Welcome to the Jungle

You trim your mane and pluck your eyebrows,
Make no mistake you're in the animal kingdom
You mask your odour with perfumes and powders
Having found newer ways of marking your territory

You talk of love and everlasting friendship
Your selfish heart fumes at my attention to another
Make up your mind, give me your love
Or take away everything but dependence
It is customary for hunters to cut away feathers
Have no doubt, they are hunters not lovers

You laugh at love, scorn any promises of permanence
Yet you yearn for someone to say 'forever'
You hold vigil all your life for 'the one'
Someone who will consume you with ardour, day and night
Irony is you are terrified when faced with such love,
Heard of the proverbial dog chasing a car, my friend?

You covet the tigress, you envy her stripes
You long to be in her brave and majestic tribe
Yet you keep the company of cackling hyenas by day,
Laughing with derision at her solitary ways,
Slipping away one moonless night you eat her hunt,
Alas, eating her leftovers will never make your spots stripes

Human Nature - Through the looking glass

It is 1:30 in the afternoon of an uncharacteristically hot summer day in Bangalore. Picking up lunch trays, the IT millions march in pairs and groups to find tables & chairs to sit and eat. In the milling crowds, a lone guy happens to be lucky enough to find an empty table, under the cool shade of a tree in the outdoor part of the cafeteria. He settles down with his dosa and iPhone, eating every now and then, while furiously typing away on his phone with a serious expression on his face. A kitten suddenly appears from nowhere and starts staring at him eating. The guy dosent notice at first, then his friend comes along with a tray to join him, looks at the kitten, taps our guy's shoulder and points the kitten to him. iPhone guy rolls his eyes and goes back to eating and furiously typing, while friend sits next to him and starts eating too. The puny but gorgeously orange kitty now starts meowing. The men continue to eat. Meanwhile a girl that some would call fetching, looks on at this 'awwwwww' inspiring scene. iPhone guy stirs from his texting, to notice the girl across the table. The girl gives the kitten an 'Aww-you poor hungry thing' look and flashes the guy a smile. The guy smiles back and immediately tears a piece of dosa and drops it on the ground. The kitten polishes this off. The girl now gives the guy an even bigger 'you're my hero' kind of smile. The guy rips an even bigger piece of dosa and drops it down for the kitten. Amidst all this silent drama, our hero's friend suddenly comes to life and notices his friend feeding the kitten and his motivation for doing so, across the table. Now he wants a piece of this action too, he tears a piece of the paratha that he is eating and chivalrously throws it at the kitten. The kitten finishes the dosa, sniffs at the paratha, jumps behind some potted plants and disappears having rejected the paratha. The girl picks up her finished tray and exits cafeteria. The boys look at each other accusingly.

Tea time tragedy!

My lone milk bikis cries for the company,
Of one Mr.tea or even frisky señor coffee!
Alas their eternal bond must be broken prematurely,
For I happen to be bound miserably to my desk,
Tied with work, oh that shameful, villainous blight,
Has turned me deaf to these lovebirds' plight!