Every One of Us
The punchiest voice of democracy,
Who would have guessed,
Could rise from mushrooms Enoki…
Potatoes more likely for they are fatly rich,
Aubergines because they stand out in ermine,
Even peas coz they pack together sturdily…
But how each behave in an oppressive cooker
Would demonstrate differently.
Potatoes will turn inside out their bellies,
Aubergines shall crumble soupily,
Peas shall offer cores shedding skins
But planted together at base the Enoki
Will retain individual stipes and head caps…
And collectively mock the oppressor
By staying defiantly crunchy.
– Bolbul
Lachrymose Pose
Long separated cousin brothers
Melt into tears
Recalling familial lores
Spanning Asian borders…
- Bolbul
Some Chicken
Forcing wonderment, a tender bite melts upon
Taste samplers stirred with the question…
What chicken can possess such magnificence?
Angelically white they surmise,
Every muscle fiber softly aligned,
Clucking to harmoniums surprise
And juices sweet as Basmati rice…
The mind swoons…
But the answer is oyster mushrooms.
– Bolbul
Voice of Choice
Come eleven pm and in the back garden
I wonder what to pour for a drink.
Darkness and quiet surround…
Astoundingly, the cup says ‘Pick me up!’
Hoisting it to the lip, I sip…
To discover ’emptiness’ fills to a tee… my being and moments.
– Bolbul
Flashing Pearls
Cold mornings when I was ten,
Began in a blue-pink flowered garden
Where catching wrists, tendrils beckoned…
With the daily stash of grins.
Bolbul
Mount Sweet
Headlong and deep I went
From top to the substrate
Of Dream-istan’s sugar mountain…
Last night on yoghurt white bed…
Scooping big as morning rubbed the forehead.
– Bolbul
One on One
Mere fruitiness you transcend,
Painting the pith and allure of boldness.
To me Dear Dragon,
You’re a role model and character icon.
– Bolbul
Heavenly Tongue
In this morning’s sea of golden,
Astride swirls intense and sweetly orange,
Of contained yet leaping circumference
I surmised that marmalade originated on the Sun.
– Bolbul
Trick
My mind turned garden green
Having experienced rejuvenation this morning…
The stimulants weren’t tea leaves, I submit
But the wits… that put’em in a stick.
– Bolbul
हिलीमिली
बड़ी किस्मतवाली घड़ी थी
जब वो मुझ पर पिघली…
मृदु उद्गार बना दीं बातें गहरी,
लबों पर भी छोड़ीं यादें सतही।
– बोलबुल
Advent
In a moment godsent
I saw her heart melt
For me… slowly but completely
Such that I sing of that overwhelming memory.
– Bolbul
Winter Me-a
Sweetness shelled, in puris filled…
Grab handedly filched and spilled
As mummy fried and plated
The delicacies with tomato red chutney…
Made my holidays gleeful and warm wintry !
- Bolbul
Lotus Seat
Standing on polished white rocks,
I welcome friends from green seas across
To the land of Nirvana or Bihari khana
Where the enlightened feed on lotus seeds.
- Bolbul
Plot Palate
A girl blows in like village breeze,
Her speech tart and smile sweet…
Makes the youth feel he’s been
Brushed by a bough of pomegranate.
The lad is flush faced,
Earnest and humble as if
Onions filled…
He exudes a whiff
Hot and uthappa fresh.
Close as they creep,
I imagine a colored script –
To serve on viewers plate,
Knowing their appetites would relate.
– Bolbul
I watch the summer’s goon afternoon chased by a hail of raindrops… an egg trio play the pan and beer smack glass-lips to croon. Welcoming the change of tune, I clap and snap.
Gifter Drifters
Round and round afternoon clouds curl
Mimicking Malabar paratha twirls,
To shower their juiciness coastal
Into my glass… cerebral.
- Bolbul
खिलाड़ी
कमीज़ उतार पानी का एक मोती
आज खेला कड़ी धूप से कबड्डी –
चढ़ हरे भरे अखाड़ा-ए-कैलेडियम,
बीच मेरी बाल्कनी के शानदार स्टेडियम ।
हारेगा बे, सोचा मैंने…
लेकिन खींच दी उसने
अपने प्रतिद्वंदी की धोती !
भागी धूप, अखाड़ा हुआ मोती मोती ।
– बोलबुल
Khana Banana
No cooking time… nah,
Desperately I boil green bananas,
Smother them in mole sauce
And let taste buds laugh !!
– Bolbul
Pushed Up High
Push-upping again after rains…
Crumply noodles turn breath and limbs,
Yet I, suitably appetized,
Reach an energetic high…
Riding golden orbs sliced !
– Bolbul
Bunny Man
Microwaved carrots for breakfast…
I, now a rabbit spry,
Move about fast !
– Bolbul
Through the Skin
Los dos languid
Begin with intermelting steps
Of tangoists…
Turning the stage liquid.
Passion obliterating limits,
Makes twirling so exothermic,
Bubbles join the cast…
Make tunes to ever last.
‘Stop’, calls the choreographer.
‘Your love core molten
Must now be stably hardened.
Let me… the innerscape open !’
– Bolbul
Pasturage
Making mind and body whole,
Juicy spinach it was… in a bowl,
Heaping spoons of which
With broken wheat reminiscent of earth
And yoghurt with the purity of soul…
I had and sang with a joy old.
Being simple is worship… truth be told.
– Bolbul
Pain to Attain
Good for a lucky evening’s snack,
Adds continental style to lip smack,
Renders harmless insipidness’s attack,
Makes the heart a happy shack.
- Bolbul
Pain au Chocolat or
Chocolate Bread
Bolbul's Patch 