it selling that makes prostitution a taboo ? is it sex that makes prostitution a taboo ? If either of them is, then, almost all men and women on the face of this earth are guilty of it. To quote someone: "if selling is legal and sex is legal, then why is selling sex not legal ?"

Agree or dis-agree with my views ? Drop in your shout in comments section.