We the Soldiers

Degrees go up and then go down
With our feet jammed on the ground;
Guns barreled up and uniform on
Fighting for the country dusk to dawn.

Hours long, silent, fatal montage
Secret and hidden in camouflage.
Enemies creep out and lose their lives
Because once we're out, we're like bees out of hives.

For us comes our country first,
Patriotism is like an unquenchable thirst;
Forward march, about-turn and head held high!
May it be unbearable, won't let out a sigh!

If our country has us chosen,
We will buck up and bolden
No fear in our eyes, or mind, or heart!
Nothing in this world can tear us apart!

After all we are India's army-men,
Can face any danger full of zen.
We do this everyday and we feel proud;
To let live peacefully, the country's crowd

-Chinmayee Kulkarni

Tired.

The time is slow and the night so dark
And I can't sleep, two eyes open stark.
After every while, I look at the watch
And then look back at the scars where I notched.

Don't know the direction where I'm going;
Drifting away where the river was flowing.
Not a day was happy and not one sad
Never seemed to enjoy what I once had.

No demon spares me at any cost
Stuck in a conundrum, so very lost.
They say go slower, don't make haste
But only I know what is coming, it's the past.

Hour after hour becomes more dreary;
I see my demons, their eyes all leery.
One day for me is pulling a 1000 cartloads
And I see closed all doors and roads.

Knocking, banging, knuckles in pain
Non-stop, endless tear drops rain.
Heartbeat fades and so does hope
In my own thoughts I try to elope.

Pressure and tension have eaten me up
And my demons enjoying their last slurp.
No more I can take it, I am forever done
Finally against me, they have won.
                                                                                 -Chinmayee Kulkarni

अकेली हिंदु अफग़ानो में

अपनों के कत्ल सुने मैंने इनके अफ़सानों में
शक़ है की सच में क्या रहती हूँ मैं इंसानों में?
वार और राज्य, शह और मात प्रतीत होती इनकी जानों में,
तलवारों की आवाज़ें और चीखें गूँजती मेरे कानों में;
न जाने कैसे काटेगी ज़िंदगी अकेली हिंदु अफग़ानो में|

बाकी धर्मों को मार गिराने का हुक्म लिखा क़ुरान में,
खौफ़ फैला रखा है नन्हे-मुन्नों के प्राणों में|
औरतें क़ैद रहती इन चार दीवारों में,
काले बुर्खे में निकली बाहर संसार में|

न सहेलियाँ या कोई भी जो रह सके उनके पास में
क्यों यह मर्द रह जाते इस अंधविश्वास में?
एक लड़की ने खाई गोली, सीधे अपने जिस्म में,
क्यों अल्लाह ने लोग बनाए इस किस्म के?

ख़ुदा उनका इतना बुरा नहीं हो सकता,
कि वह लड़कियों को गवार और क़ैद रखता|
काश मैं ले आ पाती उन्हें अपने हिन्दुस्तान में,
ताकि खड़ी रह पाएँ अपने सही उँचे स्थान पे|
दर्द होता है उन्हें देख इस अकेली हिंदु को जो है अफग़ानो में|

-चिन्मयी कुलकर्णी

Incurable pain

She's tired of being asked if she's okay,

Searching for a soothing bed to lay,

Everytime she answers that she's fine,

Through her heart comes a remorseful whine.

Those dried eyes and deep scars

Have taken her to a world afar.

Trapped in the wildness of her brain

on and on goes the hysteric tear train.

No emotion other than doom,

Blood and untidiness fill her room
She walks through the spread crass

And every waved hand feels like a lash.

She sits in the corner, as quiet as a ghost

Drowning in her own world, quite engrossed.

She's being eaten up by her own conscience

Hurt by her true spirit's absence.

Silence isn't the best answer anymore

But she doesn't want to be stuck in another trapdoor.

Scared that speaking out may be near fatal,

She crushes those ideas like a petal.

Rolling one her sides all night long,

Thinking about the quotes, saying stay strong.

But those did not ever help, nor did the sympathies

No medicine could ever heal her mental disabilities.

Tears drop along without reasons

She suffers this throughout all seasons.

But no one around her thinks she could be

A lone-head, and stressed depressee.

Because she always laughs around,

 aren't audible her silent sounds.

She stays quiet, facing her own fears

And makes sure that no one hears.

But could this go on forever?

And she'd experience joy almost never

Would she speak out all her heart

And get rid of that lumpy part?

The one which sat right there in her throat,

Like the castle with jammed moats.

Would the trash spare her for once?

And take down from her head those guns?

Which shot her wings and pulled her right down

And left her caged in a doomed town.

Would her wings flap when she dares

To fly away from the horrid nightmares?

-Chinmayee Kulkarni

Nightmare Realm

In a locked room with no keys,

but a thousand doors;

Knocking and banging on each one

until your hand is sore.

No response from either realm;

Just you and complete silence.

Feels like an eerie place,

An old abandoned asylum.

Voices, whispers and sly laughs

echoing through your ears.

You coil yourself like a thread

as the smell of fear nears...

A creak of an old door,

which is left unoiled forever...

But you see no ray of light;

The poltergeist seems to be clever.

Another goosebump arises on your skin

as wind blows from nowhere.

No door, no windows open,

it still ruffles your hair.

You step away from your spot

but fall very deep and down.

That was a vicious trap!

But you land on the same ground...

This time you, in that place confined

are chained to the wall.

Not very faraway from you,

can be heard your name being called...

You turn to the sound,

with a sudden alert!

Then a mild tap on your shoulder...

Looking back won't hurt.

Red swollen eyes with nerves out

and an eerie smile on the lips you see!

And scream as hard as possible;

the loudest you can be.

Your eyes snap open,

and you're somewhere else!

You recognize the room

as the blood-curdling dream melts.

You give out a sigh of relief,

Glad to be safe anon.

But pairs of eyes stare at you

making you fear the unknown

-Chinmayee Kulkarni

A lazy day

Let's have a look into my day,
Sitting on the sofa chewing hay.
I hear a mysterious knock at the door
It's not a psycho! My maid's here to clean the floor.

No-one's at home, everyone busy with their work
Me and the dog are partying, watch us as we twerk!
A bucket of popcorn and a 42" screen
As romantic as it's ever been.

The school and coaching have given a holiday;
I am so happy, what else can I say?
Now I'll sleep peacefully with a little gap in my lips,
Twisting and turning with those lazy hips.

Wish myself a 'happy pyjama'
This must be a result of my karmas
But wait, this is strange, I'm not that good!
Sometimes chirping around and sometimes rude.

Now time has passed by and I didn't even realize,
That I've done almost everything I'd visualized.
Now it's past 11 and I have my eyes open wide
Watch the moon and stars behind the clouds hide.

Don't know when sleep crossed my eyes,
They close exactly when my battery dies.
A peaceful sleep at the day's bend
Now that's how you finish a weekend!

-Chinmayee Kulkarni

Being Blank

Blankness, blankness, blankness!
How deep can it be?
Does it last a little long? Or just some moments maybe...
When we get blank, do we rest our mind?
Or is it just frustration, making us blind?

Our brain is thinking, but we're not aware!
and then everything gets boring, adding to the nightmare.
Everything is just rubbed out of our memory
and all the things people say become contrary.

It's like being put on lazy mode
Simply do nothing, but sit like a toad.
If on a test and your brain gives no sound,
Then it's probably Error 404 'File not Found'

But it's actually setting you free, free to go
and release your stress real slow-mo
Blankness, blankness, blankness! What could it be?
Is it just a sewage drain or a feeling? Better be.

-Chinmayee Kulkarni

A journey to the self

On a night so deep and dark;
Without a single fire spark
On a journey I embark;
Singing along the path like a skylark.

A journey that was a month long
And much longer than this song
So get your staff and walk along
To embark on an adventure with no path wrong.

Shade in the trees from the blazing sun
Feet are burning hot, away we run!
In the cold moonlight, with the day done
Walk with a thick coat, march ahead, O Hun!

Mountains, lakes, sand dunes and oases
Disappearing from each place, leaving no traces
Beating the trees in imaginary races,
and the clouds constantly changing faces.

Imagine if our life had been such
We would have known ourselves so much!
The best way to keep with ourselves in touch
and not to believe in others who judge

-Chinmayee Kulkarni