What Once Stood There

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There comes a day when you return to your childhood neighborhood and realize that you're the only one who still remembers what once stood there. For me, that neighborhood is Malleswaram. When people think of Malleswaram, they think of CTR, Janata Hotel (it's common in India to call a restaurant a hotel), Veena Stores, Sai Shakti and the other iconic eateries that continue to thrive. I think of the ones that quietly disappeared. Button Idlis from New Krishna Bhavan. Bangalore is famous for its darshinis—quick, self-service eateries where people stop for a bite before getting on with their day. When we were living in Kasturi Dhama Apartments, I would invariably find myself at Sahyadri, located near the 8th Cross bus stop on Margosa Road. The fluffy idlis, the steaming hot sambar with just a hint of jaggery, the freshly made coconut chutney, and the potato palya that accompanied the dosas had a way of pulling in anyone walking past. My favorites were always the idl...

Back and Forth

Whistling back to the glorious days of yesteryears,
I saw myself standing at the threshold of yore,
But, Why? The past just comes to the fore,
I wondered, wondered and wondered alone!

Standing at the corner of every street,
Waiting all along for every other treat,
Absolutely no reasons to celebrate,
But, we always found one not to retreat!

Life is a profound mystery,
You were worried, "When can I go out?",
Today, questions take a new turn
You are worried, "Am I going out?"

As your gaze falls on the pixels in front,
Thoughts flood and fill you in doubt,
The program runs out of memory,
Enough to bring old memories back!

You were waiting for this,
Total recall of the past,
Endless events appear and reappear,
You wish it just would disappear!

You have solved the problem,
Your program no longer runs out of memory,
Back to star gazing, now a new program,
Thoughts churn out again in a flurry,
Frantically hoping to clear the memory,
The pixels fade, you have turned it off!

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