Autowallahs !!

A trip to New Delhi cannot be complete with at least a view, if not a ride, of those yellow and green three wheelers that parade the capital’s roads. Well, these cute little things that run on ‘compressed natural gas’ and provide for cross ventilation in the actual sense, are a boon when you see their mighty counterparts called ‘buses’ crammed up to the max in the worst of summer or when you’re a just a student with no personal transport and have to reach a hostel with absurd timings..!!

Seriously, I have no problems with Delhi’s auto rickshaws or autos, as we call it. Infact, as ridiculous and bizarre as this sounds, but one of my initial career options, when I barely started school, was to become an auto rickshaw driver..!! Stop raising those eyebrows and read on..! I just loved the fact that these guys could drive something like a bike in something like a car (don’t even bother to decipher this line if you couldn’t get it the first time). But what I have problems with are these very drivers, the ‘Delhi’ ones in particular (with no offense to Delhites in general).

So the countdown begins. You’ve got 30 minutes to reach a place you can reach in 15 minutes. You spend the first 5 minutes waiting for an auto to come by. When you finally flag one down, the next 5 minutes go in him telling you that there are no U-turns close to the destination or that there’ll be no passengers at the destination (yeah…these guys work part-time as tarot card readers who can predict the future). Hence, it’s a mighty huge problem for him but he’ll still be the Good Samaritan and do you a favour but at 20-30 bucks more. That big fat oaf!!! Another 5 minutes go in you lecturing him to go by the meter and arguing with him that all his excuses are just a heap of crap! He won’t go by the meter but agrees to bring down the charge by 5 bucks, like he’s doing you a world of a favour. You’re still not convinced…and why should you when it’s him who needs to be convinced!! 5 minutes go in arguing with another driver or basically telling them to shoo away for their bizarre charges and not complying with the rules. 5 more minutes go in no empty auto coming your way. You’ve got only 5 minutes to go and you’re still not in any mode of transport that goes anywhere close to your destination. BAD sign!! With 5 more minutes to go, you’d just be lucky to manage one who’s ready to go by the meter or agree to a price extremely close to yours. And you reach your destination a good number of minutes late.
And if it was a job interview you were heading towards…well then…god bless you!! 

Ok…I just might have exaggerated this whole episode a teeny-weeny bit but there’s no denying that it definitely includes at least a good 90% of the above. Oh, and if you’re looking for an auto, say anytime after 7pm, trouble hounds you once again. The auto drivers are definitely gonna hike their prices!!

Then there are the frequent ‘Oh, do we have to go beyond the gate??’… ‘Oh, you didn’t say that the house is beyond the blah blah point’ and the constant pitter-patter of their words continues!!

Let’s just say that you could consider yourself lucky if the driver does not know the route. He’d be ready to go by the meter and to you showing him the way. That way, you can ensure no arguments but a hopefully peaceful ride back to the place of your bliss where you can lay yourself down !!

The man who walked alone.

No, it's not the lyrical similarity to Kurt Cobain (RIP !) hit 'the man who sold the world', but in case you do find it, I can't help it. Though it's certainly not.
I don't remember when I wrote this, but I'm sure it was after one of the stupid-dumb-bad-mood when I didn't want to think anything and just write each line as it kept on popping in my head.
*Please don't compare the writing style with that of an 8th grader(as someone has already commented on this part on my Facebook's notes' section), as I write not to show my skills over the language, but in describing the complex emotions in the simplest and easily understood grammar/sentence construction*
(Damn, what am I writing ! :S)
Anyways, here you go.

He wakes up without a concern about the world,

goes to bed with the same,

never feels it'll take a toll on him sometime

all he knows is how to play the game

  

They called him a liar,

traitor was his name

but they never realised,

he didn't care at all, come what may

for he was the one who talked to the air,

he was the one who romanticised with the same

Leaps and bounds, he played on

whenever the time called he went on

though never in his mind he understood;

the realms of life, the moments of truth

he ran from the responsibilities, but

he knew he'd face them one day..

The gates of nifelheim, 

were right in front of his face

The portals of a world he'd never seen before,

where the time came to rest, 

where the demon gods sang their lore

  

But he didn't care, didn't care at all

for he knew that this time too shall pass,

not for a brand new day but 

for the night to fall 

Today he strives to live on,

still turning to darkness, to turn the heat on

but he'll manage some how like he's done before,

on the paths of glory, he walked alone.

He'll rise again, but the world won't care,

for once, their mouths will shut, shut again.

It's always a Mirage.

This came off when I was stuck between two worlds. Reality and Dreams infect me with their illusions and delusions; General belief being far more complex and different than they do to the others.

And since merely existing in the Dream is much more intriguing to me than to actually live in the Reality:

"I'm a Dreamer, and when I'll wake; you can't break my spirit, its my dreams you take"

Confused? Anyhow. Go ahead with this.

It'll sway you, take you places

It'll make you feel good, for the while it is alive

It'll make you ponder on why how things can be so good.

It'll amaze and shock

deprive and devastate

yet make you love with love.

It'll hold on,

see if you can make it work

test and maybe succumb

to all that lies within it.

I write not because my heart swells with it's thought.

I write not because I want to hear those words

I write because it's it's always a mirage.

And it always fools me.

From a 17 year old heart.

I am just starting this Blog with these few lines I wrote when i was 17 and this was my first poem.
Quite surprisingly, there ain't a change from then and now except the very different transition period, but except that this somehow remains a piece which I still adore.
(Oh and btw., in case someone wants to follow, remember that I usually write when i'm in a bad/sad mood. Hence, the whole thing will somehow end up being darker than I am imagining now.)


Behind these sad and teary eyes,
there's a truth n' not a lie.
In the day and in darkness alike,
you're the dream in my lonely nights.

When the fear rises, and the moments die,
Be there and make my time sufficed.
I sought to seek your presence tonight
Take my arm and hold me tight.

Behind these sad and teary eyes,
I want your soul together with mine,
It's been long n' now it's time to rise,
else this boy'll again cry tonight.

In your hands my destiny lies
but when I think of you the time just flies
you're the only one who can make me smile
take my arm and lets fly to the sky.

Yet I neither know your name, nor your face
Where do you stay, what's that place?
I need you so that's all i care
Take my arm, take the disgrace away..