Just found I got published by Samyukta in 2018 (fourth time)

 https://samyuktajournal.in/poems-a-selection-6/?fbclid=IwAR0sDXF2bJCWhT7voNgzFvQ_2bIs2teDvER-MxDqyT4Imts-gYufBZXIPpg

I wrote a series of poems on Revolution

They got lost on FB

But these few got published in 2018 due to Bini Sajil. I found them only now or rather Reena found them for me. Thanks to her.

The first poem has some missing lines on Vincent Van Gogh

So I rewrote it.

The rest is okay.

STATUES AND PLACES OF WORSHIP

I have lived to see the Bamiyan Buddha blown apart

An Ambedkar wearing a garland of chappals

A Gandhi defaced

An Indira Gandhi’s bust attacked

A Lenin fall

I lived to see the mosque in Ayodhya, the Babri Masjid, get destroyed

Confederate statues get torn down in the US of A

Saw the twin towers there fall down

All this happened during my lifetime

I am not a Buddhist
Or an Ambedkarite, though I am pro Dalit and against jathi and varna discrimination
Or a Gandhian
Am anti-Indira Gandhi
Anti-Lenin
I am not a Muslim
Am anti-slavery, anti-racial discrimination and the Confederates

Anti- American imperialism, expansionism and interventionism
Anti-the political Right movements across the world
& I am no Hindu

I follow the ones free of all icons and idols
Jesus, Buddha, Kabir, Rumi, and all
I follow those in whom God or ideals live(d) in their hearts
I am freed by them of all icons and idols
My body is my only, though not holy, temple
Which statue will you tear down
Or place of worship destroy

To offend me, or of such a one?

I believe in the gospel of Vincent van Gogh

who became a minister and served the poor

and was turned away by his congregation
for being the second coming of Christ, so half-admiringly and half-mockingly named by Zola by hearsay from the miners of Brabante before he turned a painter?
Have you been Adidas and laughed at by the Tam Brahm writer
who could not take your mocking his clan
though he said he was an atheist
but made his son wear the twice-born symbol of the holy thread
even while considering your story sacrilege and crap?

Revolution, you are still in Kerala.
I left you behind, even Adidas
As I have something else to do.
Fate parted us but the fire still burns
In the hearth
Sets ablaze
At unexpected times
Even as the same fascist dogs bark together
All over the world
The same pack of hungry wolves run together
And I, lone wolf, alpha male, await the full moon
To howl and bay at it yes, yes, yes, yes, no, no, yes, yes

My teeth chattering again, this time in the loneliness of heat and cold
And hope it will melt the polar ice-caps.

Pandorathon 1,2,3 TSL Prompts given by Santosh Bakaya and a brief history of TSL and one more poem

 Pandorathon 3 Prompt 3 given by

Santosh Bakaya

on the TSL set of new prompts for this month and this one is for May 3

"I want to have vodka by the Volga

Ah, for this intoxicated fiesta"

Don't forget the gin, Ginny

And the martini

Let us top it off with tequila

The shot glass limed with salt, not honey

Bring rum and coke, if you want to

Your poison is your choice but toast you have to

Now let's jump in the Volga

Or would you prefer a boat, and to salsa?

Row your boat carefully

Oh, the moon is drunk on/with the water!

Sway your hips, don't fall over

End by trailing your fingers or lips in/on the river!

TSL's Pandorathon Prompt 2 May 2 given by

Santosh Bakaya

. Write twelve more lines to these two lines given. Poetry.

"Out of her wits she was shocked

When by all and sundry mocked"

When they should have stood by her side

And seen her as someone not to deride

He said he was in love

She thought he was quite the guv

One day he gave her a rose

Then clicked her as she struck a pose

Next day her pics were on insta

Photoshopped, showing her umm.. ah!

With a caption, uh, these days, these girls, hmmph!

Fucker, she had no idea, was such a chimp!

Though all pretended to believe her story

They, as usual, let him get away 'cleanly'.

TSL's Pandorathon 1 May 1

with

Santosh Bakaya

An obese mongoose called Rikki Tikki Tavi*

Who was not that famed one of old

Let a sleek svelte slimy slim slippery snake escape

And starved to death, I am told!

Now if only obsese (not Obi-wan Kenobe) Rikki Tikki Tavi

Had not opened her presumptuous mouth to yawn

Nag* would not have slipped out

From it, that voluminous, cavernous cavern

Leading to her starvation, and death!

What a repast was thus left behind

Of a slim sleek svelte slimy slippery snake!

Here my 'sad' snake story ends!

*Nag means snake.

*Rikki Tikki Tavi, the name, is taken from a Rudyard Kipling story.

Dear friends,

A little bit of history is in order. We started The Significant League (then Rejected Stuff) in 2013, I think. I was there and then Reena Prasad came along. We gave our first Reuel International Prize for excellence in literature and writing for the long poem Oh Hark! in the next year (2014) to Santosh Bakaya and then she joined us and became our main pillar. Anu/Anna Gabriel and my daughters gave silent support. Then we found wonderful supporters like Satbir Chadha, Sudarshan KCherry who is omnipresent, Lopa Banerjee, Gauri Dixit, Sunita Singh, Donnis Mathai, Vinitha Nair, Vijay Nair, Antara Nanda Mondal, George Korah, and all our members and readers. We brought out many anthologies like The Significant Anthology, The Significant League's Roseate Sonnets Anthology, Silhouette I & II And Other Short Stories featuring Eternal Links, a Hallowe'en Anthology, Igniting Key, Umbilical Chords, Muffled Moans, Darkness there but something more, - with the help of a 'thousand' other writers and many editors - these deserve a special separate thank you note as they include Michele Baron, Anna Gabriel, Firdaus Parvez, Reena Prasad, myself, Santosh Bakaya, Gauri Dixit, Sunita Singh, Vineetha Mekkoth, Himali Narang, Madan Gandhiji, Bhuvaneshwari Shivkumar - and also single collections and duets, and online anthologies, and we gave out Reuel International Prizes and Nissim International Prizes till last year for seven solid years now. We did NAPOWRIMO now for the sixth year from 2016, 17, 18, 19, 20, and now 2021. We have also done Nanowrimo thrice.

It was all because of you all - we thank again especially all the prompt givers this time and every time and participants.

And Congrats to all who completed and are completing! More fun is on the way. Stay tuned. All this was done with just a few people at the core who are mad about poetry, and love literature and writing passionately just for its own sake and for fun! I don't know about what others think but we think we have done a good job Many have wanted to see us go down or fold up but we go on

We have held book launches, award ceremonies with Authorpress's help, and Rubric's and in Atta Galatta and Urban Solace and literary meets online and offline and are always busy bees and so keep ourselves happy and engaged always collecting the pollen and honey of literature and we don't flash it but we did excellent work. We have given out hundreds of certificates and books as prizes as well as cash awards for poetry, prose, fiction, non-fiction, and literary criticism, all done away from the glare of useless media publicity. Basically, we tried to help new writers, improve mature ones in writing, make people take off (as from this place as a springboard) and achieve more and not get worked up about how others receive their works but work at being totally great in their writing to make their writing journey a smooth ride.

We also ran Pandorathon twice and started the third one today headed by Santosh who has also instituted a humour prize in her father's name.

Our groups now have 25000 to 30000 people in them. TSL admins and jury are all artists, writers, and award winners of renown nationally, and internationally, mostly.

From someone who was there throughout so far thanking everyone once again, namely me, Koshy AV

TSL is supported by Nissim Co. and Autism for Help Village Project Trust and Fasihi Magazine International and Coffee Table Romanticisms and vice versa and one of the causes we support is autism.

Religions bind (people together)

more than

the notion of nation or the humanizing of humanity

Religions also thus divide

(as humans want to belong and be irrational

and feel superior)

between their adherents and others of different faith

Demons are the ones that bind

Religions are demonic

Unbind people from these demons

of religion.

nation and humanity

caste race class gender and other kinds of idiocy

dangerous hateful tomfoolery

cast these demons out, and exorcise them

send them back to hell where they belong

and set the people free

to love everyone

who daily crosses their path

and every plant tree animal bird insect living being

as well as nature, the earth, and the universe

free to say no to these demons

10Amita Paul, Anna Maria Tvpm and 8 others

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Ampat Koshy

Religions bind (people together)

more than

the notion of nation or the humanizing of humanity

Religions also thus divide

(as humans want to belong and be irrational

and feel superior)

between their adherents and others of different faith

Demons are the ones that bind

Religions are demonic

Unbind people from these demons

of religion.

nation and humanity

caste race class gender and other kinds of idiocy

dangerous hateful tomfoolery

cast these demons out, and exorcise them

send them back to hell where they belong

and set the people free

to love everyone

who daily crosses their path

and every plant tree animal bird insect living being

as well as nature, the earth, and the universe

free to say no to these demons

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