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Who am I? To advise, to counsel, to intervene At best a few decades senior, a time-warped, With a few faded hairs A parent, a grand parent by secondary route. Would it be impudent? too impolite? To suggest to the youngster (adapaduchu) Go, see couple of films like "Mayor of Casterbridge", "Jude" Read Joyce's "Counterpoints" Watch "Inheritance" and dwell On the Queen's remarks on 'life' Or does it sound like a tall order? Who can peer into an immigrant's heart? Immigrant is a transplant, a misfit Stuck in a "trisanku" heaven Neither here, nor there, lost to both worlds Who can empathize with his Broken dreams, his struggles, his ambitions? A 'Namesake' film won't tell you, We need a young Sir Vidya To tell what is alienation How can you know, to be an alien? One can be an alien, only if one were a native once If one belonged somewhere Only, if one had a family, a motherland, a tradition, kin. How to tell the Telugu damsel (telugu adapaduchu)? How to talk to her? Speech is useless without listening, its counterpart. Youth is like a sharp, intense arrow Can pierce a heart, but can not melt it Nor can it mend. In a post-Huxley's brave new world, Who is a parent, who is a child, and what - filial relation? A child can be gotten in a test tube Or in the forsaken bazaars of famished desert land Can be bought, but not begotten. Who does not have hot tempered, prickly relatives? Is man gauged by temper alone? Nothing else counts? neither a heart nor 'unspoken mute affection'? You think you are unique - who does'nt think so? Yet, you'd like to have your parents, as copycats Like some other parents? What a (il)logic? Life is (must be) more than a job, more than a mere transient youth What does a tempest-like, burning youth comprehend? A Telugu culture of thousand years Or the complex tapestry of America, its races With its daily insidious insults, discrimination borne by minorities? These prattling young, did they ever hear (of love)? Of a Suraiya accepting a life of spinsterhood? Of a Feynman marrying an incurable bride? A Keats' romance with Fanny Brwane? "It is not important whom you love - To find someone who loves you - That is what you should hanker after!" That is a dialogue, an admonition in a Telugu movie. Sometimes, life is best understood By just listening, with infinite patience, with silent love. (Some random thoughts of a parent triggered by the 'I Wish' article in March 07 issue) |