Did we forget to raise the politicians

And left them to the chances

Of adversary, of unmet grievances

Or the giants are canopying

The struggling fresh blades of ideas

Or is it the survival of the old

Defying ageing at what may cost

Did we forget to raise politicians

For that’s no body’s dreams

Not a parent’s or a child’s

Of a teen’s or an influencer’s

Is it dirtier than the dirtiest job we have heard

Or a pit only for the fallen

And now we are lead by myopias

Of boundaries, of growth, of happiness

Voting led by bets and lotteries

And freebies and poachers

Which side has turned into what

For all the way it’s back to animal farm

To Maths, with Love

Dear kiddo, Maths is a language

And English is another

Just like the characters of Shakespeare

Your variables will never cease to wonder

Unlike His novels

Your variables live in a world of order

Two plus is two always four

Unless you enter into the realms of quantum blur

They skip, they hold hands with X and Pluses

They have differences and moments

Unlocking the biggest mysteries of the world

The Bermudas, the 2024 YR4, or the apocalypse

Numbers are the key to the questions

You have not yet asked for precise

They are the order in the chaos

For, even God is believed to play the dice

To all my kids and students who get scared from Maths, just because...

ਆਪਣੇ ਹੀ ਹੱਥ, ਅਪਣਾ ਹੀ ਭੈ

 ਸੌ ਵਾਰ ਦੁਹਾਇਆਂ ਦਿਤੀਆਂ 

ਤੇ ਸੌ ਵਾਰ ਅੰਬਰ ਵੱਲ ਤੱਕਿਆ 

ਕੰਡਿਆਂ ਵਰਗੀ  ਜਕੜੰਣ ਸੀ  

ਸੌ ਵਾਰ ਲੜੀਆਂ ਤੇ ਹਾਰਿਆਂ 

ਹਾਰ ਜਦੇ ਮੈਂ ਤਾਕੀ, ਅੱਖਾਂ ਵਿਚ ਅੱਖਾਂ ਡਾਲ 

ਆਪਣੇ ਹੀ ਡਰ ਨਾਲ ਰੂਬਰੂ 

ਅਪਣਾ ਅਮਲ 

ਤੇ ਅਪਣਾ ਹੀ ਅਖ਼ਤਿਆਰ 

ਹੁਣ ਫੁਰਸਤ ਨਾਲ ਚਲ ਬੈਠ ਕਰ 

ਇਕ ਇਕ ਭੈ ਦੀਆਂ ਗੱਲਾਂ 

ਮੁਕ ਜਾਣ ਦੇ ਇਸਦੀਆਂ ਉਡੀਕਾਂ 

ਆਪਣੇ ਹੀ ਹੱਥ ਫੜ ...ਕੰਡਿਆਂ ਕਰਾ ਪਾਰ 

Poison in me

 Must have been angry on some

Or on lost expectations, perhaps very invested

Or was it on the fears of losing a future

That I chose to poison my words

Must have been some disoriented horizons

Or some misplaced priorities, perhaps very delusional

Or my own inactions, and slipping opportunities

That I chose to poison my logic

Must have been something ...

Must have been something ...

That instead of taking a breath

And, breathing in all that I had

That I chose to poison the moment

Unteaching MIS

 After a long career gap, I am back and I am back teaching the same dreaded subject - Management Information Systems from Laudon. In the past two years - I have broken all career stereotypes and taught courses ranging from Generative AI to Ethics. Loved teaching each one of them because I believed in them, loved each bit of them...but MIS using Laudon, I wondered why it was more bitter than ever this time!

The sequence of events of my single day might reflect this ecky feeling!

And conspicuously, the day started with a wish to find a nice silk fabric in South Delhi without much wild goose hunting. Multiple friends had recommended me the "Nalli Saree Shop". I was reluctant - I had heard of its price range! And the time constraint was steep. So one night before, I visited Nalli online website and found I might just use it instead of wasting my time visiting the store. And then, the next morning - I don't know why - I just put "Nalli Sarees" on my map - and off I went. The map made me go merry-go-round of South Ex until I realized - Nalli was right in front of me from where I parked my car and started revolving around the market using my map thereafter. Nalli had shifted ...but never bothered to change their location online! Bravo!

In I went... and was instantly taken over by warm salespeople smiles and received a very reasonable understanding from them on which floor I needed to be on just a look at my bag full of sarees. Parking myself on the right floor for the right product, it took me a few light and friendly conversations on my saree color matching exercises - my fellow ladies discussing their to-buys or not-to-buys with anyone in a close radius - I getting clues from a young girl in how I could use those fabrics to create cheaper-than-fabindia Dupattas. They knotted my saree tassels for free - even though they were aware my sarees were not bought from Nalli. No issues at all - just smiles. Billings were all modern - but the Nalli's dos and don'ts on returns etc were all old and bold style written placards. They dictated the rules and customers never seem to complain! I ...smiling all wide there...just didn't want to take the lift back. In slow motion...I chose to tread the old mahogany stairs down each floor with all the Indianness and smiles and hullabaloo.

I realized it was such a happy experience only after I opened Laudon's first chapter at night and read about the smart shelves, presumably in trend among big retailers! And I wondered, why it was more bitter than ever...

Laudon has a habit of showing moonshot technologies view at the most typical of places! Smart shelves- equipped with wide angled low lying cameras - cashierless counters - smartphones guiding customers to the right aisles - object recognition to alert when did we park our cars in the parking - Gosh, you are killing me! Literally!  Of course, it is Generative AI written all over the "smart shelves" and that is why, my love for GenAI also ends at its Maths! 

I wonder if my students will ever know what they will be missing in the future! Wish I could unteach MIS to them after teaching it!

Sometimes...

 Sometimes, I close my eyes

Swirling myself in the air

To the song I sing in my hair

And throw my arms open to a thousand miles view…Sometimes

Sometimes, I unfetter the loved

redeem the feared

close my eyes to the whirls of life

and just open to the whole good sky....Sometimes

Sometimes, I wish to hold whats with me

and cherish whats within

grow what I am without

and just keep living in the woods...sometimes

आज़ादी

आज़ादी रिश्तों को तोड़ कब मिली 

आज़ादी सब छोड़ कब मिली 

आज़ादी तो मन की थी, जैसी मांगी वैसी  मिली 

आज़ादी पढ़ लिख कर कब मिली 

आज़ादी पैसों से इज़्ज़त से कब मिली 

आज़ादी तो हर पल में थी, जब चाही तब मिली 

हाथों में पकड़ यूँ जग बटोरा 

इधर उधर सब सुन यूँ बोझ बिठोरा 

आज़ादी जग बटोरने में कब मिली 

आज़ादी तो हलकी सी थी, बस सांस भर छोड़ा ___और मिली 

पर क्या आज़ादी से में खुश थी?

या पिंजरे में बंद, रिश्तों की ताल में बँध 

सोने की चमक से चुंध्याई, या आन बान से सिकुड़ी 

या फिर __खाली सी, कुछ हलकी सी, और कम सी 

आज़ादी ___

जब चाही तब मिली