Rattenkrieg [Battle of Stalingrad]

The Germans in their push were inexorable,
The implosion of the Soviets looked inevitable,
Armoured with the finest of the gunner,
They ran past through them all summer,

Now moving up to the next locale of the game,
Something to do with one of the dictator's name,
The Luftwaffe decided to make the first strike,
The bombing raid had grimly put the city alight,

The Germans enter without giving it a think,
Going against their earlier free flowing instinct,
Movement was constricted owing to the rubble,
The Russians were holding on with great struggle,

The reality for the Germans was about to dawn,
Days of running past countries were now gone,
Now the fight was for the street,house and room,
The city was now bearing the marks of its doom,

The snipers in the city were striking from the gutter,
Even the most battle hardened ones took a flutter,
The boundaries kept on descending lower,
Bullets were superseded by the flame-thrower,

Crippling blow was delivered by the winter,
The Germans were thrown out of kilter,
The dictators stood and were too callous,
Refusing to play the martyr, hands were put up by Paulus.

                                                         - Rajmohan Yadav

UPSC Mains Exam - II

Part two delivered....

UPSC Mains Exam - I

This is one of the two pictures that I have regarding UPSC main exam study sources, second will be later on.

P.S : If you find that there is a clarity issue my pathetic handwriting picture quality, don't worry I will upload printed syllabus source as well. 

Thoughts about Quora

Having shared a verbal barrage on Quora on more than a few occasions, I have come up with my observations about it.

1. Tailor-made questions are asked, the added rhetoric simply renders an answer irrelevant. It just becomes a ground for the author's opinion making.
2. Tailor-made answers are given, usually by someone in collusion with the author of the question itself.
3. Some questions are genuine, the answers to such questions usually don't get much 'Upvotes'.
4. Some questions make you wonder why Internet is so readily available.
5. Some people follow the sentiment of "One like=One salute" for Upvotes as well.
6. Upvotes don't mean that the answer is logical.
7. Most pathetic answers are the one which begin with fake anecdotes.

Kim Jong Un's Reforms[Spoof]

         The supreme beloved Dear Leader Kim Jong Un has decided to do some economic reforms in his country. The reports from the "Supreme Daily" have suggested that the Party has signed-off the "Leader Feeder" scheme. Whereby, Kim Jong-Un has increased his salary by 250 % and added benefits by a similar number. "Our Dear Leader works very hard" said a source close to the government. "He works 18 hours in the office and then also for the elements of nature", It is well documented that North Korean weather patterns are directed by the Climate Ministry of which Kim Jong is the only member as he can control the weather. 

               "Leader Feeder" is the extension of the scheme, by which Kim Jong Un will be able to procure food products at subsidised rates across North Korea. "Our task is to keep the supreme leader healthy and in tout condition", said the same source, "People are willing to pay more form their pocket for their leader to get stuffed". Kim Jong Un also got promoted to be the "health ambassador" of North Korea. "We want to show that North Korea is healthy and more than what you can handle", was the hostile message.  

Thank you Michael Clarke

Clarke retires after the Oval test

                 Probably the bravest captain this time, a talented batsman and truly a champion. The world cup winning Michael Clarke will retire after the final Ashes test at the Oval. Its not perfect for an Australian captain, who usually have their final salvo at home. Good luck for the commentary box, a truly golden batsman/captain of our time. The facet which struck out most was his honesty. Always about the team, personal milestones came in at a distant second. His cavalier captaincy gave moments where Australia could even lose the game, but he was prepared to lose in pursuit of victory. however, it will be his frankness that will be missed. Thanks a lot Michael Clarke, that was a brilliant career.

Puzzle

Question : What is the example of a good Garbage Collector?
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Answer : Engineering College

Dissecting an Indian Wedding : Maximum Attendance

And this one is dispatched to.....

                Its that time of the year where people book halls, convene meetings and get bonded together. This is of course, the wedding season in India. So, I am writing this article after overhearing an intriguing conversation(let the parties be anonymous). The subtext of it was how to get a full house in for the seating arrangements. Now, now prima facie for me here was it might be some meeting of some sorts, but in reality their musings was about getting the full house for the wedding hall. This was about roping in as many folks as it was possible. And this prompted me to give it a thought.
                 The argument there was that it was pivotal to get mass attendance to make the wedding 'successful' and 'memorable'. I found it quite remarkable, as to how having a packed like sardines crowd in a hall could make a marriage successful. Further it was also a matter of pride for the families who were to be entangled. It seemed that there was a challenge as to who among the families of the bride and the bridegroom manages to pull more mass of humanity to the wedding hall. Now a logical bone cracked within me and asked that shouldn't the success of a marriage depend on the bride and the groom themselves? I mean what if in a hypothetical scenario three men and a dog turn up for a wedding? Does it warrant that the wedding is already a failure? Why should it, after all if the duo is happy it is a successful marriage right? Maybe that is a little blind spot in our psyche where the real thing is getting lost in the details.
                     So, how is it that our masses are compelled to accumulate more of their masses? A very myopic reason would be that with over a billion people in our country we probably feel that it would be a good show of strength as to who can sway a larger number of folks. Plus in my community that is a fad to marry into a home which 'well known'. Let me shed some light onto those quoted set of words. A bloke who is recognized, for whatever reasons, among the folks who carry the same last name as him or her can be termed 'well known'. I don't know how that helps anyone of the bride or groom, but for some reason that is suppose to be another plus point for the family involved in the betrothal. And needless to say this gives an assurance of roping in people for the hall attendance. It seems that engineering colleges are not the only ones who think that massive attendance adorns their reputation, even if it does not matter who the gathered folks happen to be. Plus, by today's social media desideratum, every marriage guarantees a new profile picture for the personnel involved.

One for the Bully-II

My life had moved into the office world,
A new chapter had now been unfurled,
My role was to do my own research,
Following the happenings from the perch,

Later I was given the orders to join the team,
The change wasn't as smooth as it might seem,
One fellow was the manager to whom I reported,
Another member was the one who only gloated,

He asked questions to trip me down,
Looking for a weakness to be found,
He said he knew people better than me,
I tried to ignore and kept my mind free,

My work was not perfect but it was there,
When I did it best he pretended not to care,
They also gave me some fake assignments,
To show it didn't fit in the team's alignment,

I didn't retaliate out of respect for hierarchy,
Albeit I have always backed a bit of anarchy,
My attempt to pursue Masters had fructified,
The urge to give it back to them had now dried,

Some hands shaken and good luck was wished,
I toned down compared to what had been dished,
I decided to let bygones be bygones,
You will look right around the wrongs.

                                                - Rajmohan Yadav  

Bollywood Facebook

Salman Khan - feeling confused - at Yervada Jail with 2 others

 --- 7 Likes, 9 Comments

Kareena Kapoor : Good Luck dear....

Vivek Oberoi : Bhai....kaunsa movie?

Salman Khan : Abe...Jail mein hun

Vivek Oberoi : Mast title hai...release kab ho raha hai?

Salman Khan : 5 saal baad...

Vivek Oberoi : Itna late kyun?

Salman Khan : Abe...TV khol na...

Vivek Oberoi : Ruk screwdriver lata hun...

Salman Khan : Teri toh...rehne de tu...Sumo pehle tere yahan hi lana chahiye tha

One for the Bully-I

It has been one very long story,
Which so far hasn't yet turned gory,
It has been around since school,
A fire which has its very own fuel,

You don't pick on the Superman,
I guess this is always your stand,
I don't know what prompted the start,
You decided to come after Kent Clark,

You feign an accident over that fist,
I gave it back with my opinion's gist,
They knew that some contest was now on,
I didn't expect them to drag this for so long,

You had your chance to mock my gait,
I ignored it and didn't settle it straight,
Then you decided to have another go,
Now I knew I had something to show,

Always keen on playing foul,
Exchanging the good old scowl,
Finishing school was the end of the rile,
Though no one ever attempted to reconcile,

We walked away as both were cheerful,
The last act was about giving an earful,
But some themes just keep on playing,
Showing up regardless of where you are staying.

                                                         - Rajmohan Yadav

Aaj Tak Anchor's Faux pas

        When Ved Pratap Vaidik meet Hafiz Saeed , there were numerous TV shows covering the incident, and then running away with it to make up their own story. However, I can recall one such instance when Vaidik himself was on one of the shows, which usually come with the docket of 'exclusive'. It was an evening show, which included a few other dignitaries as well. Somewhere down the line in the show the anchor, I don't know his name, got worked up (as our prime-time journalists usually do). He immediately spluttered to Vaidik saying "Aap khud Hafiz Saeed Sahab se mile the", then he flinched immediately and said "Hafiz Saeed se mile the". It was as if his gaffe didn't even happen, of course he was the anchor so he could choose to ignore his own mistakes, albeit none of his guests have that privilege. No mention of that what so ever, by anyone on that show. Needless to say, he didn't bother giving an apology, it was as if it didn't even happen.

        So, what is so special in this that prompted me to write something about it? Well, it is what happened after the show was over. The very next programme after that debate show was the 'Vishesh' or "Special" of the news channel in consideration. It ironically was a 30 minute ordeal where the theme was the controversial remarks made by many mainstream politicians. It was all about scathing criticism for politicians who don't think twice before letting people know what is on their minds. It was the classic case of the pot calling the kettle back. It also pretty much summed up how the media in India covers, then uncovers, stories. I think it is an incident which is trivial on the face value, but speaks volumes about the media.

Mere Yaar ki Shaadi

Ek baat aise hai jiski yaad aati hai,
Kuch jyada hi tez awaz mein gane sunati hai,
Baraat kaha se kaha kisi ko pahuchati hai,
Yeh toh mere yaar ki shaadi hai,

Jail se zamanat pe aaye kafi barati hain,
Yaro yeh to high profile shaadi hain,
Dekhte hi dekhte bandokein bahar aati hain,
Yeh toh mere yaar ki shaadi,

Aaj amiron ka andaz sadharan pe bhi hai bhari,
Dikhani hai logo ko apni diabetes ki bimari,
Ladkewalon ko toh apni aadate dikhani hai,
Yaroon yeh toh mere yaar ki shaadi hai,

Dahej lena aur dena toh sahi mein apradh hai,
Lekin is desh ke logo mein jyada hi jazbaat hai,
Sarkari office ke table ki yaad aati hai,
Yaaro yeh mere yaar ki shaadi hai,

Dulhe ka paper toh clear hi nahi hua tha,
Pass karne ke liye purane master ko kaha tha,
Phir bhi ladke hone hi shaan nazar aati hai,
Yaaro yeh mere yaar ki shaadi hai.

                                                            - Rajmohan Yadav

A Conscious Corrupt

He works all throughout the regular shift,
Emollient enough to always avoid a rift,
He can always talk his way through,
Without causing any stutter or two,

He is the one accosted for tossing the file,
Getting around the rules in his own style,
The amount which he ekes is not great,
In his parlance, it is called paper weight,

His modus operandi has some of its own rule,
Not averse to climbing the ladder with a stool,
More bribe is coaxed form the rich,
Tries to keep it quiet with a stitch,

The grizzled hair can see who is the needy,
This is where he avoids being greedy,
Bit like a government's Robin Hood,
Not knowing where the moral stood,

He has been around for a long time,
Has a knack of tuning inspectors to his rhyme,
He often wonders about right or wrong,
Typical when conscience is not strong,

Years later he is thinking as he retires,
Being a cog in that maze of the liars,
His middle-class soul begins to show its spite,
Leaving him to address the wrong and right.

                                                  - Rajmohan Yadav

and if the Government was just an FB account....

Thanks for your like...er..er....Vote!

               This is a kind of childish scenario where the government of a nation is assumed to be just a Facebook account. Well, it may sound crazy at first, but if you delve into it you realize there is some merit in this assumption. It would first start from an election campaign and then of course follow the work of the government, in all its spheres and then of course in the end with another election.
                Just like any prima donna the parties going at it update their pictures and their covers with the intent of more likes. Number of seats? Well one each for display picture, cover picture and a status update, one who gets more likes forms the government. Falling a wee bit short on majority, they add some new friends to accrue their likes as well and somehow get over the line. Then of course that access to all important user name and password for the account of power. The newly elected government doesn't know much policies so for the time being they such share the posts of the erstwhile government, with their own edits of course. The opposition are critical of the government's foreign policy, claiming that the foreign office folks are offline most of the time and thus unable to have any concerted policy. The government has its own propaganda agenda, the folks are suppose to be on-line all the time because the government wants to share its events(life events) when more people are available on the network and vice versa. Any bills presented for discussion will require at least two-third of the account holders to be on-line.
                The parliament would be an open Facebook group with members added and removed as per the number of like they have garnered in the last election.So, what if the opposition intends to have a no-confidence motion against the government? They just post a message in the group to that effect. Now consider the mundane din that goes on in the parliament all the time. In such a case, the parliament speaker, in this parlance, the 'group admin' simply changes the privacy of the group to closed for a nominal amount of time. The political rallies would be about updating your location. The newly popular year end review would be again the propaganda for the year end achievements. And then the indispensable part of political campaigns, slander. Apparently, Facebook meme are the tool most adept to it these days. Needless to say, the political parties can conjure them up and share it at will. It is a good move because memes can spread themessage, plus it doesn't have to be true either. So this was my take if the government were just a Facebook account, feel free to comment about how other social networks can fit into some of our most conventional social networks.

The Quack Doctor

He wears an apron snowy white,
Shows that he is wise and bright,
He does carry with him a coffer,
Just a case with not much to offer,

Folks very often give him a call,
He packs to get on with the stroll,
He was never among the brightest kids,
However he did have some clever wits,

He did not complete his surgical study,
Wasted too much time with his buddy,
Then he just dropped out,
Leaving a career to doubt,

But he eventually made a return,
Milking nice folks for him to earn,
The cases he solves are cherry picked,
Few suspect that they could be rigged,

Doesn't bite more than he can eat,
Claims to pull off remarkable feat,
He doesn't keep a clinic for too long,
As chances of being tagged get strong,

Many of his patients recover per se,
And this pretty much sums up his way,
He cons folks to meet his wage,
Well suited to today's day and age.

                                               - Rajmohan Yadav

One moment please...

Just a thought to stave off the slumber,
Trying to offer something to remember,
I can see that life can be volant,
But can you just live this moment?

Head to the calendar, look at the date,
It has a purpose for its very own fate,
Today's date was the one of its kind,
Unlikely that another one you will find,

Have you pencilled in what you want to do?
How will things look when the day is through?
A day wasted will go down as one lesser in the book,
You will find something to clear, just have a look,

Find something grand to pursue,
Look around, you will find a clue,
Take the book out, write a note,
Do something for yourself to gloat,

Few years from now you will look back,
Something unfinished and wish to have a crack,
You wondered if you had more left in the stock,
These were moments.....simply left on the clock.

                                                               - Rajmohan Yadav

When Juliet dumped Romeo

An affection that started on the social network and then subsequently petered out on the very same stage, this piece is about the either ends of it.

The status on Facebook was given an update,
Without putting in too much thought or wait,
She didn't find him available enough to meet,
And her suspicions grew if he were a cheat,

Later the suspicion turned out to be certain,
Now was the time for her to draw the curtain,
Romeo had good part of the wallet spent,
Juliet took to Facebook, to make mend,

She started picking out all the posts,
The written words looked like ghosts,
Then there were the photos with tag,
Now the memory of it looked a snag,

Romeo was seeking chatter to make it fine,
For him, she decided to keep the tab offline,
The next step was to stop further blend,
An option that networking called 'unfriend',

The two were doing their stone walling,
The ending for both was truly galling,
So, the virtual affection had caught rust,
And the illusion just melted into the dust.

                                               - Rajmohan Yadav

Hopeless Romantic - An Open Heart Surgery

A view from the slit in the heart of a hopeless romantic.

There are mistakes that a person makes,
One of them is being totally honest,
Its gives less and far more away it takes,
And then he just sits to pen a sonnet,

So who is a hopeless romantic?
He is someone who takes it on the chin,
Makes assumptions and thinks frantic,
All cheers but somehow loses the vim,

He seeks someone who can understand,
As he feels too long he has been alone,
Someone who can hold the delicate strand,
Without which his heart turns to stone,

In an affable moment he puts a lot at stake,
Needing an outlet right from the heart,
Opening up to others becomes a mistake,
And this where he often pulls apart,

Often spends his days dreaming,
Regardless of fortunes he is never pert,
Rarely is his smile not beaming,
Doesn't matter how much he is hurt,

One day his true love will be found,
This shall put an end to the tease,
The bliss in his heart will be unbound,
His mind will finally be at peace.

                                              - Rajmohan Yadav

School Daze

It is something which I cannot clearly recall,
The moments are unchained as they sprawl,
I remember moments since I was four,
And this is the story I have at its core,

In kindergarten there was no book,
Just chalk and slate was all it took,
While solving sums my speed was good,
Took lesser time than what others would,

But I used to usually very laconic,
My logical ability never became iconic,
The teacher bawled asking why I was idle with a cane,
Silently I would efface the slate and pretend do it again,

I did well when I wasn't thinking how I was ranked,
But after scoring good results I found myself flanked,
People making foregone conclusion were the real pain,
Content with terrain I felt there was no ground to gain,

'Study hard for a job', I asked if that was all?
The studies were now having a feeling of gall,
I didn't exactly know what was written in the texts,
Gobbled everything with hunger reserved for fests,

By the end I felt fallen to the headmaster's ploy,
All work and no play had warped up a dull boy,
I wish I could relive the uniform with blase,
To script a better legacy of my school daze.

                                                            - Rajmohan Yadav

Engineer Ka Viva

Time pass pe nahi lag payi lagaam,
FIFA ka khel khelte nikal gayi shaam,
5 Megapixel ke camera se photo liye tha,
Bhul gaya ki dost ne aisa koi mail kiya tha,

External ke saamne hoga hamara pehla batch,
Uski penalty, uska goal lekin hamara catch,
Shuru ke roll number abhi bahar aaye hain,
Unke aas-pas log reporter ban ke chaye hain,

Jitna bhari hato hai external ka lunch,
Utna bhari baad ke bacho pe padta hai punch,
Ladkiyon ne file mein chehra dal rakha hai,
Ladko ne masoom sa chehra paal rakha hai,

Hamne toh kabhi nahi kholi thi file,
Experiment ka alag hi tha yeh style,
Usne sabke assignment le liye,
Phir pucha tune kitne hain kiye,

5th program mein kitne packet hue through,
Hum sab dekhte rah gaya ek dusre ka muh,
Sare padhe answer ho jate hain gumnam,
Techmax refer karnewalo ka yehi hai anjam,

External bola ki beta tera concept nahi hai clear,
Arre sir.....isi ko toh kehte hain asli engineer,
KT ki dhamki dekar hamari itni bhi mat maro,
Light waise bhi nahi hai....ek aur bill mat fadho.

                                                   - Rajmohan Yadav

The Researcher

Quietly toiling away in the bleak lab,
For his find, he is unwilling to blab,
His apron, for years he has worn,
Its lurid and some parts of it is torn,

He seeks a break, one which can be through,
Follows his principles, to whom he is true,
A chemist, whose doesn't react well,
His working hours, you can always tell,

Has no holidays, not because he is secular,
Even on weekends, his presence is regular,
He thinks success is never too far,
For his efforts are often above par,

He mixes and matches all the solutions,
Sometimes inspired by mere illusions,
He pours from Beaker A to Beaker B,
For that elusive colour change to see,

He wants his thesis to be complete,
Another attempt adds to another bleat,
He goes back to see the theory,
Now he is beginning to get weary,

He puts a lid on his daily chores,
Shuts the lab and goes outdoors,
Nascent nature in its scenic elation,
His sedate mind finds an inspiration.

                                      - Rajmohan Yadav

Taste Of Hunger

Milling about the ever serene county,
Obliged to accept anyone's bounty,
It was a rather long day at work,
Now following a rather new quirk,

Working for the clean collar,
He had spent his latest dollar,
Now the situation is a bit intricate,
He has only enough left for a ticket,

In the morning he wasn't on his guard,
And forgot to slot in his banking card,
Its what he didn't know while younger,
Now he sees what is the real hunger,

That loaf of bread now seems more worthy,
Pondering about what would make him sturdy,
He sees the shop porch where the folks lie,
Feels like one in the queue for the hoi polloi,

Water without a packaged label will do,
Whatever that gets your hunger through,
He usually liked potatoes incarnated as frie,
Now he was willing to get a raw one to try, 

Never mind the piazza with supplement cheese,
Walking up to home with almost on his knees,
He felt what many feel while they are younger,
He hand the experience of the taste of hunger.

                                                   - Rajmohan Yadav

A fallacy within overtime

            It is that moment that you show how you earn your corn. Following is a singular view, rather I would call it an observation, on whether there are too many cases of overtime, more than the scenario would warrant. This of course, is more about the attitude of the people behind the desks and also the same about people behind smaller desks. So, we have all done overtime some way or the other, once I asked myself the holy grail of all logical statements, 'Why?'. The answer to this question lies not with the amount of work being done, but the mannerism in which the work is being done, rather 'not done'. This of course has its roots in the attitude and also the hallmark of what a so called 'hard working' employee is suppose to be.
            Now, picture this, you are in your cafeteria, having a quite little repast. Plus, without any entourage all you do is observe the folks in the cafeteria and the adjoining 'recreation room'. I often saw the same people again and again, and why not? their accompanying folks did a fairly good job at holding onto the crucial gains around the table tennis board and the cafeteria seating as well. Playing board games for protracted periods of time, waiting for the order to arrive and then of course waiting for the delivered order to simmer down. All this doesn't always take a wee bit of time, but the time tends to go unnoticed if you are around with your cronies. If you were to take a cumulative of such periods of time, you notice that it not only forms a large chunk of the apportioned office time but also the overtime taken as well. In fact, the more 'loner' employees who do their work more often, as they don't really have an entourage, tend to avoid overtime on more occasions than not. Because?, well their work is done!, the time they save from the extra curricular activities might make them look grumpy but they are usually the ones to do their work on time. An abridged summary is that because you are letting your time down the drain , you are sitting those supplementary hours in the office when everyone is gone.
              Where is the fallacy here? Let me latch onto that as well. Now, who do you think is the hard working employee?, a swift, but myopic, answer is the one who sits in the office when everyone is gone, more or less the overtime fellow or fellows. It may sound inconclusive, but the manager is usually not that observant of the employee regime especially the one behind his back, rather his wall. The manager or the team lead who tends to be more or less busy in meetings for a good part of the day, tend to view the overtime employees as obedient and hence good for 'company plans'. Even though in terms of working hours their throughput is not at all more than the employee who has a diligent attitude towards the office work timings. The height of all this is that the overtime folk get underscored as 'hard working'. This is what gives birth to the fallacy in the working world. The scenario here is that folks who dawdle around for good part of the day and then take the extra shift only to finish the work which could/would/should have been done in the regular hours are now 'hard working'. All by the virtue of being in the office for overtime. This falls perfectly with the conventional view of a hard working employee. The one who waits and finishes the work, not the one who works without waiting.

A Long distance strand

He checks for the messages on his phone,
Doesn't have the time and this sets the tone,
Waits and waits for the end of the meeting,
Longing for a sense of comfort, be it fleeting,

His partner resides many leagues up the north,
Pursuing a career which she has just set forth,
Two cross two they live to earn their corn,
Proud of the strand which they have worn,

Earlier, the two were really a struggling lot,
Always holding onto every shilling they got,
They both were loyal to their vocations,
Regardless of where the job locations,

They do meet each other on the weekend,
Switching apartments for the time to spend,
Its not a luxury they can always afford,
One might stay back as the other gets bored,

For now they are willing to sit and wait,
With the wish to share each others plate,
They don't want to sit behind a plush table,
Just want enough to make their lives stable.

                                              - Rajmohan Yadav

Battling Geometry

This facet of Mathematics is what had beset me during my school days, I had competent scores in both Algebra and Geometry. However, scoring in Geometry took a real back breaking effort which can be assigned to its idiosyncrasies, the poem is just about that.

Its said two parallel lines never meet,
This was Geometry's page one greet,
Knowing these axioms prior was expected,
They made sense, hence tough to be accepted,

We had to know what are secant and a chord,
Without the basics, we were put to the sword,
For everything you need to know value of 'pi',
Only two digits after the point is what I can try,

The simplest of them all was the square,
You can solve it without giving a care,
It was all manageable till the rectangle,
I used to solve it without any wrangle,

Then came those bizarre quadrangles,
And this then gave way to the tangles,
The sides were all distorted,
Many sums I simply aborted,

The textbook had added one more dimension,
Felt it was time to finally get some redemption,
It now had the cylinder, pyramid and the cone,
I then had to get the calculation instinct to hone,

My bete noire were those triangles to construct,
Setting the scale was where I mostly got stuck,
My compass wasn't drawing arcs like a magic wand,
I took it upon myself to just scribble them by my hand.

                                                             - Rajmohan Yadav

The Painter

Gently wending his way through the slush,
Carrying that woody and bristled brush,
Unlocks the door with a rusted key,
Putting in place that well earned fee,

His hobby is his everyday work,
For his talent had no dearth,
He started off with making sketches,
Trying as much as his mind stretches,

His sketches were nothing extravagant,
Though his working would never relent,
But he found out how to make it better,
It was when he started using his colour,

The improvement was beginning to tell,
His handiwork had now started to sell,
Though the sum earned was modest,
He was happy that it was honest,

He painted walls that were alongside the rail,
Completing work was where he wouldn't fail,
The everyday struggle had not changed,
Some minutiae were now better arranged,

The paint and varnish had now taken a toll,
The hands looked squalid like smeared coal,
He could care less for them to look clean,
For him, it was all about living his dream.

                                                 - Rajmohan Yadav

Mall Fall

Given the grandeur of the malls these days, I had lost my way in one of them, it was only a momentary lapse, but I wondered if someone would get a serious dose of it.

Good old Jonny went for some shopping,
Discount, so the budget can take a cropping,
Mall at an arm's length, so no need to run,
He didn't really know what was to come,

At the door, the security take the bag,
To collect it later, they give you a tag,
Took a basket, putting it on the hand,
A gaping aisle in front where he stands,

The escalator is there for another floor,
He takes it going up to tier number four,
The temp is down, can it get warmer?
There is some fast food around the corner,

He thinks whether to buy or to eat?
Every shop has someone there to greet,
The inflated menu didn't look nice,
Hey, where was that merchandise?

Bemused, he takes a step back,
Outside the store, he loses the track,
Some difficulty in reading the signs,
Obscured by folks standing in lines,

In a circle, he walks again and again,
Has lost too much ground to regain,
Now the plan is to get out of the store,
A smiley Johnny asks to be shown the door.

                                                - Rajmohan Yadav

The Lottery Winner

In the evening he frenetically runs back home,
Looks at the screen and takes out his phone,
A little ticket he had brought last week,
Trying to match that statistical streak,

For him, it is more of an inveterate habit,
Thinking of the winning sequence to track it,
He has done this since he started earning,
Every draw always get his mind churning,

Once there was a winner he had read,
It is a path he intends one day to tread,
He doesn't have a lucky number,
Feels his luck is in deep slumber,

He always misses out by a number or two,
His instinct seems to go wrong without a clue,
The lottery ticket by itself is not expensive,
But the accrued amount does look extensive,

Just when he thought about giving it a skip,
His luck turned and the fortune took a flip,
A number sequence had managed to align,
Amount was modest and it was about time,

Asks himself if he deserved a bit more,
Good and bad luck was even in the score,
He thinks of giving it another try,
But quietly retires on a minor high.

                                    - Rajmohan Yadav

Engineering Submission

Submission, a word ingrained into engineers,
The one which is to bring the sum of all fears,
People hear the words going out to submit,
They know now they have to be quick,

Most are files, while others are assignments,
Pages need to be taken care for alignments,
First thing you need is the grade sheet,
Then you are set for the semester treat,

The assignment questions are eclectic by nature,
At first you are willing to solve and dare a wager,
You make a mistake or two in a haste,
Later resorting to friends, copy and paste,

You move out to get your assignments checked,
That red pen leaves the grade status wrecked,
You are determined to level it up in the file,
Changing the conclusions to suit your guile,

Searching a lab for the outputs to be printed,
Too many pages and the printer itself wilted,
You squeeze your writing to save one index page,
Doesn't matter, you always need one at a later stage,

Writing details on the file by putting it on the ground,
You wonder why would anyone want this to be found?
Then you get in the ruckus called the submission queue,
Xerox outweighs the wallet, you wish to have saved a few.

                                                               - Rajmohan Yadav

The Gaze Maze

A busy office can be a very bizarre place,
Putting shoes of love without tying the lace,
My desk was public at that phase,
Plus, didn't have much of a space,

First, I didn't realize she was there,
Luck is not always fair and square,
She had simplicity that was striking,
Her desk was distant for my liking,

Only got a glimpse from corner of the eye,
Wish I could at least say a welcome or bye,
I marked the time whenever she passed,
Had nothing which I could have asked,

I knew the moment when she would turn up,
I pretended to be working with a coffee cup,
It was the only thing up my sleeve,
Was not hard for her to perceive,

Though it never became a craze,
Sometimes she did requite a gaze,
Our eyes met with a fleeting stay,
Only for one of us to look away,

She got a new job and moved out,
I heard that and tried to stay stout,
A genuine mystery is the mutual gaze,
Your prospects are really in a maze.

                                          - Rajmohan Yadav

Office Day

This is about that Monday morning and the day thereafter which jolts you into office work from your cosy weekend. 

The Calendar turns with a change of week,
This is the end of the Weekend streak,
You have to put an end to the play,
Its a Monday, its the Office Day,

Hasten the brushing and the bath,
Put on the shaving cream for a start,
Razors are out and you wield it anyway,
All in the attempt of a proper Office Day,

The shirt and the tie are out in a haste,
There is not a moment to waste,
Cannot afford to have a delay,
After all, its an Office Day,

The door gets shut and the shoes are out,
What is left from Friday? That remains a doubt,
Embarking in a taxi you forget how much to pay,
You don't want to get late for the Office Day,

You are earnestly trying again to get in the zone,
Taking help from the office chatter to set the tone,
Tasks set in stone, now you enter the fray,
It is an uphill battle now on Office Day,

Its all over and you begin to clear off for a return,
Any interruptions now will be treated with a spurn,
'One nick lesser till weekend' you say,
You just completed this Office Day.

                                             - Rajmohan Yadav

Defining Religion....by programming!

      This is something which is being said for the umpteenth time, however here I have tried to give a frivolous illustration of how the myriad religions give the pied picture of the same force of God. Yet, for some reasons it seems that they don't get along. Anyone who works in the IT sector or has at any stage studied any programming language will be able to comprehend the following pseudo-code which I have written.

abstract class God
{
         abstract help();

         abstract seek();

         abstract guide();

         abstract judge();

}

class Religion_1 :  public God                       class Religion_2 : public God
{                                                                  {
         help()                                                          help()
         {..............}                                                {..............}

         seek()                                                         seek()
         {..............}                                                {..............}

         guide()             // ---------                           guide()             // ---------
         {.............}                                                  {.............}

         judge()            // ---------                            judge()            // ---------
         {.............}                                                  {.............}

}                                                               }

class Religion_3 :  public God                         class Religion_4  :  public God
{                                                                    {
         help()                                                          help()
         {..............}                                                {..............}

         seek()                                                         seek()
         {..............}                                                {..............}

         guide()             // ---------                           guide()             // ---------
         {.............}                                                  {.............}

         judge()            // ---------                            judge()            // ---------
         {.............}                                                  {.............}

}                                                              }

....ad Infinitum.

Now, I guess I just need to shed some light on it. God happens to be an abstract class which is there for everyone to follow and seek. 'Abstract' simply means that God as an entity which is present but remains intangible. Leaving the open question whether God exists or not and also if it is possible to find or at least get acquainted with God. This class is being inherited by every other religion and they, as per rules of programming, everyone of its methods get overridden. And needless to say everyone modifies these methods as per their own outlook. Plus to help others see the footprints in the sand everyone adds their own comments. And this my friend, is the crux of how any of the religions work.

P.S. - I am not an awfully talented programmer as you can see, so ignore, or better, point out my syntax errors of the C programming language.

P.S.S - I am not an atheist, but I feel religion dilutes the tenuous bridge between your soul and the one up there. Plus, I could have written the names of real religions instead of religion_1, religion_2 et cetera, but I guess that naming anyone, and more crucially not naming anyone, would only digress from the subject under consideration.  

The Assassin

This is a fictitious tale of a fellow who aims to assassinate an anonymous American president, however, he abandons his plan after accepting the ideal that democracy gives him a chance to bring about a change without betraying any humane principles, no matter how 'callous' the leader might seem.

Its the small hours and the clock goes off,
He is irked and goes to shut it with a scoff,
Reaches for the daily to peruse over the headline,
He tries to pretend but things are not really fine,

Some new initiatives have left him frustrated,
Decides to act as he feels much grated,
He is true to the principles of Red,White and Blue,
And is proud to see Uncle Sam saying 'we need you',

Reckoning that war is being waged over casks of oil,
He doesn't want a conflict for the nation to embroil,
He takes it upon himself to address the balance,
Whistling in the wind, he doesn't need a phalanx,

He slides the gun in his front pocket,
This he believes is a means to stop it,
A fragile ribbon of tolerance, he is about to cross it,
As it breaks, his conscious watches the step to block it,

Believing what Kennedy had told to be true,
Thinks of what can be done for country by you,
Founding Fathers had christened his democracy,
He feels that his blatant act can put this in fallacy,

He looks through the visage of Nixon and Carter,
But doesn't want violence for freedom in a barter,
The inner Assassin begins to shiver,
By Democracy's arrow in his quiver.

                                               - Rajmohan Yadav