The Drought

Droughts are a frequent occurrence

For the masses they bring sufferance

Only four species benefit from the drought

The Sarpanch, the Leather Tanner, the Dog and the Vulture.

One sunny day, I heard someone say

"Prosperous days are here to stay"

The Sarpanch nodded his approval

The Leather Tanner wore a smile so cruel.

I'm a Gemini curious by nature

I had to know the conversations' matter

I sighed heavily, sat down besides them

Seeing Sarpanch's hand, I said, "Those are beautiful gems"

"One from each drought I've earned" he said.

His face was alight with pride instead of dread

"Each year the village gets funds for drought relief

I keep major portions for myself, as I am the chief"

The Tanner boasted, "I too have earned a fortune!"

"From the dead cows leather?" I asked in tune.

He replied, "I've tanned 40 cows, you know;

With a sharp knife from head to toe."

In their eyes I saw a drought of emotions

I realized how wrong were my humanitarian notions.

Drought represents not only climatic condition

It also exhibits human nature's variation.

I walked ahead, instead of using my car,

I met a Dog and a Vulture not very far.

The Dog barked, "The prosperous days are here to stay."

Giving it company was the vulture—the bird of prey.

Suddenly, I dawned upon the similarity

Between the animal and human personality.

Dogs and Vultures follow animal culture

We humans are worse we exploit each other.

Droughts are a frequent occurrence

For the masses they bring sufferance

Only four species benefit from the drought

The Sarpanch, the Leather Tanner, the Dog and the Vulture.

Blast from the past: I wrote this one ten years ago in 2000.

A cup of coffee and an evening stroll

Unfinished never-ending friendly lively talks

Discussing books music films over long walks

Eternity was never our goal

We were content with a cup of coffee and an evening stroll

We had our fair share of horrible mistakes

Not to forget a couple of massive heartaches

Fortunately immortality was never our goal

We were content with a cup of coffee and an evening stroll

The marriage of two souls

Walking on burning red coals

Well that was never our goal

All we wanted was just a cup of coffee and an evening stroll

This is an attempt to write a poetic fiction in 100 words. A poetic drabble if you will. :-)

Ranneh Falls and Panna

I have no plans of converting Priyanka's Point into a photoblog. But there are many pieces of writings, I believe, these photos can inspire. Here are some photos from my recent vacation to Ranneh Falls and Panna.

I had gone to Khajuraho, for an official conference with my colleagues. You can see the Khajuraho photos here.

Ranneh Falls is a 1 hour drive from Khajuraho.

Below is a volcanic crater, which now is the abode for alligators. Rain water falls as waterfalls on these hard lava rocks. When we reached this spot, there was an eerie silence engulfing this place.


After Khajuraho , my friends and I set out to Panna. We stayed at Ken River Lodge. The USP of this place was the Tree Top restaurant and the huts where we stayed.



As the sun set, the lights on the pathways were lit.
After a long-stretched antakshari session and dinner, we counted the lamps back to our huts and had a peaceful sleep of merely 4 hours.We, a bunch of city slickers, woke up at an un-earthly hour and this is how the sky looked with the moon still high at 4 o' clock in the morning.

In the next hour, the sky changed its colour several times, exhibiting its true beauty for us.Our gang of girls, boarded a safari jeep and set out for Panna Tiger Reserve, in the hope of spotting a tiger.
The tiger it seems was scared of us and decided to hide, but some other animals were more friendly. The Panchatantra gang came out in full force to greet us. There were sambhars, langoors and peacock.



and a fly-past by the white cranes over the river Ken.


The most interesting find, however, was this open toilet and as a group of editors, the sign board was what got us even more excited than a sure-shot chance of spotting a tiger would have.


After a fun 4 hour drive in the open safari jeep, we returned to the Ken River Lodge. The blackened tree stubs that were lined on the pathway caught my fancy.

After a delicious lunch, some members of the group decided to take a nap and some of my friends decided to sit by the river, near the boat.
I on the other hand, enjoyed the cool breeze, a book, old Hindi film songs and let my feet up at the Tree Top restaurant.