Madison

A sonnet on Madison and the UW!

A visual treat are her colorful Spring flowers,
While in the Fall, the leaves take their place.
Apart from the odd mid-summer cold showers,
We enjoyed all her seasons' beauty and grace!

Yeah, a polar vortex was such a small price,
For all the joy that Mad-town did bestow.
Never before did we skate so well on ice,
And throw in jest so many balls of snow!

As a course for fun, we learned social dance,
Yet, for all the finals, we still had to cram!
Who knows, they will come in handy, perchance,
But boy, are we glad we'll not take another exam!

Relishing the world's cuisines on State street,
And looking in awe at the majestic Capitol dome.
In spite of its small size, it felt so complete,
If only for a few years, we called this town home.

We swam in the waters of her gorgeous lakes,
And cheered with thousands at a homecoming game.
Admist all the turns that our journey takes,
"We are Badgers!", we will proudly proclaim!

An Ode to Science

An ode, nay, a paean, to all of science and technology. Enjoy! :)

We see you in the beautiful helix inside our genes,
And in a black hole that bends distant star light.
You are the changing bits in our computing machines,
The object of our wonder every time we board a flight.

The eternal engine of our enigmatic existence,
You have revolutionized our entire civilization.
Defeating all forms of irrational resistance,
Your advance will continue without any cessation.

No nation on Earth can claim you as theirs alone,
For you are a unifying language for all nations.
Little by little, all of the seeds you have sown,
Have blossomed into deeply helpful applications.

Alas, you have often been misused due to our flaws,
Leading to tragedies on an unimaginable scale.
Still, the pursuit of you has never stopped because,
In the end, your righteous use does always prevail.

The contrast of your rigor with the arts is stark,
Yet, at the very frontiers, you seem to converge.
Indeed, what powers both is a bright creative spark,
From which the best of both science and art emerge.

Yes, the most incomprehensible thing about reality,
Is that so much is comprehensible, thanks to you.
Even our finite and fragile minds grasp your beauty,
Though like the vast cosmos, you are infinite too.

Discovering a timeless objective truth will leave us profoundly awed,
For this experience enabled by science is like seeing the face of God!

Impermanence

A sonnet in Tamil on the doomed quest for permanence:

Un nizhalai pidikka odinaal,
Mudivillaadha oru otram.
Nilaiyaai nindru naadinaal,
Puriyum adharkillai thotram.

Maatram undaakkum kalagam,
Maaraamal iruppadhu edhu.
Maarikkonde irukkum ulagam,
Sollum mattram mattrume adhu.

Edhayum edhirpadhoru gunam,
Aanal thevai adharkum mudivu.
Etru kolla vendum manam,
Vegamaai vandhu vidum vidivu.

Interpretation in English:

After your shadow, if you dart,
It will have no conclusion.
Standing still, pick it apart,
Its form is but an illusion.

Change does muddle the mind,
For nothing remains forever.
A changing world does remind,
Change alone changes never.

'Tis our nature to resist,
But it cannot go on and on.
For acceptance is the gist,
As it ushers in a new dawn.

Potato

A sonnet on my favorite vegetable! Enjoy! :)

With water flowing from the kitchen tap,
I wash my potato nice and clean.
Out of my daydreaming I do snap,
For the cold splash makes me careen.

Peeling it is indeed a chore,
I wish it would happen on its own.
Ugh, I consider it such a bore,
That I play some music on my phone.

Eventually, I reach for the knife,
For it was time to chop the spud.
Distracted by the vagaries of life,
I let it slip and fall with a thud.

Resting mere inches from my toes,
I see the sharp and shiny blade.
Relieved it did not add to my woes,
I carry on except being more staid.

Drizzling some oil on the pan,
I prepare it for a good saute.
It gets cooked as per my plan,
Browning in the heat, as they lay.

Mixed with herbs, salt, and spice,
My dish is ready for me to taste.
Mmmm, my senses it did entice,
Not a speck of it will go waste!

As I gorge on it, thoughts of the past and future fade away.
For this humble potato on my plate has indeed made my day! :)

Happy Pongal!

Alli podu sottrai mun paanaiyile,
Pongi varum paar siru velaiyile.
Suvai migundha karumbai kadippom,
Kadhiravanukku kaanikkai koduppom.

Unnadhamaai uzhaikkum uzhavanai potrungal,
Thamizhar thirunaal idhu endru koorungal!
Thai pirandhaal vazhi pirakkum paarungal,
Pongalo pongal endru koori magizhungal!

Iniya Pongal Nalvaazhtthukkal!


Add fists of rice into the earthen pot,
And watch it overflow soon as it gets hot.
Let us bite into the delicious sugarcane,
And pay tributes to the mighty Sun again.

Praise the farmer that works so hard,
'Tis the day of all Tamils, no holds barred!
For the hopeful month of thai is here,
Wish a Happy Pongal and spread the cheer!

Happy Pongal! :)

Happy New Year!

Look back at the year that was,
Let go of what drags you down.
Forgive everyone fully because,
To smile is better than to frown.

Yes, this is the time of the year,
To throw all the baggage so old.
Get ready for the next frontier,
And amidst all troubles, be bold!

'Tis a chance for passion to renew,
For lost bonds of love to revive.
To write your own life story anew,
Not just to survive, but to thrive!

May your sorrows see their end, and your joys increase.
I wish for one and all, a new year filled with peace!

Happy New Year! :)

A Sonnet on Empathy

Asserting a woman is less than a man,
You force her into a marriage so rushed.
Put yourself in her shoes, if you can,
To see how it is for dreams to be crushed.

Steeped in ignorance rooted in the past,
Out of your temple, you keep the Dalit.
Imagine if you too were born an outcaste,
What will such an act do to your spirit?

Unwilling to accept love in all its glory,
You denounce a man that marries another.
What if being gay was part of your story,
Live in denial or die, would you rather?

With an undeserved air of superiority,
You dismiss all those with darker skin.
Wake up and see that it is not charity,
To treat all humans like kith and kin!

To condense all these stories into a line that is pithy,
What makes us human is to have for each other empathy.