An Uncanny Connection

I wish it ended
This uncanny connection
Between you and I;
I wish black and white
Could be separated. 

If I could see it,
I would cut it, burn it
And clean it off, leaving 
No trace at all.

But it does not show itself
Does not answer the questions
Lurking in my mind. 

Comfortably, it sticks around
Like an old tea stain
On a crisp white shirt.

It only fades
When washed a lot,
But never disappears.

Artwork by: Tanmayee Chakraborty

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Ceremonial Visit

Image
“Suresh  jee , what time is the meeting at Labour Commissioner’s Office today?”  Piya enquired with her Assistant, while hurriedly glancing through her official calendar for the day. Her Assistant, Suresh, however, was unbothered by the haste in Piya’s voice. “3 PM, Madam”, he replied, adjusting himself on his chair. The canteen boy had just swished by, placing cups of afternoon tea on each desk. He leisurely took a sip from his cup.   “Fine. We will leave at 2”, she said, pointing at the clock.  “I have to make a quick visit to the Central Cemetery. I’ve checked Maps. It’s on our way to the Commissioner’s Office”. This announcement somehow made Suresh uneasy. He paused before taking his next sip and turned his chair to face Piya.  “C-c-cemetery? Means, graveyard?”, he asked, sipping from his cup again.   “Yes Suresh  jee , ‘ cemetery means graveyard ’.”  He took a while to process this, unsure as to how he can decline a proposition...
Read more

The Lone Lady

Image
The car stopped outside my Grandmother’s red brick house at the dead end of Ashok Row in Ganguly Bagan, Kolkata. I got off the car and stood there awhile to absorb the view of the house. The mango and the coconut trees in the surrounding garden spilled out of the brick wall demarcating it. The Rongon plant outside the main door stood as usual, spiralling its branches across the grills of the verandah, occasionally bursting out in red and mauve flowers. The house had not changed one bit, I thought. As I opened the blue gate and entered the house, Ma’s wall art of Buddha’s ‘Enlightenment’ greeted me. The walls had been freshly painted a nice tinge of sea-green, leaving out the section of the wall art. The remnants of the old white wall could be seen smiling from the back of the artwork. Beneath the painting was Ma’s signature – “ Rashmi, 1965 ”. But this was not my favourite of Ma’s paintings in the house. I walked ahead and rang the bell.   “Hi Dida!” I scream...
Read more

A Sky So Blue

Image
"Amira, come on, finish your dinner quick. You have been sitting with the rice for such a long time!" Amira's mother called out from the kitchen, while cleaning the dishes. Little Amira, however, was absorbed in watching the night sky outside from her window, oblivious to her mother's requests. Far across the horizon, the sky intermittently burst out in a glimmer of light.  "Is that a firecracker, mother?" She asked, pointing outside. "Are they having a celebration? The crackers are so noisy! So loud!" Mother knew that they are not firecrackers. She continued to rinse the dishes, carefully draining the waste from the utensils onto the small garbage bag kept at the corner below the sink. "It's too far away Amira, how can we be sure? But see, our neighbourhood is quiet still. All your friends must have already finished their dinner; they must be helping their mothers wipe the dishes now. And you're still half-way through your plate littl...
Read more