Affliction

Living in dreams all night , all day
in my head ,it plays and it replays
This my friend , you can say is
my affliction

the homeless, haggard , haunting image
of the old man by the curb
His stalking shadow follows me
everywhere I turn
Merging into mine
I am him! he is me!
oh the pain and the anguish of thy tired bare feet
on that hot sunday afternoon
paying no attention to the listless faces passing by
you walk in a state of somnolence ,
with  fire burning up your belly

As I rest my eyes and fall asleep
I dream of tender banana leaves
they turn into akshaya patra
in thy hands , food enough to feed the world
Food not just to serve the Gods, the kings ,
but the poor , the starved , the old , the weak
anything  their heart may want
anything they wish , they seek

Living in dreams all night , all day
in my head ,it plays and it replays
This my friend , you can say is
my affliction

In a dark alley of an empty street
the screams echo off the walls
seeking refuge from mad dogs
a little sister
Lying there naked covered in blood
She covers her face with scrapes of cloth ripped and shed
Crying for help that never came
Her pain , her anguish screamed in me
darkness spreading in the depths of my heart
like a waxing crescent in the dark sky
a little sister was born that day
as Durga yielding her trident , she stood in me
To slay the mahishasuras of the world

Living in dreams all night , all day
in my head ,it plays and it replays
This my dear friend , you can say is
my affliction

The walls crumbled down  the streets
with it , the lies in the heart of the false warm faces we meet
burst into flames of blue fire into the dark sky
from it hatched words out of its shell
truth sprouting its new found wings
freeing us from the shackles of falsehood
as the song bird sings my heart is filled
with the rare mrithunjaya sama manthram
spreading like wild fire it reaches far and wide
cleansing the earth of fatal delusions and lie
like a day that spits hot blood and dies
let hunger , evil , greed pass by
filling our hearts with happiness and love
a dream for now...


so I still live in dreams all night , all day
in my head ,it plays and it replays
This my dear friend , you can say is
my affliction

Ravana Puthri

The Battlefield is scattered with rotting corpses
Stinking carcasses of elephants and horses
The great war of good over evil
has finally come to an end
Miles and Miles of red blood
flow silently in the sand bed
tripping, falling , the shadows of the dead
there he stood in the battefield
With Rama's projectile of death on him
Lankeshwara the demon god
Eyes rolling back in his head
as fleeting moments of life pass through his mind
Mrityu now his only friend
pecking at him slowly but surely ,one cell at a time
the balmy autumn afternoon
a perfect day for death and dreams
floating in front of his eyes
the lotus eyed beauty, maithili
In the memories of yesterday
wearing her tinkling anklets
she runs in his head
his dear lotus eyed Maithili

when youth seems forever
when the spirit of adventure
over rides the temper of the will
Crushed like a flower
in the vigour of his emotions
Mighty Raavana thinks of the day
at the riverbank
the beautiful maid of the forest Vedavathi
violated ,left
under the mandara tree
with his unfailing childlike appetite
the undaunted strength of a mad elephant
a dominance of brute force against timidity
not knowing what is to come next

Jumping into the burning pyre
swallowed by the flames of fire
her screams echo in his head
as he clutches Rama's arrow in his heart
he hears her curse
"O Naradhana ten headed demon
you who destroyed the sanctity in me
Will die of a daugther born of us"
Drenched in his blood in his chariot to hell
he shivers with fear ,Mighty immortal Dashaadana
her words piercing him, scathing him
more than Raghuveera's arrow ever could
Oh Lotus eyed Mathili
daughter of pure vedavathi, the seed of my loins
every fathers dream
Left in a furrow in a field all alone
Adpoted by Janaka and raised as his own
Only If I knew of your existence
I would have crossed many a oceans
princess of lanka brought you to your true destination

Brave Ravana thinks back of the day
When the veena of life perfectly tuned
shattered at the hands of the Great Sage Narada
"Vaidehi" he said, your daughter of rare grace and beauty
Lives in a far away land called Ayodhya
as the wife of Rama the Revered
no sweet remembered touch , or fond visage
comes to light
just an exhausted pyre that burned too bright
leaving ashes on a blackened ground
an andhar dhaaham , a pain of the athma clutched his soul
Fear of death lost fatherhood and more
To see his beloved daughter
if only once
to hold her , kiss her , tell her
the follies of youth and beg forgiveness

The Manna of the moon in a plate
All the gold in the world at his feet
The joyous laughter of Indrajith in his cradle
A hundred orgasms with Apsaras
Even in the arms of the flower clad
soft bellied mandodari
there is one , only one image in his head
wearing her tinkling anklets
she runs in his my minds eye
at home with her father
his dear lotus eyed maithili
alive today as Janakans dear daughter
and Rama's dream would the world ever know she belonged to me?

among the stars we flew in a pushpaka vimanam
how you flayed your arms and legs like a spurned child
crying hot tears quivering in fear when left at ashoka vanam
my lotus eyed Maithili

Disaster followed at every turn
The cursed words alone haunt thought and dream
Recall , remember fool, who you seek to bind
brings death, destruction and total annihilation of your race
as bleak vision fills his ten heads
of faith broken and bitter vows kept
a burning lanka!

Voices stop , quest resumed
He walks into battle
To win the war, heart much stronger with new verve
Full of revenge flowing in his blood
Fights,full of angst , building up his might
With  fiery eyes he yields the sword
killing them all with one stride
defending what's his and his pride
Breathing his last few breath's
he recalls the cry of the eagles he heard that day
the day he died his first death
the day his heart turned cold
the day he broke and openly wept
the piercing cries of the eagles
circling , feeding , pecking
at Indrajiths fallen frame
How I began this journey to avenge
for lost love, I forget
or was it to rest my conscience,I digress
So this is the long awaited destiny
hate my only discovery
To live after my son , long dead and gone
to bury him with my own hands
Alas! I have made it
but not ready to end
The dance of the war is in the air
Calling warriors far and near
He climbs his chariot to end it all
The good and evil gather to clash
To dine on the flesh of the King of Kings
the rich , the poor , the innocent things
the knife cuts smoothly to the bone
violent anguish consumes him
There he stood the righteous rama
an image of serenity
Armed with the curved Kodhanda bow
Hands clamped, a prayer said
He releases the arrow at Immortal Ravana
The never will come destruction
comes to an end
as mighty ravana falls
everything is gone yet it lies in front of him
in the memories of yesterday
wearing her tinkling anklets
she runs in his head
his dear lotus eyed Maithili

maruthi summoned by Raghava
to cleanse
maithilis purity
with flames of fire
Lanka burns!