Thursday, January 22, 2009

I am you


They say, there are 7 people in the world who look exactly like you. Even if there's one person like that, it can be a problem. And, if the one who shares your appearance is a hardcore criminal, things can't get worse. The old classic Malayalam movie 'Aparan', directed by the legendary Padmarajan deals with this subject. Its such a well-written film that the climax blows you away. This song which I wrote yesterday after watching this movie is inspired from it. The hero who is good at heart lands in big troubles because his look alike is a criminal. Forgive the lack of rhyming and utter disregard for rules of poetry. One thing is I don't know the rules of poetry. And my stock of rhyming words is almost exhausted. I just wanted to convey the idea.


*****I am you******
I am staring at me
I doubt if its me or him
Is it the mirror?
Or is it the real horror?

my shadow is scared
my shadow is confused
whom to follow?
whom to avoid?

I stare at the clear water
I shoot at the reflection
another bullet wasted
like a line drawn in water.

Sacrifices land me in jail,
murders shower him money like hail.
whats the use of a life well-lived,
when the believer dissolves into the criminal.

Fed up of this dual life
I seek the oneness of heaven
Alas! am breathing when am dead
As I read my name in the tombstone,
The life of a dead criminal
is left for me to hide and live.

PS-Will be out of station till next Wednesday.

your crusader Praveen

18 comments:

Devika Jyothi said...

Knowing 'self' is the beginning of Change, Praveen...

But unfortunately in these times, one is often lost in finding it..so many influences...Isolating one self, yet among the crowd...thats the challenge..the war within...

Peace comes when one is in control of that war...the war within..

Good poem, it is :)

wishes,
devika

Unknown said...

You got Aparan!? I want it. All the versions I got where utter crap full of grains.

Nikhil Menon said...

oh ya..But I dun rly aprove if der are indeed 7 look alikes of you in dis world..aparan was a classic.. :)

Nice lines BTW.. :)

Take care n hv loadsa fun..

Nikhil

Anonymous said...

aparan.. so thats the next movie thats gonna be downloaded...

and nice lines bro..

have fun in your absense from blogging

Unknown said...

Rhyming isn't a necessity at all. Tagore (correct me if I'm wrong about this) wrote mostly in free verse.

And, there're No Rules. :-D

I likes these lines:

"I stare at the clear water
I shoot at the reflection
another bullet wasted
like a line drawn in water."

Anonymous said...

They say, there are 7 people in the world who look exactly like you
I wonder if this is true..

btw, gr8 poetry :)

Usha Pisharody said...

Have seen this film a long long time ago.. but the climax eludes me! Must catch it again some time.

The verse is pretty good. And anyway you need not always rhyme when you versify :) Esp liked these lines :

I shoot at the reflection
another bullet wasted
like a line drawn in water.

vimmuuu said...

I loved Aparan. Infact, Im a hugggge Jayaram Fan !

"my shadow is scared
my shadow is confused
whom to follow?
whom to avoid?" --- awesome lines

Richa said...

applaude applaude :D

Kartz said...

Lookalikes, yeah... Had one back in school.

Nice words, mate! And well, poetry isn't just about rhyming! :)

Tc.

Peace.

Usha Pisharody said...

Praveen, tagged you!!

Daanish said...

very nice!

Rakesh Vanamali said...

Awesome lines there! Haven't watched Aparan... will do so at the next available opporunity!

Preeti said...

good one but way beyond the complete understanding of my pea brains :)

Tara said...

Quite liked it. :)

"am breathing when am dead"
Bravo! :)

Lookalikes? Never met mine. But have met people who have seen my 'lookalikes'. :)

Praveen said...

@devika
those were some gr8 words from u..good piece of advice for confused teenagers as well as oldies who r confused about their life..

@rockus
yeah..even the aparan i got is not crystal clear...but thankfully no grains

@multimenon
even i dont belive in that 7 aparan story:D

@chriz
thnks man:)

@akhil
thnks 4 calling me the modern tagore..ok ok..i made it up:D

@swats
even i wonder:D

@usha ji
rhyming..i always try..but sometimes to convey the idea i dont get rhyming words

@vimmu
who is not a fan of him:D

@richa
thnks thnks:D

@kartz
so were u a trouble to him or was it the othr way around?

@daanish
thanks

@rakesh
thnks..and do watch the movie

@preeti
god...I never thot there was anything hi fi in that poem:D

@tara
thnks:D

Kartz said...

Ah! :) It was fun...

Well, it was the staff that had trouble - though we were in different sections initially. In fact, of his aunt (a teacher in our school) mistook me for him... So, now you can get the picture. ;)

It was funny... We happened to act in Macbeth too. :D I was Duncan and he was Macbeth. Without the props, it would have been double trouble. ;)

Of course, our voices differed... And I was taller. But it was fun... Will show you the pics sometime. Are you on facebook/orkut?

Trust all is well.

Peace.

Nandana R Pillai said...

Look alikes...even I'm nt sure if its a fact or a fake.Donno if u remember, bt I've posted abt one of my experiences related to this "look-alike confusion" in infyblogs.Have re-posted it here anyways.