Who Am I ?

Tell me who am I , brother .

There is the me and then the other,

My alter ego won't surrender,

And this it is that makes me wonder.

How far will I have to travel ,

Before I can the plot unravel?

The secrets of the human mind,

Mysteries of all mankind.

I thought I knew who I was ,

Until I saw through gossamer and gauze,

Not easy to penetrate the shell,

And dive into a darkened well.

Consciously I can decided ,

The other to deride,

Subconsciously , I'm overpowered,

The other me always on guard.

A battle royal will then ensue ,

As I'm sure it does for you :

there is always two of us in one ,

So one can sun while other has fun

Go to Market and punt away,

Or bide at home and stay away:

The choice is always yours to make,

Don't believe the other, for he is a fake .

If you still don't get the hang of it,

You are not alone , not one bit:

Mother ,father, or grandfather,

Won't get you down this road much farther.

By Ashok Sawhny

kASHMIR- mY mOTHERLaNd

O kashmir, home of mine
Valley of Gods and land divine!!
What is tearing you apart ?
What rends thy sacred heart?

The lovely fabric that you wore
The jamas and shawls galore,
Woven by those of the land-
Then there was no foreign hand.

People lived in total peace
Holidaymakers came from Greece
Gulmarg was the paradise,
Heaven looking down through its eyes.

Shikaras were a fatal attraction
That was my only reactions;
I never wanted to leave the lake
Not for heaven ,nor for its sake .

Snow-clad mountains and their peaks
Kashmiri is what the local speaks,
No hindu, Muslim and any other
No pandita, mullahs-only bothers.

How can things take such ugly shape -
Mindless looting ,plunder and rape ?
In the Firfaus of the East,
What has turned Man to Beast ?

In religion meant for this -
Hatred, intolerance and no bliss ?
The fair name of the fairest land
Tainted now - and by whose hand ?

The villains were those who spit the nation
And walked away , leaving conflagration,
Their global empire reduced to a pretty state
Having practised the politics of creating hates

Let us ride above those machinations
Of powers limited by their own limitations.
Let not the leaders of today
Through artful design lose their way.

If history does itself repeat
Then let it show pre-'47:
It's not beyond human feat
Let us get back out Heaven !!!!

By Ashok Sawhny