Moving On, now available at Benguluru

If I ever get around to doing a book tour, I would love to do it on my trusted Bullet. And what better way to carry along my books on the road, but in my Cramster saddlebags? After all, my first pair of Cramster saddlebags lasted me for more than 6 years, usually carried at least one book (apart from my Lonely Planet Atlas, my other maps and notebooks into which I rarely wrote my trip logs and other biking gear) and never gave me no issues!!

And yes, I have another new pair waiting for me to hit the road again. When I will be doing a book tour and which book I will be carrying in my Cramster saddlebags, only time will tell.

Meanwhile, if you are in Bangalore and wanted to get a copy of my book, do pick it up from the Cramster Showroom. It is at,

110A, Westminster, Cunningham Road, Bangalore - 560092

The store is open on all days (including Sundays) from 11 am - 7:30pm , and the phone number is +91-80-41519713.

Many, many thanks (and a biker salute) to Keerthi and Cramster for this.

Railing at the Sun

Day lives
sighing its heat
from quarried rock

And dies,
skies burning red,
like pyres of money and plastic

"We have been poorer
in the past" - Grandmother had said -
"our footwear, leaves

I have fed my sons
starch mixed in water
as I have fed you spoonfuls of milk"

Yours is the insidious burn
brazen and loud, of a boor
you, sun aren't worth even a curse

What do you earn,
you employee of time?
Will you arise richer tomorrow, fool?

And who will care for you
if my dark lord opened his eye
to forever take away night?

An elegy on the demise of April

Uninspired by Eliot
now I write this elegy
half a month after its demise,
to an empty April
when all that's poetic
like broken-winged birds
stayed trapped in emptiness
failing to soar away
all through the days
and the sun burned
in my eyes
long after nightfall
silhouetting flaring
images of ghostly trains
rattling along emptily
even the high notes of their rattles
echoing emptiness
through a summer burnt Wasteland
unlike what Eliot ever mused on.

Memories in Flight

Then it came
like a flashback of a memory
something time hasn't still turned
into carrion
that these Pariah Kites wheel
-- above this place
that time once knew as a garden
maybe of mango trees --
like the vultures used to
above the orchards of
my boyhood past
while the Sun and my kite specked the skies
staying frozen blazing light
in the afternoon heat
high above shadowed me
and wild mango trees.

Make the war public -- C Anjaneya Reddy

"In Chhattisgarh, Maoists have made a major issue of the exploitation of mineral deposits in tribal areas by MNCs and the private sector which has to be immediately addressed. If these projects cannot wait, the government would do well to entrust this job to public sector undertakings, ensuring that all resultant benefits and employment go to local tribals. This would remove a major irritant.

Likewise, beedi leaf picking or bamboo contracts could be taken away from private contractors and entrusted to government corporations with improved wages for tribals. This would serve the tribals well while cutting off the flow of funds to Maoists.

There should be no attempt to privatise policing which in a way Salwa Judum is all about. It is about time this group was wound up. Instead, well-protected, well-officered and numerically strong police stations — with not less than 25 officers and 100 men in each station — need to be established all over the affected areas. These have to be mostly manned by the tribals themselves.

The role of the paramilitary forces should be limited to guarding these police stations and carrying out field operations. Ultimately, it is the civil police that can and should fight the Maoists."

Excerpts from C Anjaneya Reddy's (a former IPS officer) piece in the bottom half of today's DC's Op-ed page. Read it all here

Danse Macabre 35 is now out

This is a bit late, but better late than never :-)

Danse Macabre's 35th issue is now out and the editors have accepted one of my poems, The Road to Medhchal, read it here (you will need to scroll down, the poem is at the very bottom of the page, mine was a very late submission, after all!)

Thanks Adam!

This issue of Danse Macabre also has a thought-provoking article on Telugu Dalit poetry by Narender Bedide -- I'll Weep Like Karamchedu!, check it out here

The Truth about Tigers - Shekar Dattatri

" Prakriti Foundation has tied up with renowned wildlife and conservation filmmaker, Shekar Dattatri, to screen his new film ‘The Truth about Tigers’ for various organizations in Chennai – from schools and colleges to corporate entities. All you need to do is provide us with a suitable space on your premises - an auditorium, a large corporate boardroom or an AV Room – and our team will do the rest.

The screenings are free. Prakriti Foundation has taken up this initiative because we strongly believe that every Indian should know the truth about why our tigers are disappearing and what we can do about it. Saving the tiger needs our collective effort, and the time to act is now!

We would like to screen the film at as many venues around Chennai as we can. Since the demand for the film is high, we encourage you to register a screening with us early.

What we require from you:

1. A hall that can accommodate about 100 or more people (we are open to smaller audiences for corporates).

2. The hall should be capable of being made completely dark.

3. A coordinator from your side to work with our team.


What we will provide:


1. All the required AV equipment.


2. A resource person to answer your questions.


THE TRUTH ABOUT TIGERS (40 minutes)

The tiger, India’s National Animal, is disappearing at an alarming rate from our forests. Government estimates reveal that there may be fewer than 1500 left.

Why have India’s tigers declined so drastically? What exactly are the problems facing their conservation? And are there any solutions to the crisis?

These and many other questions are answered succinctly in ‘The Truth about Tigers’, a unique documentary by award-winning wildlife and conservation filmmaker, Shekar Dattatri. The film also provides useful pointers on how ordinary citizens can contribute towards saving the tiger.

Two years in the making, the film combines stunning footage shot by some of the world’s leading cinematographers with deep insights from experts such as renowned tiger biologist Dr. Ullas Karanth of the Wildlife Conservation Society, and wildlife crime fighter, Belinda Wright of the Wildlife Protection Society of India.

This film takes one through the tiger’s life, from birth to death, and illustrates how different human activities impact the conservation of this great predator. Internationally acclaimed actor, Roshan Seth, provides the narration, and one of Britain’s top documentary composers, David Mitcham has contributed to the music score. An accompanying website provides more information about tigers and their conservation.

About Shekar Dattatri

Shekar Dattatri is a wildlife and conservation filmmaker whose films have won numerous awards in India and abroad, and aired around the world on channels such as National Geographic and Discovery. A committed conservationist, his well-researched films combine craftsmanship and artistry with a profound understanding of the nuances of conservation issues. In 2004 he received a Rolex Award for Enterprise for his conservation filmmaking, and subsequently, the Carl Zeiss Award for conservation and the Edberg Award from the Rolf Edberg Foundation in Sweden. More information on his work can be found here " -- Logesvaran Devan, Prakriti Foundation, Tel: 98402 15765

Pablo Neruda

"The writer has to look for the river, and if he finds it frozen over, he has to drill a hole in the ice. He must have a good deal of patience, weather the cold and the adverse criticism, stand up to ridicule, look for the deep water, cast the proper hook, and after all that work, he pulls out a tiny little fish. So he must fish again, facing the cold, the water, the critic, eventually landing a bigger fish, and another and another." - Pablo Neruda