I emerge like a tree from a dirty seed;

Joy She steps out of the restaurant loo to find her Sunglasses missing And with it, those pretty paper towels carefully tucked under too Her eyes sweep the room once And, then she breaks into a smile. Losing can be liberating One less junk to care for One less residue of her vanity One less space in her memory She had packed two for the trip Those glasses from a 'buy 1 get 1 free' deal Blue, the color of the sky And, brown, the color of the earth She felt like the sky that day But the brown, beautiful earth beckons still -Sajithra

There is joy in giving The warmth you send from the fire of your heart The smiles you get to chisel And, the frowns that you erase There is also pain The kind that is concealed in a room with no key Givers are invisible Givers are taken for granted Givers don't get thank you notes Their hugs go unreturned So, the Universe hugs them under its wings Everyday, the sun sends down love with its rays Scattered into tiny bits for them to find They find that in a stranger's kindness A child's innocence A beautiful feather the wind brings in Some days, it's the question 'Have you eaten' Or the store clerk offering to carry your bag The role might not change That's okay Their cisterns are filled again -Sajithra

There is an invisible spark in every crowd Powerful enough to create a new life It takes the shape of an animal And, it keeps the mortals caged inside Sometimes, it is a Lion The generous spirit that respects even its kill enough to carefully cover the leftovers with twigs An offering, a gift, left behind for the hungry beasts Sometimes, it is a sheep They bleat about the generous master And, his gift - new shearing scissors Sometimes, it is a squirrel Well, all it does is squirreling No one knows what they want And, they don't care to find out where they want to go Sometimes it can be a hyena And, everyone becomes no one No one lynched him No one raped the girl No one bullied him to suicide Let's teach our children The secret of the crowd That will help them to live without masks Masters of their fate and slaves to none Children, if you are in a crowd Be the ones who add more light Speak out even when it seems to matter little Stand up and ra...

Grief I choose to be your friend, for it is in the deepest of grief that you find the secret of joy. I choose to make you my muse, for a memory of you is all it takes to touch God. I choose to hold your hands, for there is no difference between the most intense pain and pleasure. The weightessness bubbling at the edge of both. I choose you as my teacher, for it is destruction that makes things anew. Grief and I, We are old friends And, we always meet with our companion Joy. This Trinity is yours too But only if you learn to choose. -Sajithra

Lois Sofia, a 28 year old student was arrested and sent to jail because she shouted #fascistbjpdowndown onboard a flight in the presence of TN BJP Chief Tamilisai. Tamilisai, how do you expect her to react after your government gunned down people from her neighborhood when they peacefully protested against a company that consistantly flouted environmental laws. The BJP government used disproportionate force when ordinary people took to the streets protest against Sterlite. They had acted like a bunch of friendly campus security force during the Ram Rahim fiasco. When Ram Rahim was arrested on rape charges, his supporters went on a rampage. Public properties were damaged. Lives lost. And, yet Police limited their 'force' to lathi charge and fired bullets in the air. Tuticorin protests were against a company that had a bio leak in the past and is infamous for its disregard for pollution laws. Protesters were fighting for their right to live. Police killed 13 people wi...

I drink from this cup of pain Because someone has to I bear my Cross Because someone has to I fold my rags in a mahogany wardrobe Right next to my garb of splendor I pour the bitter myrrh in my finest Crystal And, I will say cheers to you when you drink your Cognac Surrender to accept what doesn't change Surrender to take away its power to break you Surrender to remember who you are Surrender, because you will rise from the ashes -Sajithra

Traditionally, the path of enlightenment and remaining in a state of bliss is associated with hibernation or leaving the material world far behind. It is possible to get to that stage without leaving anything behind. Jesus called it 'being in the world but not of the world' When you decide to give your focus on people, you are completely present. Then, you are not. Your emotions are directed to causes because people look too fragile. There is absolutely nothing to prove or clarify. You can easily find rules to exercise anger because it's important to keep the emotional intelligence intact. Your intuition is on over drive. Effectively, you are the architect of your matrix. You see the world as an illusion and you have found a way to rig it. There is no guilt. You enjoy the trappings of life but can also do without it. You make meaningful relationships but when they walk out, you say goodbye with a smile. And, then you shut the door. There comes a time when you feel co...

Major media houses except NDTV chose not to report on Arundhati Roy's press conference. I still cannot find the transcript for this. I loved how she opened with the Police's statement on the 5 (writers/lawyers/professors) arrested over a fudged letter. 'They are part of the anti-fascist front to overthrow the government'. Is that supposed to be a bad thing? Is the government owning the monicker 'fascist' regime with pride. Expect more arrests till the elections. Apparently, all it takes is 'finding' a letter that contains details about a maoist plot, peppered with names. Anyone who talks for the disenfranchised/Dalits/minorities and takes a stand against the government has a new name - 'Urban Naxal' How quiant.