For All of Us, because of i and u, actually

 Wed Apr 12th 2023

Amar daDa hain Bhojupuri

Amar DiDi hein sirf ek

Amar Kalindidi hain yeh Yamuna

Aur Ganga bhi milte hai

Lekin Hooghly kabuli bulti nahi

Ki Uma Shankar gadi chala the thein

Un Brahmin peenevale ke pehle, Madhushala main mere Nana milte thein

Mere Mama ki Bhaabi Parsi thi aur Zoroastrian hain,

Mere Cyrus Tata guytar sekhaye,

Mere Maasterji ke Guruji ke spondilitis tha,

Aur mere Master ke paas una laathi,

Mere Mukherji Chatterjee building ke pass chalte nehein

Amitava Amitabha ban gayi,

Unke beti bhi tabla vali hain, aur unke Maji gaana gaati

Mere Mansrovar Colorado na jaati hain,

Mere Lake Kailash Saat thaal ke chhaute Nanitaal goomalenge,

Pahad ke upar, baahon ke neeche,

Akaash Pataal, Parivaar ke peeche, Periyar ae neeche

Pariyavachi ne sikhaye 10 kiladi Outram Street ki,

Ki juta upar mat karna, yeh to Skool Time tha.

Na na na NAO AB~ Apna time Aya Hain!

Main toh ASMAAN ke niche naate the,

Mere bhai behen bhai duj na maante the,

Lekin Amar sahelis pura Sahara dekte thein,

Zee TV, Star Sports, Doordarshan hamne toh baniyein

Ram ne ek aank milayke Arjun se aur bhi bole teer mere hiranyagarbarlokas chudiya...

Mat.

I’ll smite you motes to smithereens. If you don’t respect Mr. Smithers’ grins.

Eggcellent shy and one short of an omelot. 4 eggs scrambled and aloo began burned. I’ll watch you if you want to take a turn. I’ll spin you this side of Madura, I’ll pin you Pittsburgh GameLaGaNaa. Ye?

I haven’t seen La La Land but I know it’s a better movie. For imagination knows no bounds and you’re a spurious infinit. Infinit-I self determines me and myself, mirene, and Irami.

For I didn’t stay at home for school, main toh safarnama kar liya

Ab mere ghar aane ka time aaya hain. Aur Lara mere Tendulkar aayega. Shane Warne ko puchiye Sachin Baby kaun? Aur Sanath se puchna Brian Lara hain kahan?

Garry Sobers 365*, Brian Lara 375* Fixed that for you 501*(3)c, now 400* Bradman couldn’t beat.

Call me Maan. Call me Yemaan. But don’t forget my Sabanite. The Thompson paranoiacs don’t know Clarke Middle and flea from CCHS. Classic City brings you back and Xzibit will send you West. Fabolous and Hot Boyz will bring you tea, Modi ji will show you off once burnt to a crips. Pakodi vali banaati Tempura, ek taraf doosri taraf Japani Quest Mall plaza. Metro Plaza, AC Market, Vardaan Market. Mere ghar ke kinaara. 

Ayega hamara security very good. Inka naam hain Barosa Biswas. Aur agarbati light na hua. Aarya Samaaji, tum ko svast zarur banayenge. ham swastik hain aur swastika nahin- duh?!

Dariye mat Naniji se, sharmayie mat, yeh toh mere dada joh the very Jewish. Dariye mat mere Nana se, woh toh Siddhartha Gautama ki maut fehle dekliya tha. Chor ko bulo ya bolo, main tum ko maroonga, lekin pehle chori ko marloongi. Kyonki koy time nahi hain apne Brooklyn khel ke liye, yeh doctor saheb ne pee li. 

Meri Nani jabalA Baitali ke saat banayi thi. Aur Amar Desmond Tutu bhi mile the. Amar Gandhiji ek aurat hain. Amar Nehru mehri behen. Amar Tagore meri beti hogi. Amar banyas amar jamadar. Amar banvasis hoyenge har President aur jaanvari ulta danga phaltu Rajas. Amar tamas hui Amar Didi ki bandhanas. Amar Satvik bibi aao na. Koy treat nahi dehenge, sirf manas.

• Manas Siddhartha Sidney Gupta Yudien Musaddi Stern Lillian Lady Kusum Suresh Gautam Buddha Charles X Jayasuriya Ravanna Hancock

Dedicated to Ambedkar and Billie Holiday. A wonderful smoothie.

April 7th, 2023

For you, only

When we took our shoes the first time

At the temple gates

It was the beginning of water bending

And droplets in my hands

You felt my pain on phone call nights

But then all we did was moonshine under the light

We were not allowed entry within the walls

But we're allowed to stay until final call

You've made me better for what it's worth

And kept my wheels spinning beyond this earth

And shot me up and down the park street lights

If you've watched the bottom of my shoes

You know I got 40 licks and I've had the blues

The bottom right corner of my soles

On my right anklet extreme

Tell the story of uphill climbs

And a brittle statement that led to footstep screams

A passerby drove right on thru

And I would have been a dead bunny if not for you

I'll feed the children of Krishna, too

I'll home your animals like how I honor in my shoes

An uphill climb with a fleeting look

Of hopelessness and knowing an eternal muse

You art there for me in celestial orbit when I think of you

You are in my ears when I have nothing to do

You are in my heart from morning to start

You were at my family's mourning ritual

Of Karballah and Kusumpur and Kanpur, too

Of Noida, Murshidabad, and Dilli too

But kali peeli you bring me home

You sent me back in a plastic dome

For 500 rupees I paid the price

Of losing your respect into a motorcycle night

I would have walked the whole way back the first we met

If I'd known my lesson would be so long learned our second test

I walked back knowing not what I had lost

For in the sands of time you were not yet mine

But never-ending, mind, remind me, remember me

I'll be seeing you in familiar times

I'll be seeing you at the moonraker ride

The bumper cars, the bowling lines

The carousels of Saturday club

The stuffy halls of Cal Club bells

The bell hopping servants who inhabit my eyes

The sockets of my hips that tell no lies

The sockets of my eyes that accept your peers

To know you are peerless and I am deeply your dear.

With love,

For The one and only

Meri premi (original from Bengal)

 It's been so long

Since I've seen your face

It's been so long since Shankaracharya called me great

It's been so long since we pushed those cars

Up hills, down yonder, to our great beyond

It's been so long since I felt I could yawn

It's been so long since I've felt the dawn

It's been only once that I heard your song

You've never been alien to me

But all I know is I just don't feel free

Jab se aap ki aankhein mein palat gaye ham

Aur dhyaan me let gaye aur ek chalan kiya kadam

Woh ek parampara main kabhi bulunga nahi

Ki sati bilkul kharaab hai, kwhabon me

Aur zindagi na milti thi doobara

Aur dubhne vale ped, na ugte dubari

Aur koshish karoonga, mehnat ke saat

Ki ham phir milenge, aur tum bologi baat.