The Wasteland - A poem

In this world of insanity
With streets choked with garbage
And mottled faces begging for roughage
Disease-ridden alleys
And absurd message rallies
With violence bubbling in the veins
Blood leaking in the sewers
Distorted truths and despotic harbingers
Where messiahs are murdered
And their deaths celebrated
And their sermons berated
Intelligence cowers in corners isolated
Ignorance of everything celebrated
Goodness mocked and beauty scalded
Left to rot in some metallic harness
Never to feel a loving caress

Lost in this hated lovable country
Oh my India what have you become?

- By Kashif Ilyas B.A. English (3rd year)

Ode to Life - A poem

Where do I begin?
For much have I heard and seen
I have seen them dream and
I have seen them believe in their dreams
I have heard them talk of new days 
and better ways
I have seen my campus flooded with
a thousand marching feet
I have seen hope in their eyes-
Belief and conviction-
and then have I seen their minds
being swayed by satanic fanaticism
I grew tired,
I grew tired of what I had to endure.

It was a long time ago
I remember well Mario
You had talked of stopping 
the machine
How do we stop the machine Mario
when we are the ones who're running it?
Listen mate, I have a plan-
Why don't we destroy the machine?
And if its the machine that matters
We will try and create one- anew
Yes! We believe, we can!
So, lets keep our flags of activism 
flying high
For it takes more than a regressive
system to crush our dreams.

And you Kashif, you know
how much do I remain indebted to you?
Hold my trembling hands brother
and then I want you to show me your
peeled out versions of life
and with that characteristic detachment
of yours, that you have made me grow
used to- I want you to say-
"The only inherent meaning of life
is that it has no meaning"
and then we might remember Bernard Shaw's
quote and try and give a meaning for ourselves-
Till then, Kashif, we will give away
to hallucinations and a thousand other crazy things-
and will I present an ode to my twenty years
of existence
To my twenty years of life-

Life I spent looking for a purpose
Life I smelt in the hair of my beloved
Life I smoked out with my cigarettes
Life I screamed in our slogans for change
Life I rode on a speeding bike over the highway,
feeling existential
Life I didnt give a fuck about

Oh Life!
Now that we've come together so far
and I don't know how far shall we go
why don't we then keep on going?
Let me find out if there are the same circles
or do I have newer ones awaiting me

Hey, Wait!
Or is it the end of the road?
Who knows!

So, lets come together for the last time
For the curtains might be dropped tonight

- By Riad Azam

The Wasteland - A Poem

In this world of insanity
With streets choked with garbage
And mottled faces begging for roughage
Disease-ridden alleys
And absurd message rallies
With violence bubbling in the veins
Blood leaking in the sewers
Distorted truths and despotic harbingers
Where messiahs are murdered
And their deaths celebrated
And their sermons berated
Intelligence cowers in corners isolated
Ignorance of everything celebrated
Goodness mocked and beauty scalded
Left to rot in some metallic harness
Never to feel a loving caress

Lost in this hated lovable country
Oh my India what have you become?

- By Kashif Ilyas 

BA English (3rd Year)

Faculty of Desolation

 The Faculty of Arts looks quite picturesque from outside, I thought idly, as I leaned against my bike on the road opposite the gate. The green lawns leading to the spouting fountains and the somber walls have an aesthetic effect visible from afar. Yet when you slowly approach the faculty, sauntering past the guards at the gate, reality begins to encroach on the fantasy. At first you notice the patches of grass at the edges of the lawn which have gone desolately dry. Then you observe (with mild disgust) that the water in the fountain is of a greenish hue because of algae growing in it. When you actually enter the building you are relieved to find that at least the foyer is clean and the tiles are new.

SUCCESS TIPS

 Millions of people in the whole world are striving hard to become successful. Countless people suffer from tension, stress and strokes. But when they become successful, it goes to their head. They become swollen- headed and self centered. They think they are at the centre of the universe and that the whole world revolves around them. 

A person devoted to his duties never thinks of being inactive and he never curses his luck or fortune, nor does he complain of his limitations and insufficient means. He knows very well that making complaints is against the law of progress. He accepts himself as such and tries to make maximum use of his means and resources.