Friday, July 2, 2010

Visible eyes, Invisible people







Winner of Blogadda's "Being Invisible" Contest announced July 9, 2010

Submitted for the Blogadda "Being Invisible" Contest

I can't see myself
doing this -
no wonder,
I am invisible...
Hankering
for some
visible scenarios....

Sailing in
through
the front exit of the bus,
and the yuppie
in the ladies seat
sees his briefcase
walk by itself
in the aisle;
he gets up,
I sit !

Walking past
400 people
in a queue,
all cursing
the passport office;
I breeze in,
sight an empty chair,
and sit,
nod at my neighbor,
and crib,
"How long must we wait?...."

Breezing into Mantralaya
with a camera
filming ministers
and others
cutting deals,
allotting houses for
undeserving folks,
I will change the details
invisibly,
in visible ink,
and drop the films
at the Indian Express...

Filling petrol,
and
I will reverse the price rise,
as
the existing rate
shows up
much less,
no matter what they try.

I'll visit
shops that hide
stocks and kerosene,
shout from the rooftops,
and quietly put up a banner there...
With a copy
to a newspaper

I'd love to
fill up
my bag of vegetables,
quietly,
as the mustachioed chap
boasts about
French beans 80 Rs a kilo.....

Traffic signals,
of course will turn red
the minute I arrive
blowing my
ever present whistle,
and nothing will change
till all the grandmas
and children
have crossed over,
on their way
from school....

I'll walk into
exam centres,
and guide invigilators
to those who
blatantly copy;
they wont be able to move
till the candidate
has left...

And I'll find my way
into places
that prepare documents
that do
unnecessary repairs,
and change the details,
so they repair houses
in crowded
lower middle class
areas,
otherwise scheduled to crash....

I will
gather baskets of fruits
from those
that
cater to chauffeur driven
memsahibs,
and take them over
to the orphanage
on the other side
of the tracks...

The day will end,
and
in a blink of the eye,
I will reappear.

Actually,
there are folks
who are born invisible....

The government ignores them,

schools ignore them,
housing ignores them,
documents ignore them,
water ignores them,
food ignores them.....

I am looking

for something
that will make them visible...



12 comments:

  1. wow! I like your take :-)Lovely verse

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  2. Oh I luved this one :) This makes me wanna become invisible too :P
    Gud luck Surangaji. You are an inspiration really. You have written superb entries for all the contests :)

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  3. Beautiful!
    I see the reflection of a beautiful heart in your words!

    Good Luck with the contest! :)

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  4. Debosmita Thank you...

    Swaram Thank you for the wishes...

    Hayaah Thank you and welcome to the blog..

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  5. wow nice thoughts and commendable actions....
    A pure heart wish for good,...
    Read my entry to the competition..:)
    N btw, how do u add the pringOO thing in blogger.com

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  6. how do u manage to write so beautifully everytime?:)

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  7. Saffire Thank you. Please post your pringoo query on the competition page to blogadda. They have saved the instructions i gave someone there, as lots of folks asked them this....

    dparastogi Uperwale ki krupa !

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  8. Love it! I haven't cared for poetry in a long time. You made me sit up and take notice.

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  9. oh wow! this is again brilliant!!!!

    best wishes for the competition!

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  10. This is so beautifully expressed Suranga! I like the way you brought out the realities we see and face every day of our lives in a theme so close to fantasy. Congratulations on the win :)

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