The House in Pudukkottai That Woke Up at 5AM

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By 5AM, the house in Pudukkottai was already awake. The old tape recorder would be blaring Pithukuli Murugados songs somewhere inside, and above everything else you could hear the steady creak of the wooden swing moving back and forth. My athai paati — my grandfather’s sister — would often be on that swing, singing “Gopala Krishna Swamy Gokulathiley,” a soft Krishna lullaby . She had been widowed young and lived the rest of her life in that house, and to me she always felt like someone straight out of an RK Narayan story. For us, summer meant Pudukkottai and Gobichettipalayam. A couple of days after the final exam, we would take the overnight Trichy Express from Bangalore, then a bus onward, and by the next morning we would be inside that long, bustling house full of cousins, relatives, and noise. Athai Paati with the kids on the swing The house itself stretched from one street to another, a lon...
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Break the shackles...

As my friend exposed me to the world of Pink Floyd, there were a couple of songs that really blew me apart - Turning away and Learning to Fly. Obviously, I was inspired to come up with my own version if not in a big way! Thanks Pravin (he shares my name but with a different spelling)!

A world that has become rhetoric,
With farce so often justified,
No real ways to come out with the truth,
Hope you don’t follow the line!

Dropping words that are only mystified,
Neither enlightening nor commendable,
Living with hidden traits and an individuality,
Losing its value over a period of time!

A non-existent peace of mind; where to find,
A sense of belonging lost; you are in a coterie,
Live to appease, but how long?
When are you coming out of the deja-vu?

A fixed pattern that is close to your heart,
It does require a lot of will to change,
You are in to herald a bright future,
A future not to be wilted, witness the sheen!

A long way to go, to face the world,
It is so easy to live the rest blurred,
You just have to break the shackles,
Live to leave an everlasting legacy!

Comments

  1. AnonymousNovember 10, 2005 at 11:54 PM

    This classic is simply encouraging as it provides a good blend of the floydian psyche and not deviating from the original message as well.....full marks to praveen for presenting the psyche we have been following over generations and presenting an awe inspiring message to break the shackles and inspire life....

    Pravin

    " I've been mad for fucking years, absolutely years,
    been over the edge for yonks, been working me buns off for bands...

    I;vebeen mad for fucking years;pains washed away in desperate tears,

    I've been mad for fucking yrs,life ruled by forcing fears,

    I've been mad for fucking yrs,percieving life not as good of yours......

    I've always been mad, I know I've been mad,
    like the most of us...
    very hard to explain why you're mad,
    even if you're not mad... "

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousNovember 11, 2005 at 8:09 AM

    So you also did a Pink Floyd... Hmmmm

    By the way, I always wonder where you get a picture to accompany each of your blogposts ! Either you have the patience to search for the right one or... or.. you find a good pic and then write a blog to suit that one!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Praveen KrishnanNovember 11, 2005 at 10:15 AM

    Don't wonder too much Pratap! There is always time to do things when you want to do them! See there are a lot of things why i am here...To chat, to surf, to mail, to compose blogs, to hunt for pics and finally for studies!!!:-))))

    So don't be surprised with my efforts!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousNovember 12, 2005 at 12:46 PM

    AMEN!!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousNovember 14, 2005 at 8:00 AM

    welcome to the club saar!

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousJanuary 23, 2009 at 1:38 AM

    Creative writing and great comments

    ReplyDelete

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