Where do you find ‘em all?

From the stranger to the strangest
Of all cool places in this planet
A little club in town I know
Where all sorts of people do come and go
But I tell you dear reader
This clubs quite a small wonder
It ain’t filled with rich arts or décor
But if you visit, you’ll ponder:

“From the architects to alchemist
And the teachers to scientists,
From travel agents to state agents
And the lawyers to retired sportsmen,
From young aspirants to old veterans
All engaged in life’s business,
From old professors to laureates
And dramatists to great poets.

From writers and academicians
Till pilots and cosmeticians,
From photographers and cine-artists
To some engaged in melodramatics,
From the singers and composers
To bankers and brokers,
From the conspirators and gamblers
To politicians and even their ministers!

From doctors and engineers
To presidents of national team players,
From policemen and army men
To right honorable civil servants,
From democrats and retired bureaucrats
To young emerging technocrats,
From those loyal to the King and crown
To those singing a very different tune.

From the prep school principal
And even your next door neighbour,
From hunters and poachers
To lousy guitar strummers,
From managers and directors
To entrepreneurs and investors,
From airplane mechanics and hoteliers
To bootleggers, dealers, even retailers!

From shopkeepers and shoplifters
To successful party caterers,
From biologists and physicists
To your local drug store chemist,
From artisans and craftsmen
To copyrighters and draftsmen,
From the established market executives
To managers of joint stock companies.

From economists and environmentalists
To big factory and plant industrialists,
From the unemployed, employer and employees
To man power agents of labour traffic.
From icons and models of national television
To the younger crowd of future generation.
From pension holders and retirees
To youthful business optimist…”

“…From the tall and the stout
To the fat and the round,
From the fair to the frail
To men turning old and gray,
From young men to bald men
To fun loving old men,
From those single and lucky in life
To those men with plenty wives.

From the quick wit to the nit wit
To energetic dudes doin’ their own bit,
From some of the best snooker players
To dudes that are obsessed gamblers,
From the movie-goers and music lovers
To untuned cacophony singers,
From the yellers to screamers
To some quiet unnoticed introverts.

From those with chin full of big grin
To those faces long with chagrin,
From troublesome rabble-rousers
To those that are peace makers,
From the beer lovers and vodka drinkers
To sober gentlemanly customers,
From those frequenting with thick glasses
To those thin men so rarely sighted.

From men who come in holidays
To those relaxing during business days,
From the widowers and bachelors
To Romeo & Juliet inspired lovers,
From football fans to sport players
To those that just love to sit and chatter,
From big men, fat men & round men
To healthy robust young men.

From the outdoor garden dwellers
To indoor group of table occupiers,
From the inebriated drunks
To some men simple, lively and fun,
From the quarrelsome and egotists
To some intolerable hypocrites,
From the bottle-a-day beer drinker
To ten or more whiskies a consumer.

From those that love to get stoned
To those that have frequent broken bones,
From the workaholics and established alcoholics
To gluttons and opportunists,
From those that never care to share
To those that always has more to spare,
From those lucky in life with at least two wives
To happily married, two kids and a single wife.

From fire-starters and joke crackers
To some sad unlucky broken-hearted bastard,
From wise asses and nut cases
To rough and uncouth young faces,
From the drunk and high extremists
To those stoned mellow fanatics,
And some guys always repeat the same antics
Until we all are bored of the usual tactics.

From the early birds to night hunters
To a bunch of strange visitors,
From those that greet and toast your mugs
To those that greet with huge bear hugs,
From those that just ne’er get along
To those who are having a singular fun,
From a group of great friends
To a bunch of strange young men,
From drunk old dudes that creep and crawl
To good watchers and well wishers…”

And I could go on and on and on...
Oh! Writing this is so much fun!
About this little club I know
Where all sorts of people do come and go
Now that you know dear reader
Isn’t this club a small wonder?
So if someone asks – “Where do you find ‘em all?”
Just laugh and say – “Side Spin and Bubbles!”

Dedicated to fond and cherished memories of the time I spent in Side Spin & Bubbles.

The Guns Have Fallen Silent

Dedicated to our motherland; a heaven on earth – Nepal

A Tribute to James Shirley 1596-1666 - “Death the Leveller” (In Quotes and Italics)

The guns have fallen silent

Now speak we not of war,

Or years of blood and turmoil

Nor our brotherhood from scars.

Rise must we in great unity

To dwell above the times;

And peace be it that we protect

And defend we must with our lives.

The ranks and files of Red and Green

are but closed chapters of history.

Aren’t we all but one family?

And unite can’t we for our glory?

The King and the Crown might’ve lost its might

But what faith do we hold on our leaders?

It is they that we must put to the test of times

Or history will ne’er forgive us.

“The glories of our blood and state

Are shadows, not substantial things;

There is no armour against fate;

Death lays his icy hands on kings:

Sceptre and crown

Must tumble down,

And in the dust be equal made

With the poor crooked scythe and spade.”

The guns have fallen silent

Of great battles that we fought

And  tales of valor, of loss or victory

Are but a shameful shadowy past.

Decades they raped and plundered fields

Of our very homes indeed;

Not right nor wrong do I see in them

Forgive all, I pray to thee.

The sands of time have been proven right

That fate can be a twist.

Victory lies in every national’s right
To live, to sleep and dream in peace.

Forget we must of our gory past

And lives that we must now lead

May it be so overflowing with love

And ne'er a crimson sky we'll see.

“Some men with swords may reap the field,

And plant fresh laurels where they kill;

But their strong nerves at last must yield—

They tame but one another still:

Early or late

They stoop to fate,

And must give up their murmuring breath

When they, pale captives, creep to death."

The guns have fallen silent

Our nations blessed with a new hope

To fill us with love and compassion

Not of hatred, powder and smoke.

Peace we yearned and peace it is

Let us all grow, nurture and flourish

And bring new harvests of success

sowing seeds of good deeds.

Leaders! I ask ye to heed us now

Not trumpet your own glory.

And do the right and needful things

And paint us a better story.

The ravaged times shall we put behind

Not wanting we be found in faith

If the nation has spoken

God bless us all and so be it.

“The garlands wither on your brow:

Then boast no more of your mighty deeds;

Upon Death’s purple altar now

See where the victor-victim bleeds.

Your heads must come

To the cold tomb:

Only the actions of the just

Smell sweet, and blossom in their dust."