I Wear a Mask

(This poem is from some bygone era when i used to write poems......and this is one of my early ones, one of the very few that I wrote in English. I had this on my first blog, just copied it here)

I wear a mask,
To hide the real me from the world
I wear a mask,
For I am afraid the world will know who I really am,
And I am not sure whether thats what it wants me to be
I wear a mask,
To fend off the sniggers and barbs that you might throw at me
I wear a mask,
Because I am afraid to be me.

Yet I want the world to know the real me,
I want you to be my friend
To share with you all my secrets and my insecurities
I want you to understand me
To stand by me whether i am right or wrong
I want you to say you know me.

But I fear you won't understand
And I don't blame you for that,
Because its me who tries my best
Never to take off that mask,
Yet I am tired of it
And wish someone could take it off for me.

What you see of me today,
Is not the real me
I have lived a life
Thinking what others might think
And I have said things
That i felt others would like.

I want you to come,
And take off my mask
I want you to be my friend
I will not tell you so
And I will resist your attempts
Maybe you will be tired
And let go of me
But I want you to try, my friend,
For through you I want
The whole world to see me

Reading Delight

I do not know why I do this to myself.
Whenever I see a bookstore, why is it that I cannot control myself from getting in there? When I know that I will again end up buying another set of books. While the amount of money I spend does alarm me after I have come back to my hotel room and got back to my senses, it also pains me to see the number of unread books that I have now accumulated. God knows when I will be able to finish these books. At the same time, when I enter a store, I end up not only buying a lot of books, but also with a list of a few more that get into my list to pick up the next time.
I forgive myself this time. After a long stint at small towns, I saw a Crossword after such a long time, I just could not stop myself from getting in there. Thank you, Pune. Last few months I had had to be content with buying books from those dingy airport stalls.
But no experience matches buying of books from a big bookstore (Landmark is a favorite), browsing through books and spending hours on end there. Well, thats one reason why none of my friends want to get into a bookstore with me. But, once inside one, I hardly need anyone. Books are the world to me.

Looking Out for Fools

A leading consultant once told me, when you start a business, you should not invest only your money in that, even if you have it. Remember the 3 F source of start up funding, family, friends and fools.
I remembered that well. Now that I am starting on my own microfinance venture, my family and friends have refused, so I am now on the lookout for fools.

Waise Ghalib ne kaha bhi hai ki duniya mein bewakoofon ki kami nahi hai, eik dhoondho hazaar milte hain.....

Anyone around????