Battered

I look around in disdain,

As I walk across the uneven terrain.

This was a place I once called home,

A country which I regarded as my own,
With family, friends, my daughters and sons,

But today I am all alone,
Wounded scarred and broken down.
My eyes have dried, I can't cry no more.
They say the worse is over, but I have nothing to live for.

They said it was war against the bad,
To uplift us, to free us, to fulfil our demands.
They invaded my country, brought soldiers and drones,
They killed the rulers and innocent souls.
Before my eyes I saw my worst fears unfold,
My sons prosecuted, my daughters disrobed.
Saw houses and trees that lined the streets,
Dissolve into dust and craters and covered with bloodied bodies.

I lost everything I ever had in this world,
Been tortured in ways that cannot be told.

Now like a prisoner wrapped in chains,
With other civilians I am dragged away.
"Why me?" I ask, "What have I done?"
But all I get is silence, being part of my country is reason enough.
Reason enough to think I am trouble,

Even though I am old, wounded and crippled.
Now all I am is a living corpse,
Hoping my end will come fast.

Distraught in despair

She sat in solitude
With tears strolling from her eyes
Not knowing what to think
Who she was to stand by.
On one side was her dead daughter, wrapped in white,
On the other her daughters supposed father, who let her die.
Three months ago she gave birth to her bundle of joy,
Her baby girl for whom she had dreams, to whom she gave life.
But little did she know how short lived her happiness was
When grief struck her and she plummeted into remorse.
But to add to her pain and excruciating despair
Was the identity of the murderer, for whom she also cares.
She thought the tiny tot would bring about a change of heart,
The want for a son would be overwhelmed by her innocent laugh.
Her husband who was to be her child’s father and guide,
Made sure her presence from their life was wiped.
His hatred for her knew no bounds,
As mercilessly, in poison he let her drown.
Now grief stricken, and all alone
She lost not one, but two pillars of her home.
On one side her daughter lay before her dead,
On the other her husband with handcuffs, away from her was being led.
Who was she to cry for, for what was she to be in pain,
Her daughter who was no more or husband who was taken away?
Who was she supposed to complain to, on whom could she blame
Her husband who killed her daughter, or her ill fate?
Questions hounded her and a long life at her stared
Where was she to go from here and who would understand her state?
Generations of hatred and one ill fated day
Took both her pillars - her daughter and husband away.

By Zoha Tapia

Estranged

I stood still as you walked away,
Every step taken trampling the memories we made.
I hold out my hand wanting you to stop,
But all I could feel was my pulse drop.
I wish I could rewind the sands of time;
Bring back the happiness, get rid of the grime.
Live each moment like it will never end
All the way through till our last breath...

But now I stand here alone
Waiting for you to turn back but I know you won't.
I loved you for the person you were
But will remember you for leaving me at the altar.
From the moments of love we spent together,
It's the pain you caused I will remember forever.

I will never forget the twinkle in your eye,
The way you laughed and made me smile.
The way you saw me through my highs and lows,
Supporting every step I took.
But more than ever I will never forget
The way you turned my love into pain and regret.

By Zoha Tapia

In memory of...

It doesn’t matter how far you go,
Whether you leave me standing all alone,
With all those memories, from childhood till now
The tales of me growing up and the support you showered
You will always be there in my heart
In my thoughts even if time draws us apart.
You accepted me for who I was
For my happiness you put the world on pause,
The things I gifted you big or small,
You kept them with you till you were gone.
You held my hand as I walked along,
Through each moment I lived you were in my thoughts
But today all of a sudden, you aren’t there
You left me for a world in which I don’t exist.
Though I am shattered, I try to be strong
I need support but you aren’t there to hold on.
But I know no matter where you are today
You are looking down on me like you did yesterday,
Smiling at ever ladder I climb,
Wanting to hold me through the dust and grime.
But more than ever in your heavenly abode
You are shining down on me protecting my each move.
Though life seems empty without you here
I know you are in a world where someone needs you more than me down here.

The ray of hope - Malala

In a world of conflict,
Filled with violence and gore.
Where there is no hope for peace and justice is an unknown word.
Bigoted men, with heathen like masks
Wreak havoc for those who bring upon their wrath...
There she stood, alone, undeterred
With a pen in her hand, ready to face those with swords.
She seemed like another school girl, all of just fourteen
But beneath her fragile demeanour, was a person of steel.
Men stood back, when there was blood on the streets,
Women hid behind the veil, and suffered the atrocities,
Children were hidden and told not to speak a word,
The government just spoke, while the heathens planned war...
But she was different, courageous and empowered,
Malala wasn’t just a little girl, but an inspiration to all...
She took to the streets with her books and her pen
Spoke words of wisdom and tried to make people comprehend,
What was going on was wrong and they had to fight back
Not through blood, but through actions that would help them resurrect.
Education and empowerment is what she spoke off,
But to the heathens she was a threat, they must get rid of.
They threatened her and bullied her,
Tried to get her out of their way
But though she was little, her heart was brave.
Today, she fights between life and death,
As a bullet of cowardice they fired through her head.
And though she lies on the hospital bed
She woke up the people who were living yet dead.
She showed the world what words can do,
She showed them the power of knowledge and resolute.
Today, as a symbol of hope she shines,
For those seeking an end to the heathens regime...

An ode to a superstar

After a dry monsoon spell, today the skies looked down upon Mumbai. The skies swelled and the clouds burst and it rained. But today’s heavy downpour was symbolic in a way, today, India’s first superstar – Rajesh Khanna passed away. I wasn’t even born when his films released but I can still say that I have grown up on his songs and watching his movies. It is not because my parents or grandparents thought he was a star but because there was a charismatic quality about him, which he exuded on screen. While maybe most of the golden melodies of Hindi cinema have been picturised on him, there was something in the way he acted that made you want to sit up and watch. The fact that he has had 15 back to back solo film hits is enough to speak about that.

At a time when image consultants were unheard of, when there were no PR strategies and publicity gimmicks, the entertainment industry witnessed the meteoric rise of Rajesh Khanna whom we all fondly know as Kaka. He took us away from the socialist era of Dev Anand and Guru Dutt and introduced a new facet of romance to Indian cinema. Long before the Khan’s or even Rishi Kapoor – it was he who was the king of romance. His pairings with Sharmila Tagore, Mumtaz and Asha Parekh are unforgettable and movies like Aradhana, Amar Prem and Kati Patang you feel like watching again and again. He created hysteria amongst his fans, his mere presence during his heydays made time standstill. Women swooned over him and maybe for the first time police had to be deployed to keep his fans at bay, some cried when he announced his marriage to Dimple Kapadia, while thousands turned up to congratulate him and countless number of parents named their children after him – such was the euphoria of this man. It was something people hadn’t seen, which made BBC at that time want to cover his rise to fame – where he very nonchalantly said “Who doesn’t like stardom”.

However, with fame and stardom come the pressures of dealing with it, which is where unfortunately he fell back. Though, in movies like Anand and Namak Haram he even overshadowed Amitabh Bachchan, what he couldn’t do was transform from the romantic hero to the angry hero – which was became in vogue then, but that was partly also due to the fact that though Indian cine goers moved from romance to action, they did not welcome his transition. From the pinnacles of stardom he dropped into the shadows. Not only did his personal life go astray but so did his professional but one thing that never did was his iconic superstar status.

Today, in 2012 when he passed away at 69, not only have tributes poured in from the industry and politicians but from fans beyond his generation. His iconic bungalow – Aashirwad in Mumbai was thronged by many. When the news broke on the 18th of July, it created a sense of disbelief along with frenzy. It wasn’t just social networking sites, news channels and radio channels that were abuzz with the news, but so was Bandra, Mumbai. For all those who stayed in the vicinity of his house, will be able to vouch for the fact that though he is no more his superstar status lives on – with both the young and old gathering to get a last glimpse of the man who showed us what super stardom meant. The road near his sea facing bungalow was blocked, and there were traffic snarls in the neighbouring vicinity. As it poured, the traffic came to a halt and his house once again seemed like what it was when he was in his prime, only this time he wasn’t there to witness it.

Stars will come and go but Rajesh Khanna was, is and always will be India’s first superstar. Though his life came to a halt but his movies, dialogues and songs will always be etched in the history of Indian cinema. Like he himself said Zindagi ek rang manch hai aur hum is rang manch ki katputliyaan hai, jiski dor uparwale ke haath mein, koi nahin janta woh kab inhein kheenchta aur kab dheel deta hai – RIP Kaka.

Resurrection of ruins

Broken from within, completely forlorn
Nothing to look forward to, nothing to hang on.
Alone as ever, in pieces and despair,
With the heart and mind seeming to be beyond repair.
After all the time that has been spent
After all what’s been given and that has been felt,
Today on the path of destruction I stand
In ruins, on this lifeless barren land.
To resurrect myself seems like a task
I try pulling my self together, pushing the destruction in the past.
Forgetting the painful moments that brought me here
Cremating the memories that now at me jeer.
Detaching myself from those I called mine
Only to realise that they will drift away in time.
I look down at myself shrivelled and curled
Like a little foetus, craving warmth from the womb.
But I need to rise like the phoenix from within
Come out and live and not be hidden.
I have nothing to lose, nothing to hide
No prewritten rules, no societal guides.
A new journey I can now begin
The road to transformation starts with ruins.
With an open mind, I take my first step
For new pastures, experiences and relationships.
I may fall once more, and be scathed again
But every time I am ruined, a new beginning will beckon.
Ruined I maybe, but resurrect myself I will
Till the time, I haven’t risen, till the time peace within me I haven't felt.