The monthly review

--


I am in a meeting.
It started “on time”
2 hours late.
It’s 1:30
by my watch,
I can hear the buzz
in the cafeteria next door
and feel the rats in my stomach
singing their ceremonial
“We are the Vermins” jingle.

The guy next to me
is talking about some
improving economy
and the rats in my stomach
are dying of food scarcity.

They served biscuits;
some creamy, others with holes,
some sweet, others salty,
there are also ‘diet’ ones
for the diabetic big boss
sitting across.
No working-lunch,
“cost-cutting”, they said.

Left-over biscuits
are looking at me
with drooly eyes
waiting for their turn.
“Relax! My friends,
My stomach is not your destiny."

I have had enough of them.

The little devil on my nose
is hovering out to the next door-
“It’s Chole today”. He whispered.
Chole??!!
I slump lower into my chair
and look up to the boardroom
ceiling looking for God.
“I love your timing Buddy!,
But have mercy on the rats”.

The guy now is talking
about some new product
he claims to have designed.
And I see a fleet of Choles
sneaking from under the door.
Choles, with little white wings,
are fluttering around me
in a beautiful symphony.
They look blue in the projector light.
“They took ballet lessons”, says my devil.
Did they just wink at me??!

The biscuits are now insecure;
They are moving closer to me
claiming their right of first refusal
to enter my mouth
“You don’t have any rights,
You are Biscuits!!”
The empty tea-cup in the corner
is having a laugh.
Grr…Chinese!!

Now the rats are revolting.
I hear there’s been a mutiny-
The ex-captain is being
used for a canon ball.
The old loyalists are dead and
he is crying for help.
I hear they were preaching patience.

Markets improving, Biscuits crying,
Competition gaining, Chole flying,
Sales losing, Tea-cup laughing,
People quitting, Devil winking,
“Ms. J,…Ms. J,… Ms. J…”
"Yes,.. yes Mr. K?"
“What do you think?”
“I,…I think we should first consider the implications of blah blah blah……more blah blah blah…….zzzzzzz……”


--

Of food, wrong turns, and discoveries...

--

“Give me a motivation to get up.”

“Don’t start the day thinking like that.”

--That’s how the day started.


“This is one of those days we will look back to 5 years from now and wish we could have it just one more time.”

“(sigh)Yeah.”

--That’s how it ended.



And in between…


A sea-side breakfast; watermelon, eggs, and waffles with maple syrup.
A home-made lunch; Aloo-Mutter, Patta Gobhi, and steaming rice.
An awesome movie; French food, women, and more food.
A long ride southwards; an afternoon wind, October sun, and Sunday roads.
A traffic constable; some haggling, a small bribe, and a guilt-ridden gesture.
A holy shrine; peacock feathers, myriad mirrors, and a religious crowd.
A search for a banyan tree; a wrong turn, new roads, and a city discovered.
A park on reclaimed land; a winter sunset, crimson sea, and reflective silhouettes.
Another wrong turn; winding roads, narrow streets, and another discovery.
A holy tank; temple bells, gaggles of geese, and an urban-village life.
An orgasmic dinner; Vatana Vada, Biscuit-Bakhri, and finger-licking Khichdi.
A reluctant ride back; city lights, a full moon, and truck-driver songs.
And conversations all along.



Happy!



--