Travel, Tentativeness and other Travails

In the eight odd months since I quit my job (that means, technically for the last eight odd months, I didn't need to apply for leave "to go on a ride"), I have been on probably three rides.

One was to the forests near Narsapur (where incidentally M and I lost our way in lush, monsoon-replenished trees, grasses and nullahs and ended up trekking /stumbling our way for something like 5 hours before we found our Bullets), a invigoratingly good and relaxing time, but for all purposes a "small" ride.

One was to a Dhaba around 35 kms on the Nagpur highway. I was alone, just wanted to eat and drink in the sights, smells and slipstreams of an authentic trucker's Dhaba, (and also belt) so did just that. I remember this so well because I hadn't put on a jacket (this was in end November) and it was really, really cold getting back home at almost midnight. Going by the cold it was as freezing as the stretch from Kargil to Dras (no I don't mean in terms of temperatures) but still.....

One was to a friend's farm on the Shameerpet stretch for the New Year.

Apart from these three (alleged rides), zilch.

Three rides (even if we remove the "alleged" tag) in eight months would be a bit of a shame for any rider / motorcyclist / biker.

And a real big shame for me.

So let me clarify.

I did want to ride down to Jaipur for the Literature Festival. Didn't happen for a variety of reasons, along with the usual waves of (post poetry-writing) tentativeness attacking me.

I missed out on Rider Mania too, (this time near Mumbai of all places), which means I will need to wait another year before I get to see, feel and experience the magic of 500+ Royal Enfields parked (or burning rubber) together.

It didn't help at all that the Lit Fest at Jaipur and the Bullet Fest at Vikramgarh (near Mumbai) clashed, so I couldn't prioritize and choose one over the other till the last minute and ended up going to neither.

It now looks like I will be missing the Kala Ghoda Festival too (folks are traveling from today and someone has to be home and secure it for them to enjoy their travels in peace).

What this means is that in all probability, I will seriously get around to doing some (long overdue in its own way) road-related ramblings :-)

And probably some quick (ride-out-in-the-morning, ride-back-in-the-evening types) trips where hopefully all this tentativeness will fall off me, blow off me, vanish away...

One thing is for sure. I will do some cycling again, since I got the cycle repaired yesterday and rode out on it today morning. The skies were almost like those I talk of in "Unslept", but I wasn't thirsting for it to rain today and I also ventured out on a stretch that is different from that mentioned in the poem.

I was unslept though. :-)

Every morning in Africa, a deer wakes up

"Every morning in Africa, a deer wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest deer or it will starve to death. It doesn't matter if you are a lion or a deer (or relapsed cyclist). When the sun comes up you'd better be running (or cycling)".

Reproduced in entirety -- yes, I had jotted it down on a piece of paper -- from a poster seen just above the cash counter of the Irani Cafe where I had my Chhai today morning, way back home on my first major cycle ride in a while. The little bits in the parentheses were of course not there on the poster.

To India – My Native Land

My country! In thy day of glory past
A beauteous halo circled round thy brow,
And worshipped as a deity thou wast.
Where is that glory, where that reverence now?
Thy eagle pinion is chained down at last,
And groveling in the lowly dust art thou:
Thy minstrel hath no wreath to weave for thee
Save the sad story of thy misery!
Well -- let me dive into the depths of time,
And bring from out the ages that have rolled
A few small fragments of those wrecks sublime,
Which human eyes may never more behold

And let the guerdon of my labour be
My fallen country! One kind wish from thee!

By Henry Louis Vivian Derozio (18 April 1809 – 26 December 1831)

Soil

What colour would you call that now? That brown
which is not precisely the colour of excrement
or suede?
The depth has you hooked. Has it a scent
of its own, a peculiar adhesiveness? Is it weighed,
borne down

by its own weight? It creeps under your skin
Like a landscape that's a mood, or a thought
in mid-birth,
and suddenly a dull music has begun. You're caught
by your heels in that grudging lyrical earth,
a violin

scraped and scratched, and there is nowhere to go
but home, which is nowhere to be found
and yet
is here, unlost, solid, the very ground
on which you stand but cannot visit
or know.

By George Szirtes from "The Budapest File", found on www.poetryarchive.org

George Szirtes on the poem - "Soil" takes place in England on a train journey. I was taking a ride I think from London upto Yorkshire and I looked out at the soil, the earth and I thought I recognise that colour -- where does that colour come from? And what does it mean to me? It seemed to be saying something, it seemed to be saying something and it brought to my mind the subject of belonging -- to this soil, or to that soil.

George Szirtes

"Poetry's only obligation is to the truth. Whether this truth is widely popular or not is irrelevant. It should be the best truth possible and that is the only quality that gives it any hope of survival." - George Szirtes (from www.poetryarchive.org)

The Word

The Word tried to get in edgeways
but put on weight.
The Word had shown up on X-Rays
but far too late.
The Word was breath -
then, death.

The Word was out, the Word was getting round
and yet stood still,
without meaning, without even sound,
since Word was will
that had not yet found form.
The Word was storm.

The Word was dropped, lay where it fell,
no one picked it up
but still it learned to spell.
Word flowed into the cup
that runneth over even in a drouth.
Word was open mouth.

Now I am lost for words
that open mouths spill out.
What sense comes afterwards?
Sense coupled with doubt.
If I had the power to say it, I would say it.
Here’s the instrument, says voice.
Now play it.

By George Szirtes from his website

OPEN SPACE Writing Competition

Open Space announces a fiction/non-fiction writing competition on the theme of ‘Open spaces’

Writers are encouraged to interpret this theme as creatively as possible, exploring the ideas of open spaces of mind, body and spirit…Think of open spaces from an architectural or environmental point of view…common property resources as open spaces…shared wisdom…the World Wide Web as an open space…dialogue between people, cultures, religions, ideologies, communities…processes and events that create/created spaces…open spaces in music, art, theatre…spaces now closed that were once open…spaces now open that were once closed…

Prizes:
1st prize – Rs 15,000 (rupees fifteen thousand only)
2nd prize – Rs 10,000 (ten thousand only)
3rd prize – Rs 5,000 (five thousand only)

Judges: Jerry Pinto, editor, author and poet; Naresh Fernandes, author and editor of Paprika and Time Out Mumbai; and Priya Sarukkai Chabria , editor, poet and author.

How to enter

1. Write a story/article up to 1500 words on the theme of ‘Open Spaces’.
2. The competition is open to anyone above the age of 18, residing in India and writing in English.
3. The story/article must be original and unpublished in any print or online forum.
4. A contribution of Rs.100 (rupees one hundred only) is to be paid to participate in the contest. This contribution is payable by bank demand draft (payable to: Centre for Communication and Development Studies and mailed to the address given below) or by online payment through our secure online payment gateway using your credit or debit card. Our partner is CCAvenue, who have the requisite security provisions to ensure that your card details and transactions meet the highest standards of safety. Please follow this link: http://infochangeindia.org/Support-Us.html.
5. Only one entry per individual will be accepted.
6. Submissions may be either as hard copy or soft copy. All submissions must be typed, double spaced. Each page must be numbered and must include the title of the story/article. Please send two copies of hard copy submissions to the address given below.
7. The competition will be judged ‘blind’.So please make sure your name appears only on the entry form printed below.

Copyright for the short-listed and winning submissions will be shared by the authors and Open Space. Open Space will retain the right to upload or otherwise publish all content submitted to the contest. All winners will be notified by email.

Send the hard copy of your story/article, entry form and contribution to:

Open Space Writing Contest
Centre for Communication and Development Studies
301, Kanchanjunga bldg.
Kanchan Lane,
Near Krishna Dining Hall,
Off Law College Road
Pune - 411004

OR send your e-submission and entry form to:

ujwalasam(at)gmail(dot)com


PLEASE NOTE:

* No copies of submissions will be returned and no correspondence with judges can be entered into.
* Entries without the entry form and contribution will not be eligible for the contest.
* Email any queries about the contest to: ujwalasam(at)gmail(dot)com
* Prizes are non-transferable.
* Submissions must not have been published previously in books or magazines and must be original to the person submitting them.
* The closing date to enter the contest is February 10, 2010.
* Winners will be announced on March 20, 2010.

About CCDS – Open Space

The Centre for Communication and Development Studies (CCDS) is a social change resource centre working to strengthen civil society and citizens’ action for social justice, human rights, sustainable development and accountable governance. CCDS’s strength is the innovative use of media and communication to empower civil society with information, analysis, diverse perspectives and alternative messages. Open Space is the youth and civil society outreach initiative of CCDS that facilitates debate, discussion and action on contemporary social, economic and cultural issues among youth and citizens.


____________________________________________________________________

ENTRY FORM

FOR THE OPEN SPACE WRITING CONTEST 2010
(On the theme of ‘Open Spaces’)



1. Name:

2. Postal Address + PIN:

3. Email:

4. Payment details:

DD number:

Drawn on (bank/city):

Date:

OR

Online payment order number:

6. Title of your submission:


P.S. I am not associated with this competition in any way, posting this up here as requested by Ujwala, do mail her if you want more details.

10 Birthday Resolutions

1.) Put more thoughts to paper! Try always to be a pen (and carry one on me) inked by immediacy. Try always to be paper too, plain, uncluttered and blessed with space for the poem that comes.

2.) Write what I read -- of the natural world, people, cultures and cities -- left unsaid and implicit.

3.) See more sunsets and sunrises on the road. Drink them in, deep.

4.) Serenade more silences. Find more mystery roads, deserted quarries, way-sided bridges, rain-pelted Forest Rest House balconies, snow-crested mountain passes. Cycle or (God forbid) punctured motorcycle, be my own engine.

5.) Get back to serious photography seriously. Accent on "seriously".

6.) Stop surviving the city, start re-discovering it. Bus around to give a finger to the traffic if need be.

7.) Read more poetry, read myself less into the claustrophobic corners of definitions of what is and what is not poetry.

8.) Offer free copywriting services to anyone who want babies, bikes, books, puppies, software products, companies, houses, ex's and so on... named. (note - "Free" means "Free", I will gladly go dutch on the bar / refreshments bill). Second time onwards, charges apply. (note - "Charges", don't refer to drinks / refreshments; I will gladly go dutch on the bill).

9.) Seriously explore alternative vocations like lumber-jacking, bricklaying, leading motorcycle expeditions, truck-driving, dog breeding, professional gambling, etc.

10.) Live, love and laugh more.

Poetry reading by Meena Alexander

If you are in Hyderabad on 22nd January and if you love poetry, you better don't miss this!

Distinguished poet Meena Alexander will read her poetry on this Friday, (22nd January, 2010) starting 6.30 pm at Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI), Bella Vista, Raj Bhavan Road, Khairatabad, Hyderabad.

Osmania University Centre for International Programmes in collaboration with The Public Affairs Section, U.S. Consulate General Hyderabad & Department of English, University of Hyderabad are conducting this event.

Meena Alexander is Distinguished Professor of English at Hunter College and the Graduate Centre, City University of New York. Her poems and prose works have been widely anthologized and translated. Her new collection of poetry is Quickly Changing River. Her book of essays Poetics of Dislocation was recently published under the University of Michigan Poets on Poetry series. Her works of poetry include Stone Roots; House of a Thousand Doors; River and Bridge; Illiterate Heart (winner of the PEN Open Book Award); Raw Silk; and two chapbooks, each a single long poem: The Storm: A Poem in Five Parts, and Night-Scene, The Garden.

She is the editor of Indian Love Poems and the author of the memoir Fault Lines (chosen by Publishers Weekly as one of the best books of the year 1993) She has also published two scholarly works, one of which is Women in Romanticism: Mary Wollstonecraft, Dorothy Wordsworth and Mary Shelley; and two novels, one of which is Nampally Road.

She is the recipient of Guggenheim, Fulbright, Rockefeller, Arts Council of England, and other fellowships.

Moving On - Now available online

Just another quick note to all those who wanted to get my book, its now available online here

Please note that shipping (within India) is extra.

Please also note that shipping is free (yes, free door delivery) within Hyderabad.

Moving On - In the bookstores

Just a quick note for all those who wanted to know, my book "Moving On" is now available at Akshara (stores at West Marredpally and Banjara Hills) here in Hyderabad.

Moving On - 5 poems up on Pratilipi

Pratilipi, a bilingual quarterly magazine that I love for its excellent content and design has selected 5 of my poems for publication. Do take a look

Rahul and Giriraj, a big thanks to you guys!

I am also excited that Pratilipi is participating in and will be be available (in print) at the Jaipur Literature Festival, way to go!!

Call for Queer Film Fest, Bangalore

Alternative Law Forum is holding a queer film festival in Bangalore on 27 and 28 Feb, 2010. This is the second in the series but the first time where ALF itself is going to look out for films on queer themes (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, lady boys, drag, F2M, M2F etc.) from across India, Asia and anywhere else in the world.

The festival is a community-driven effort and ALF has for sponsorship, the venue and basic costs. The point of the festival is to draw a large audience and screen good films with gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender stories, that people might not have easy access to. So if you have made any such film or know other filmmakers who would be interested, do forward this mail to them. ALF is also looking for people who would like to curate a small package of films from different countries (or themes). A photo exhibit is also planned, so still images are welcome.

Do mail Namita Malhotra (namita@altlawforum.org) if you're interested in either sending your own film or photographs or want to send a package of films by different filmmakers.

About the organisers: The groups involved are Good As You (GAY), Swabhava (an organisation that works on sexuality and carries out training and sensitisation surrounding sexuality issues) and WHAQ (a support group for lesbian, bisexual and transgendered women).

Namita can also be contacted for more details on the festival.

The official email id for the event is blrqueerfilmfest@gmail.com

P.S. - Posting this here purely for the sake of getting the word out about this event. If you are interested in this festival please get in touch directly with Namita Malhotra and if you know someone who would be interested in this, do let them know.

Kritya Annual International Festival, 2010, Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysore

"I am Kritya.
The intense word power,
which always moves along with the ultimate truth, which exists completely in accord with rightness."

Kritya is conducting Kritya2010 in association with Central Institute of Indian Languages at Mysore from 3rd to 5th February. The festival promises to be electric with participants from across the world. For more details, check out Kritya 2010

Bringing in the New Year

Had spent most of the daytime hours (primarily drinking in the sun-splashed vistas) on the 31st and most of the early hours of the 1st (gazing at the sparks shooting out of a bonfire under an eclipsed moon) at a friend's farm.

Found the entire experience surreal, need to go there again and enjoy all of it yet again, slowwwwwwlyyyy....

The farm is basically nothing much (thank God for small mercies like this), it has no walkways, no swimming pools, no benches and in fact no farmhouse either.

What it does have is some hundred odd (I mean, I didn't count them) guava trees heavy with fruit, some coconut palms that look decrepit and lost rooted so far from the coast, an acre of so of winter paddy and pockets of teak and bamboo grown over with lantana.

I was offered many an over-ripe guava and every time kept desperately dashing into my memories to try and recollect what Gabriel Garcia Marquez had to say about the tropics and the smell of a guava. Found it finally :-)

"... Graham Greene taught me how to decipher the tropics . . . with a few disparate elements connected by an inner coherence both subtle and real. Using this method you can reduce the whole enigma of the tropics to the fragrance of a rotten guava. ..."

Surrrrreall, no?

Two poems up at Danse Macabre

Danse Macabre's (first) Internationale issue is out. And two of my poems (from my recently published book, "Moving On") are up there (thanks Adam and Nabina). Do take a look (you will need to scroll down).

Meanwhile, in the passing of another year another decade has ended. But then, another year is ahead of us and another decade starts.

Wish you all a very Happy New Year and may the Muse (and other good things) visit you all through this year.