Saturday, March 17, 2007

Nothing comes

This room has plastered white walls,
books, machines, pencils and erasers,
light from the windows, even darkness in the corners.

In the morning, the sun comes in an orange-yellow,
which is different from the yellow-orange of evening.

Sometimes, two pigeons come looking for food,
phone calls come, dhobi comes with the clean clothes.

Why don't you come in these lonely evenings?
Sometimes, I wish you too had come by mistake.
Don't you know, when nothing comes, what comes is pain?

===================================

Yes, nothing comes. Iron Maiden is going to Bangalore. And we are sucking thumb in this village of ours.

In our college days, we had grown up listening to IM, and cheering Chintu, Jose, Chandhok, RR Singh and Srini to their renditions of Where Eagles Dare, and Hallowed Be Thy Name. IM was different from the other noise-generating, body-building type heavy metal bands (e.g. Megadeth; British heavy metal bands are anyday better than American ones). Their lyrics was engrossing - Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Icarus from Greek Mythology, Fear of the Dark and Wasted Years - and they had those mesmerizing twin lead guitar riffs by Dave Murray and Adrian Smith.

Here's a video of Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. Do listen to the melody of the twin lead at 2:35 and 2:07.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I luv Iron Maiden!

Nautilus said...

I was just passing by.Usually I'd have left without posting a comment, but these two lines caught my eye...

"In the morning, the sun comes in an orange-yellow,
which is different from the yellow-orange of evening"

What a simplified yet vivid description!

Bangalore always gets to host these mega concerts! I know its irritating...I was really mad when Roger Waters went to Blr and I couldn't!!! Assuming you are in Kolkata, I'll say they don't come to the "village" thanks to the sentinels of "apasanskriti"!

Holden Caulfield said...

Thanks, Nautilus.

I swear I didn't look up VIBGYOR, and the refraction of light. :)

apasanskriti-r byapare amar motamot ar ekhane likhlam na. byaparta jotil. ei jah, banglay likhte kirokom lojja lojja lagchhe.

Anonymous said...

Dropped in again .

Liked the poem - but maybe the language is a little too idiomatic ? ... It seems a little forced in English - maybe it would work better in the language it was conceived in / the language you think in - Bengali , right ?

And of course , being penis-free , no tears shed about missing the IM concert .

Maybe Sujatha

Holden Caulfield said...

I cannot locate the idiom, but once a word is spoken/ written, it is perhaps no more the writer's.

Here's another.

Anonymous said...

its becoming a habit , this initially random dropping in - but as always , well rewarded - much thanks for the link to the poem . enjoyed it immensely .
not that you are going to be around to read this comment , but anyways ...

Maybe Sujatha

Anonymous said...

bhaloi cholche guru...
Maiden dekhe niyechi...life boney geche!