Power Factor

The name plate sits pretty, looking polished and neat

Shows off the dormant power that’s lying beneath

It needs to be taken for a spin, dragged through some murk

It needs a bit of excitation to prepare it for work

At the flick of the switch, the current rises high

Pent-up inertia needs a fitting reply

Heavy-duty equipment, freshly commissioned

Spins into life, hums into rotation

More noise, less work comes from unloaded spinning poles

Time to put the wheel on the shaft, get things to roll

Action for reaction spreads through the circuitry

Intensifies with addition of more machinery

Needs to be controlled by some additional accessory

Need a greater overlap, need a better cosine

Need to stop the wave from lagging behind

The wave must stay in step, the electrons must drag their feet

To avoid a slip-up and release of excess heat, a sign of impending defeat

Need to put the fear of disaster, of swaying wildly off the mark

Of someone who’ll cut off the power and extinguish the arc

Of new installation being preferred over excessive operating cost

Of someone who won’t hesitate to replace if the efficiency is lost

Battle for bandwidth

Introducing to reality

To what the brightest minds aspired

Working wonders without wires

Waves carry coded data at the speed of light

What is now commonplace was once a display of might

From a modest start the burgeoning e-balloon burst

More people, more gigabytes, more megahertz

Renovating and innovating to keep up with the pace

Fighting a real battle for precious virtual space

It goes on becoming harder to just describe the ease

As asteroids of factoids strike you at 4G

Everything the world shares is now in your pocket

There’s a newly gained importance of proximity to a socket

A thousand answers to every question at the drop of a hat

A thousand pings every hour from the never-ending chats

Meet the new-day messenger: short-lived, bloodless, heartless

A fragile plastic package of portable, programmable smartness

Worlds get connected with just a touch on a screen

But it’s the power of the human touch that’s turning man into machine

Reflection of the Moon

Far away from the city lights

In the darkness obscured by their artificial mist

Dominating most of the starlit nights

Gleams the ever-changing lunar disc

Reflected light casts its image

On the dark, still waters of the silent lake

Dark, menacing clouds hover in the sky

The winds wild, howling, astray

The brief staccato grows into a roar

A downpour develops from a fine spray

The flashes of reflection are restored and distorted

By the ripples perturbing the silent lake

Waning every passing day

The lunar disc vanishes for a night

The stars, despite all their might

Apparently do little with their rays

A day later, the lunar crescent emerges

Painting the blank canvas of the silent lake

Occasional tremors trouble its surface

But they are kept out of sight

In a show of power at the late hours

It invokes the mammoth ocean’s might

But still casts the same reflection

On the dark, still waters of the silent lake

Food & Beverage Company launches new product

#fake

(just in case... )

Foodd InKhaorporated, a startup in the food & beverages industry, is looking to make its presence felt in the market with the launch of a unique new product. After the success seen by several lemon-based products in the Indian market, the organization has decided to cash in on lemons.

Bik-ram Bijneswala, the head of business development, said about the product, “We have seen everything from toothpastes to shaving creams to detergents, dish wash soaps and even toilet cleaners which claim to be powerful because they contain the power of real lemons. We decided to explore a similar avenue, and came up with our new product – lemons with real lemon power. Others who sell lemons only say that they are selling lemons, but nobody ever mentions that they actually have the power of lemons. So, because of their questionable authenticity, we believe that we have the upper hand in the market. Life has been giving me lemons for very long, but now I finally know how to make the best of it”, explained the MBA from Thomas, Digvijay and Hari Institute of Management and Research.

However, some uncertainties in the minds of people have come to the fore, and these may hinder Foodd Ink.’s business plan. A young Bollywood actress, considered to be more age-appropriate than Rahul Gandhi as the face of Indian youth, has been particularly vocal in her concern about what this product offers to the common man. “All the focus will now be on the nimbu. Because of this, the aam, and as a result the aam insaan, will be neglected. This is surely a sign indicating a bad future for the common public”, she said.

Complex equations

Products made by questionable skill,

Rewarded with toxic sugar-coated pills

Terracotta engineered to crumble

In the fight for survival in the digitized jungle

The conductor comes nowhere close to the notes of the song

As he directs a million confident voices to sing along

Multitudes of malleable, gullible minds

Presented through partly closed blinds

Imagery that may set some thinking wheels in motion

But subjects them to years of pointless devotion

Boundaries to questions, an apparent solution

Concealment to prevent a testing revolution

Building up to the grand finish, the ultimate illusion

Vanity soon vanishing into excessive dilution

No finish but just a new start, just one step up the stair

To a vantage point into a world redefining what’s fair

On the graph, more points plotted in the area of trepidation

Excess data hinders the way to a feasible solution

The influx continues of swarms presenting lofty, overvalued numbers

They know they’re living in a lucid dream, but continue to slumber

The grindstones loaded with inertia, moving apart, continue to turn

Waiting for someone to learn what to learn and how to learn

Pantographs

Dreaming big, they all move in, much of their comfort shunned

As they join the crowds in the city that’s always on the run

In a life defined by just two directions in which one may roam

Many optimistic millions have made this place their home

The pantograph rises and touches the power line above the rake

Breathing life into the lifeline of the city perceived to be forever awake

In the city of money, where excess has struck like a drought

They act as the leveler between the haves and the haves-not

Ageing, plagued by dust and rust and a lack of breathing space

They rush through the urban wasteland, exuding an aura of grace

Nature sends signs that humans really do need to learn

But unperturbed by everything else, the wheels continue to turn

Whether it’s about the journey is just a matter of perception,

But this mundane one is all about reaching the destination

A moment too late, and they’re escaping too fast to reach with a sprint and a leap,

But another set of pantographs comes rolling along in the city that never sleeps

Sailing

The moment dawns when he’s setting off

On a journey he wants to make grand

But somewhere in the back of his mind

Lingers the longing for firm, solid land

He was pegged to be one who would boast,

But as he prepares to let go of the coast,

The vast ocean ahead of him lies,

The challenge, right before his eyes

The journey has begun, the ocean surrounds him,

A cauldron of calm, eternal rage

He feels his shrinking might, for there’s nothing in sight

By which his fears might be assuaged

The novice eventually experiences the strength of the assault

His bruises hurt further by the coarse sea salt

In the midst of it, he realizes with a shudder

That he is sailing without a rudder

Gales and waves toss him around

He has to withstand the attack

There’s nary a helpful sight or sound

And once begun, there’s no going back

His quest for discovery throws up visions wry

As sunrises and sunsets go passing by

He’s surrounded by a sea of hesitation and deterrence

He knows he’s helpless before the force

He wishes to take refuge behind closed doors

Not wanting to be controlled by the crushing currents

He wishes for something to ignite

The wick that will shed some light

And stop hope from being further thinned

Should he stick to his (apparent?) right

To try and put up a fight

Or just be gone with the wind?